No Knead Focaccia (Cheese Focaccia)

By Becky Hardin

Published Dec 30, 2014

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This easy No-Knead Focaccia is the perfect bread for any beginner baker! This recipe is delicious, impressive, and super simple. Anyone can make this cheesy homemade focaccia bread.

What’s in Easy Focaccia?

I love my classic focaccia recipe, but this three cheese focaccia bread just adds the most delicious touch to dinner. If you love cheese as much as I do, you will devour this bread so fast. I used three different cheeses for the ultimate flavor.

• Flour: This recipe is designed to work with all-purpose flour. For chewier focaccia bread, you can swap some or all of the flour for bread flour.
• Yeast: Helps the bread to rise. I used rapid-rise yeast to speed up the process, and it made this recipe so much easier!
• Sugar: Feeds the yeast so it can make plenty of those gorgeous bubbles!
• Salt: Gives this focaccia bread a good base of flavor. I like to use kosher salt. If using a different finer-grain salt (like sea salt or table salt), use half as much by volume or the same amount by weight.
• Water: Moistens the dough.
• Olive Oil: I like to use extra virgin olive oil since it is a dominant flavor in the bread.
• Italian Seasoning: Use any brand from the store, or make your own with this homemade Italian seasoning recipe.
• Cheese: I used a mix of three cheeses: Parmesan, Mozzarella, and Feta. (You could substitute other cheeses if you prefer. Asiago would make a great addition!)

Pro Tip: If you use active dry or instant yeast, your dough will need to rise for about 1 hour for each of the two rises.

Variations on Topped Focaccia

There are so many ways to change up this cheesy focaccia. Swap the cheeses for your favorites to customize this bread to your tastes. Try adding several cloves of minced garlic to the dough for cheesy garlic focaccia. You can also add minced garlic or red pepper flakes to the last 2 tablespoons of olive oil for even more flavor. Try different fresh or dried herbs, such as sage, thyme, or oregano instead of Italian seasoning.

How to Make Ahead and Store Quick Focaccia

To make this cheesy focaccia bread in advance, follow the recipe through step 5, storing the dough tightly covered in the refrigerator overnight instead of on the counter for 30 minutes. The next day, unwrap the dough and let it come to room temperature for 10-15 minutes before continuing with the recipe as written.

Store leftover no knead focaccia in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days.

How to Freeze and Reheat Cheese Focaccia Bread

Freeze no knead focaccia cut into individual slices wrapped in 2 layers of plastic wrap and 1 layer of aluminum foil for up to 1 month. Let thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating loosely wrapped in aluminum foil in a 350°F oven for 10-15 minutes.

What to Serve with Cheesy Focaccia

This no knead focaccia is the perfect appetizer before a delicious meal. It’s great with Italian classics like Dutch Oven Lasagna, Cheesy Italian Stuffed Shells, Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo, or Pesto Baked Rigatoni. Use it as the bread for your next sandwich, or cube it into croutons for a salad. This bread is perfect for soaking up extra olive oil or sauces from your dinner. So add it to your plate and dip away!

Recipe Card

No Knead Focaccia Recipe (Cheese Focaccia)

4.65 from 14 votes

Prep: 15 minutes mins

Cook: 35 minutes mins

Rise Time: 45 minutes mins

Total: 1 hour hr 35 minutes mins

Servings: 8 pieces

Author: Becky Hardin

Print Rate

This focaccia recipe is so easy to make, and topped with Parmesan, mozzarella, and feta for a cheesy bread.

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Equipment

• Kitchen Scale (optional)
• 9×13 Baking Pan

Ingredients 

1x2x3x

• ▢ 3¼ cups all-purpose flour 390 grams
• ▢ 0.25 ounce Fleischmann's® RapidRise Yeast 7 grams (1 packet)
• ▢ 1 tablespoon granulated sugar 13 grams
• ▢ 1 teaspoon kosher salt 3 grams
• ▢ 1½ cups water 341 grams
• ▢ 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 50 grams, divided
• ▢ 1½ teaspoons Italian seasoning 5 grams, store-bought or homemade
• ▢ ½ cup freshly shredded Parmesan cheese
• ▢ ½ cup freshly shredded Mozzarella cheese
• ▢ 1 cup crumbled Feta cheese
• ▢ Sea salt optional, for garnish

Instructions 

• Combine the flour, dry yeast, sugar, and salt in a large mixing bowl and stir until blended.
  3¼ cups all-purpose flour, 0.25 ounce Fleischmann's® RapidRise Yeast, 1 tablespoon granulated sugar, 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  
• Combine the water and 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on high in 15-second increments until very warm but not scalding hot to the touch (105-110°F).
  1½ cups water, 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  
• Add water mixture to flour mixture. Stir with a large wooden spoon until well mixed. A dough will form.
  
• Spread into greased 13×9-inch pan. The dough might not completely go to corners, but it will once it rises.
  
• Cover with thin kitchen towel; let rise in warm place until doubled in size, about 30 minutes .
  
• Using your lightly oiled finger, gently poke holes about every inch in the dough going nearly to the bottom of the dough. Drizzle with remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil. Sprinkle top with cheese, sea salt, and Italian herbs.
  1½ teaspoons Italian seasoning, ½ cup freshly shredded Parmesan cheese, ½ cup freshly shredded Mozzarella cheese, Sea salt, 1 cup crumbled Feta cheese
  
• Let rise, uncovered, an additional 15 minutes while oven preheats to 375°F.
  
• Bake for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown. Cool slightly. Cut and serve with extra oil for dipping if you’d like.

Becky’s Tips

• Use a thin kitchen towel to place on top of the pan.
• Place the pan of dough in a warm place to rise. You want it to double in size.
• A good way to speed up the rising process is to use your oven. I set our oven on 200°F for 2-3 minutes and then turned it off, let it sit 5 minutes, and then placed the bread inside to rise. It worked great!

Storage: Store no knead focaccia in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days or in the freezer for up to 1 month.

Serving: 1pieceCalories: 206kcalCarbohydrates: 11gProtein: 7gFat: 14gSaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 26mgSodium: 645mgPotassium: 35mgSugar: 2gVitamin A: 175IUCalcium: 206mgIron: 0.8mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Did you make this? Leave a comment!

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