11 focaccia recipes that deliver the dough (even if you’ve never baked bread before)

Focaccia is a dough-meets canvas: the Italian bread that can turn into a simple snack or a work of art, a side, a sandwich or a share-table star.

It's also a gateway for new bakers. As chef Raymond Blanc says, "Making focaccia is a brilliant, easy way of getting into bread-making and mastering the mysteries of yeast, which of course creates the magic of the fermentation within the bread."

Here are some of our favourite recipes for making it.

Beginners and overnight bakers, start here

If you've not baked much bread before, or you're looking for a way to fit breadmaking into life, try Camellia Ling Aebischer's "make focaccia while you sleep method". This is simply a case of mixing the flour, yeast, salt, olive oil and water to make a sticky dough, then letting it sit in the fridge for one to three nights. No kneading, just a well-hydrated dough and time, and then some shaping and baking, and you have a fluffy bread with give-me-more crusty edges.

Change it up, so many ways

If you don't have time to let your dough sit overnight, don't worry - many of the recipes that follow can be made in a day. They also demonstrate how very versatile focaccia is. Give one a go, and then explore all the variations.

Focaccia con le cipolle (caramelised onion focaccia)

The perfect combination of soft and airy focaccia adorned with a mosaic of sweet and tangy caramelised onion. It’s a simple pairing that wonderfully epitomises the intrinsic beauty of the Italian cucina povera tradition, where very little can be turned into something big and bold, says Silvia Colloca.

Focaccia with red onion and rosemary

Focaccia has spread from its Italian origins to win fans around the world, each putting their touch on the final bake. Paul West tops his focaccia with red onion, chilli flakes and rosemary.

Smoked garlic focaccia

Raymond Blanc, the French chef who's built an award-winning career in England, describes this recipe as a testimony to the multiple cultures that have influenced his cooking. "I’ve allied my national beloved bulb of fragrance and Frenchness with an Italian classic as homage to a bread that I ate in Italy, one of the greatest I tasted in my life – it was pure delight: rustic and topped with caramelised garlic cooked in balsamic vinegar. ...This hearty, simple version of focaccia has an unusual smokey tang."

Chunky rosemary focaccia

The texture and flavour of this focaccia rewards extra time. The recipe uses a poolish (a preferment) to add depth of flavour. It can be made the day before baking.

Matthew Evans' olive and rosemary focaccia

Matthew Evans says of focaccia that it's "remarkably delicious, especially on the day it’s baked". From season 4 of Gourmet Farmer, this version of the simple, pressed-out flatbread is topped with pitted olives, rosemary leaves and a good drizzle of olive oil. It's also a little quicker than some of the other recipes, as the dough is only left to rise once.

Potato focaccia

Luca Ciano describes this focaccia as soft and fluffy with a little crunch on the edge. Eat as this tomato-topped bread as it is, or split and fill, perhaps as Ciano has done with prosciutto, cheese and chilli jam.

Gluten-free focaccia

This recipe from Elena Duggan puts a gluten-free spin on the Italian favourite. She tops it with cheese, onion, olive and herbs but encourages experimenting with your favourite toppings and cheeses.

Focaccia tomato burrata

This recipe from Adam Liaw is simple but spectacular. It's a classic combination of tomato, bread and cheese, but with a little extra wow. The proved dough is cooked in one pan, the tomato in another, and both are served with creamy burrata. This is another recipe that uses fridge time to work on the dough, making it easier to fit into your cooking plans.

Grape and rosemary focaccia

This focaccia from Adam Liaw is simple to make, and the sweetness of the grapes against salty Parmigiano Reggiano is a fantastic combination.

Walnut focaccia

Nadiya Hussain has fun with her breadmaking in this recipe, taking inspiration from the winning coffee and walnut combo often found in a cake.

Looking for more baking fun? Visit the homemade bread recipe collection.