No-Knead, No-Fuss Focaccia

I grew up working in my family’s bakery as my dad’s bread making assistant. Every Saturday, we made as much focaccia as the brick oven allowed, and it was my favourite part of the day. Slicking my hands with oil, dimpling the bread, and laying out the various toppings was so fun, and eating a quarter sheet pan to myself after a long morning was a great reward.

However, as a home baker, I hate cleaning my mixer and I hate getting my counter covered in flour crust. I think these things prevent a lot of people from making homemade bread too. With this recipe, you can avoid both of these frustrations. No mess, no fuss, no knead, no problem.

This is a 100% hydration dough, meaning there is the same amount of flour as water by weight. I do an overnight proof in the fridge which slows the fermentation and allows for great flavour and gluten development. With such a wet dough, you want enough gluten to hold all the air in for those beautiful bubbles.

Yield: Makes 1 9" round or 1 8"x8" square loaf

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No-Knead, No-Fuss Focaccia

Ingredients

• 260g all purpose flour or bread flour (2 cups when you add spoonfuls of flour into the measuring cup, not measured directly from bag)
• 260g water (1 cup plus 1 Tbsp)
• 7g salt (1 1/4 tsp fine salt)
• 4g instant yeast (1 tsp)
• 3 Tbsp olive oil, divided
• Flaky salt for garnish

Instructions

1. Mix. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, water, salt, and yeast. Mix until all the flour is fully hydrated. It should look very wet for a dough, but don't worry–you haven't made a mistake. Cover and let rest for 15 minutes.
2. Fold. Fold the dough three times at 15-minute intervals. To fold: with floured or wet hands, lift one edge of the dough and gently stretch it toward the centre. Rotate the bowl and repeat, working your way around with 6-8 folds until the dough feels taut and forms a tight ball. Cover and let rest for 15 minutes between each round of folds.
3. Rest & ferment. After the third fold, cover the bowl with plastic wrap tightly and refrigerate overnight (or up to 48 hours).
4. Prepare the pan. The next day, oil a 9-inch round cake pan or 8x8-inch square pan with 1½ Tbsp of olive oil. Take the dough out of the fridge and give it one final round of folding, as before. Place the dough in the prepared pan and pour the remaining 1½ Tbsp of olive oil over the top to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest at room temperature for 2-4 hours, until the dough has nearly filled the pan and looks very jiggly—like a marshmallow or an unapologetically soft belly or thigh.
5. Dimple. Preheat the oven to 450. Use your fingers to press firmly into the dough, creating dimples without poking all the way through, about 10 times across the surface of the focaccia. Sprinkle with flaky salt and any desired toppings.
6. Bake. Bake for 22–25 minutes, until deeply golden on top. Let cool before slicing.