Very tall, super soft, tasty, and full of holes. These are the features of this extraordinary olive focaccia. The recipe is not difficult, but it requires some attention, but I assure you, it’s worth it.
Other focaccias not to be missed:
- Difficulty: Medium
- Cost: Economical
- Rest time: 2 Hours 30 Minutes
- Preparation time: 40 Minutes
- Portions: 6/8 people
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients for Olive Focaccia
In this recipe, I used dry yeast, but fresh one works just fine too. In this case, you could use about 12/14 g. If you’re interested in knowing the equivalence between these two products, read the article I wrote about it. You can find it by clicking HERE.
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp dry yeast
- 1 3/5 cups water (lukewarm)
- 3/4 cup green olives
- 4 tbsps extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp salt
- extra virgin olive oil
- fleur de sel
- A few green olives (whole)
Tools
I prepared the dough for this olive focaccia using a stand mixer, but you can easily make it by hand directly in the container you will use for resting and rising.
- Stand Mixer
- Hand Whisk
- 1 Container with lid
- 1 Spatula
- 1 Chopper
- 1 Baking Pan 28 cm diameter
Preparation of Olive Focaccia
Pour the flour into the bowl, add the dry yeast, and mix with a small hand whisk.
Then add the lukewarm water and knead with the dough hook until the flour is fully absorbed. You will get a very soft and sticky dough.
Place the green olives in a chopper and roughly chop them.
Then add them to the dough along with the oil and salt.
Continue kneading with the hook until all the oil is well absorbed by the mixture, which will remain very sticky.
Transfer it to a container, place the lid, and let it rest for half an hour.
After this rest, use a spatula to fold the dough from the edges toward the center. Work it inside the container.
Cover again and let rise for an hour in a warm place away from drafts.
After this hour, the dough will have increased in volume.
Make another round of folds, this time with oil-greased hands.
Generously oil a baking pan: I used a round one with a 28 cm diameter, but a rectangular one works just fine.
Transfer the dough onto it and fold it onto itself a couple of times: this way it will be perfectly coated with oil all over its surface.
Then stretch it with your hands inside the pan, then cover it with previously greased plastic wrap to prevent it from sticking to the dough when it rises. Let it rest for another hour.
After this last rise, press your oil-greased fingers into the focaccia creating the classic holes and spreading it well to the edge of the pan. Then sprinkle the surface with fleur de sel. This type of salt is ideal because it is in between fine salt, which would be too small, and coarse salt, which would be too large. If you can’t find it at your local supermarket, you can buy it online by clicking HERE.
Finally, place a few whole olives here and there.
Bake the olive focaccia in a preheated static oven at 482°F for 15/20 minutes, placing it on the lowest rack. Remove from the oven and let it cool slightly before serving. Enjoy! Paola
I take this opportunity to remind you that you can follow me on various social networks to keep updated on the new recipes I publish. You can find me on Facebook (HERE), on Twitter (HERE), on Pinterest (HERE), on Instagram (HERE) and also on Tik Tok (@zenzero_limone). Thank you ♥!
