Focaccia Sandwich Bread

Focaccia is an Italian-style bread known for its crunchy exterior and soft and airy interior. With endless ways of customizing this bread by itself, it's no wonder it would be the perfect sandwich bread. 

After studying at culinary school in Italy, I learned the best way of baking this delicious style of bread. 

If you enjoy this focaccia sandwich recipe, be sure to also check out my cheesy focaccia bread. 

What You'll Learn In This Recipe

Extra virgin olive oil: Extra virgin olive oil is quintessential in Italian cuisine. For the best flavor in your focaccia bread, you want to use a high quality olive oil. Be sure it’s labeled as extra virgin on the bottle. 

Be sure to also check out my email series all about Italian olive oil, if you want to learn more.

Instant dry yeast: One of the most important ingredients in just about any bread recipe is yeast. This is what gives the bread the ability to rise and gain the light airiness we love and enjoy. These characteristics are essential when making quality Italian focaccia. 

Always be sure to check the expiration on your yeast before using it, otherwise, it could cause your bread not to rise.

If you happen to only have active dry yeast on hand, follow the same instructions, but substitute 2.5 teaspoons of active dry yeast for the instant yeast listed in the recipe card. 

Bread flour: It is essential to use bread flour for this recipe instead of all-purpose flour. Bread flour has a higher protein content than all-purpose flour. The protein content is directly related to the texture of the bread because of the effect it has on the gluten net. 

While you may want to use all-purpose flour because you have it on hand, I can promise you that the result will not be the same. Through various recipe and taste tests, substituting bread flour for all-purpose flour results in an overall lesser quality product. 

Fine sea salt: Salt is a small but mighty ingredient in this focaccia sandwich bread recipe. Salt not only amplifies the flavors of the other ingredients in the bread but also strengthens the gluten net, helping the dough stay in one functional shape.

The gluten net is the unseen net that holds the dough together. Adding salt strengthens this net, allowing your dough to become more resilient, elastic, and fully formed. 

In this recipe especially, salt is needed to strengthen the gluten net after adding the extra virgin olive oil. Fat breaks apart the gluten net, so salt is needed to keep everything in proper form. 

Granulated Sugar: Most importantly, sugar is food for yeast, allowing the yeast to feed and release gas.

On top of feeding the yeast, as your bread bakes, the sugar caramelizes, helping the bread get the deep, beautiful, brown color we love. 

Sea Salt Flakes: Sea salt flakes are the chef's kiss of this focaccia recipe. These are added on top of the focaccia after the dough has been formed and shaped to add both a nice salty taste and a little bit of added crunch. 

My preferred brand for flaky salt is the Maldon brand, but any type of flaky salt works for this focaccia. 

Water: Focaccia is a high-hydration dough, meaning it has a higher percentage of water compared to other ingredients in the dough. Water is essential for developing the ‘crumb’ or airy bubbles within any bread. A general rule is that the higher the hydration, the greater the crumb and the lighter and airier your bread will be. 

Be sure to use warm water (105°F - 115°F or 40°C - 46°C) when you are mixing it with yeast. If the temperature of the water is too high (over 140°F or 60°C), the heat will kill your yeast and the dough will not properly rise. 

This step by step photo guide is going to help you easily make focaccia sandwich bread at home, especially if it's your first time.

With some practice and patience, you’ll be making the best focaccia bread you’ve ever had.

1. To start making your focaccia, add the bread flour and the instant dry yeast to a stand mixer. Be sure you’re using the dough hook attachment. 

Turn on the mixer to a medium-low speed, and allow the flour and yeast to mix. You cannot make this recipe by hand, so a stand mixer is essential. 

With the mixer still on medium-low, slowly add the water in three batches. Adding the water slowly allows the flour to slowly absorb the water.

You will be able to see when the flour has absorbed all the water if there’s no visible liquid pooling at the bottom of your mixer. 

Once the water has all been added in, pour in the sugar.

2. Now that the sugar has been added, begin pouring in the extra virgin olive oil in quarters. Because the oil is slick in consistency, I have found it’s best to pour it into the center of the dough, allowing the dough to absorb it easier.

If you see that the oil is pooling in the bottom of the mixer and making your dough spin around instead of mixing, grab a silicone spatula. With the spatula, carefully scoop and flip the dough, pushing it towards the dough hook. This helps the dough stay close to the hook, allowing it to mix properly.

This step takes both patience and attentiveness. The extra virgin olive oil has to be added slowly for it to absorb into the dough properly. 

