Delicious, airy focaccia bread, crisp on the outside and soft on the inside, is possible in one hour thanks to the Instant Pot. One-hour focaccia bread is going to be a staple from now on!
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Oh, don’t mind me. I’m just busy making dreams come true over here. I’m like the fairy godmother of scrumptious bread in realistic times for busy people.
Figuring out a way to make focaccia bread in less time (than my mother-in-law’s delicious recipe) has been a goal of mine for about three years. Until I started using my Instant Pot to speed up bread’s rising time, though, I wasn’t sure exactly how I would accomplish my goal.
One-Hour Focaccia Bread
Focaccia should have a crispy crust with an airy, light interior. A combination of not overworking the dough and letting it rise in stages help to achieve the right interior texture. Oil, a cast iron pan, and a hot oven help to achieve the perfect crispy crust.
Perhaps the BEST part of focaccia bread, though, is the oily, salt, herb topping.
I used rosemary and garlic in the recipe, but you can experiment with your own combinations too. Load it up with herb-y goodness!
If you do not already have a cast iron pan, I HIGHLY recommend this Lodge pan. You can read more about cooking with and caring for cast iron here. I do 90% of our cooking in my Instant Pots and my cast iron pans!
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Delicious, airy focaccia bread, crisp on the outside and soft on the inside, is possible in one hour thanks to the Instant Pot. One-hour focaccia bread is going to be a staple from now on!
Ingredients
- 7 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, divided
- 1 tbsp active dry yeast
- 2 1/2 cups bread flour*
- 2 tsp kosher salt, divided
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp dried rosemary
Instructions
- In the inner pot of your Instant Pot, combine 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 tablespoon yeast, and 1 cup warm water. Stir once to mix, then add the bread flour. Start to stir the flour into the yeast mixture, then add 1 teaspoon kosher salt.
- Use a wooden spoon to continue to stir the dough, folding and pressing it with the spoon until it is smooth and all the flour is incorporated. Lift the ball of dough from the bottom of the pot, add 1 tablespoon of oil to the pot, then set the dough back in the oil. Flip the dough over once so the oiled side is on top.
- Place the lid on the Instant Pot. Turn the Instant Pot on to “Yogurt”, on the medium setting for thirty minutes. (Thirty minutes is the least amount of time you can do, so you will need to set a separate timer to keep track of the time).
- After 15 minutes, take the lid off the Instant Pot (without turning it off), and use your spoon to fold in the dough on four sides. Without disturbing the dough much, just press the dough in towards the middle on the 4 “corners”. Put the lid back on the Instant Pot and let the dough rise for ten more minutes.
- Add 3 tablespoons of olive oil to a clean 10-inch cast iron skillet. Swirl the oil so it covers the bottom, then gently slide the dough from the pot to the skillet. Use your fingers to gently press the dough until it covers the bottom of the pan. Use the pads of your fingertips (not your fingernails so you do not tear the dough) to press indentations all over the top of the dough.
- Set the pan on your stove to rise again while you preheat the oven to 475 degrees.
- Stir together in a small dish: 1 teaspoon kosher salt, the garlic powder, the rosemary, 1 tablespoon olive oil, and 2 tablespoons water. After the focaccia has risen ten minutes on the stovetop, pour the oil/water mixture on top of the focaccia, drizzling it evenly across the top so that it pools slightly in the indentations. Let the dough rise ten more minutes (for a total of 20 minutes rising on the stovetop).
- Bake the focaccia in the preheated oven for 18 minutes. Let the focaccia cool slightly before serving. (Optional: drizzle a little more olive oil on the top of the focaccia before slicing).
Notes
*bread flour is important in this recipe to speed up the rising and achieving a light crumb
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Can I use instant yeast vs active dry yeast?
Yes!
Can you make it without the rosemary? I don’t like it.
You can switch up the toppings. I also like using everything blend!
I don’t have a cast iron skillet, what else could I bake this in???
Another similar-sized round pan or a sheet pan would work.
OH MY GOODNESS!! I used to make Focaccia with my grandmother and I remember it being an ORDEAL! It was a PROCESS and took all day.
It’s been a few years since my grandma’s passing and I’ve been wanting to make focaccia but didn’t want to deal with the hassle of a traditional recipe.
Until I found THIS!! IT’s perfect, and delicious, and my husband and I ate it all in one night… WHOOPS!
I will say, like another said – it’s a teensy bit salty which is odd because there’s not much in it at all! We will half the amount that goes on top.
★★★★★
I made a batch last night and it was wonderful. Can’t wait to make it again. But I’m having problems finding yeast. Have you ever used self rising flour in place of bread flour?
Would this work using unbleached flour?
Yes. The bread flour just helps it to rise better/more quickly. But regular all-purpose will work as well.
If using all purpose flour, would the timing for letting it rise or cooking change at all?
The cooking time won’t change, but you could give it 10-15 minutes to the overall rising time.
Would it work with Einkorn wheat? We are gluten sensitive and have heard that this type of ancient wheat may be less irritating to us.
It has less gluten so it might now rise as mucy.
Can I use the 3qt Instant pot?
Should be just fine!
thanks for this piece, it really help.
making focaccia bread is now easier than thought, your step by step instructions also is commendable..
When the dough in rising under the yogurt setting, so we close the seal at the top or leave it open so we can get to it after 15mins.?
Either way. It’s not under pressure, so it’s not important.
I just made the one-hour focaccia bread for my family. It was delicious and very easy to make. Even my two picky kids ate it AND asked for seconds.
★★★★★
Lisa, what if my instant pot does not have the yogurt setting?
That was my question too!
Great question – I have the 6qt and it does not have a yogurt setting. Is there a manual or similar setting option? This bread looks amazing!
I don’t have a yogurt function either. Any ideas? Looks so good!
Melanie, unfortunately I do not think any of the other settings will be low-heat enough to use for the bread. Too high of a heat can kill the yeast.
I had the same question but was already committed to making this when I actually realized that my IP does not have the yogurt setting! I googled a bit and decided to try the “Keep Warm” button. I’ll get back to all shortly with the results! ?
Please do!
Success! I did everything else exactly as directed and the bread came out WONDERFUL! The ony thing I noticed was that the very edges of the dough ball dried out a tiny bit but not enough to affect the final outcome. Next time I may also reduce the salt in the herb topping, it is just a bit salty for our taste. All in all, this is a great recipe and a great bread! I took a pic but can’t figure out how to post it. ?