3. Once the last batch of oil has been added, shake in the fine sea salt and continue to let the dough mix until you see that all the oil has been almost completely absorbed by the dough (the dough will look like it does in photo 3).

Adding salt helps strengthen the gluten net after the fat in the extra virgin olive oil breaks it apart. You should be able to see the dough form together after adding in the fine sea salt. 

4. With the dough fully formed, immediately increase the speed on your mixer to high, and let this mix for 1-2 minutes. To know when your dough is finished, you will see the dough wrapped closely around the dough hook, and you should hear a popping sound. 

When it's done mixing, the focaccia dough will be smooth but quite sticky. 

5. With the dough finished, lightly oil a container with some extra virgin olive oil. Remove the dough from the mixer, shape it into a tight ball, and place it in the container. 

A helpful trick I’ve learned when shaping this dough is to put a little extra virgin olive oil on your hands to avoid sticking. Also, work with the dough quickly. The less time your hands are in contact with the dough, the less it will stick. 

Next, cover your container with plastic wrap and place it in a warm, draft-free area. Leave it there until it has tripled in size. This should take between 3 and 5 hours. 

As tempting as it may be, do not rush this step. Letting the dough rise is essential for getting that lovely airy texture that makes focaccia so appealing.

If you live in a cold environment or it's winter, the dough will still rise but, it may take a bit longer. 

7. Once the waiting time is up, generously grease a 12 x 18 inch (30 x 45 cm) sheet pan with extra virgin olive oil. Be sure to coat the bottom and the sides. 

Pour the dough out onto the sheet pan and stretch it to fit the pan. When stretching focaccia dough, allow gravity to do the work as opposed to forcefully stretching.

The best way to do this is by gently lifting sections of the dough and holding it up until the weight of the dough stretches itself out. 

If, after you’ve stretched it, you notice the dough keeps pulling back towards itself away from the edges of the pan, allow it to rest for an extra 10 minutes or so. After resting, the dough will be less resistant to stretching and you should have no problem making it cooperate. 

8. With the dough stretched and your topping prepared, use your fingertips to make indentations in the focaccia dough. Be gentle and make sure you don’t make indentations that go all the way through to the pan.

9. Now, you can move on to the focaccia topping. Whisk together ¼ cup and 1 tablespoon (60 grams) of water and ¼ cup and 1 tablespoon (60 grams) of extra virgin olive oil in a small bowl. Once combined as best as possible, pour the mixture evenly over your focaccia. Then, sprinkle the flaky salt across the top of the dough.

10. It’s time for the final stretch of the baking process. Cover your tray with plastic wrap and allow it to proof in a warm, draft-free place for about 60 minutes, or until it has tripled in size. 

For this step, I find it best to set my oven on a low temperature (170°F - 200°F or 76°C - 93°C) and place the bread on top of the warm oven to proof. Be sure you’re placing the bread on top and not inside the oven for this step. 

After the dough has tripled in size, it will be full of air. Be cautious when handing the dough at this stage. Avoid bumping or banging the sheet tray on anything or you will knock some of the air out of the dough. 

When the bread has almost finished proofing, preheat the oven to 430°F (220°C). 

Once the oven is heated, gently peel the plastic wrap off the focaccia tray. Bake the bread for 25-30 minutes until it's golden brown and crispy on top. 

11. Remove the bread from the oven and let it rest on a cooling rack, covered with a tea towel. Covering the dough helps trap the heat and moisture, keeping the bread nice and soft when you go to eat it. 

It is very important to let your focaccia completely cool down to room temperature before taking it out of the pan. Once cool, carefully remove the focaccia from the sheet tray and cut it into eight large pieces. 

When you are planning to eat your sandwiches, slice the focaccia down the middle to form your sandwich bread. Now, you can add whatever sandwich fillings you desire and enjoy. 

Here is a list of my favorite fillings for focaccia sandwiches. Feel free to use this as inspiration and be as creative as you please with your own sandwich fillings: 

• An Italian classic, mortadella, pistachio pesto, burrata cheese, and arugula is a sandwich you’ll dream about. 
• Like a classic BLT but better, you can’t go wrong with bacon, lettuce, tomato, and mayo.
• Another Italian-style filling idea is prosciutto, mozzarella, and tomato. Add arugula for some extra greens to make a delicious combo. 
• For a nice, saltier, Italian style sandwich, try using salami, prosciutto, pecorino, and olive tapenade.
• Go for a tasty turkey sandwich, also adding in goat cheese, pesto, and roasted red peppers.
• If you’re a fan of Gorgonzola cheese, combine it in your focaccia sandwich with some prosciutto, arugula, and honey.