Gluten-Free Focaccia Bread

Who knew making focaccia bread without gluten would be so easy! This delicious bread yields the perfect texture and tastes so similar to restaurant-style focaccia that you wouldn't even know the difference.

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Gluten-Free Bread Making

Bread-making can be challenging, especially when removing gluten, which complicates the process significantly. It often takes numerous attempts to create a gluten-free bread recipe that earns compliments like, "I wouldn't even be able to tell it's gluten-free."

In the gluten-free community, we aim for our baked goods to taste and feel just like their gluten-filled counterparts, avoiding the common pitfalls of dry or crumbly textures. After going gluten-free four years ago, I was hesitant to attempt bread-making but finally tackled gluten-free focaccia—no sourdough starter required! The result was so similar to restaurant-style focaccia that you'd struggle to tell the difference.

I’m excited to share this Gluten-Free Focaccia Bread recipe, hoping it brings you the same joy and comfort it has brought me!

Time to Rise to the Occasion

You can gauge the success of a bread recipe by how much it rises—if the dough doesn’t rise, the yeast didn’t activate.

Begin by adding three and a half cups of Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free All-Purpose Baking Flour to a large, oven-safe bowl. This specific flour is essential for achieving the right texture; mixing flours can lead to unsatisfactory results. Next, mix in one tablespoon of gluten-free baking powder, two and one fourth teaspoons of instant yeast, three fourths teaspoon of salt, and one half teaspoon of xanthan gum, which helps bind the ingredients.

In a separate bowl, combine two cups of warm water (around 115°F) with one tablespoon of cane sugar until dissolved. Pour this over the dry ingredients. Use an electric mixer on low for about a minute to combine, then add a half cup of olive oil and one and one half teaspoons of apple cider vinegar. Beat for two minutes.

Preheat your oven to 200°F, then turn it off once it reaches 115°F. Cover the bowl with a tea towel and let the dough rise in the oven for 30 minutes.

The Signature Focaccia Texture

Once the dough has risen in the warm oven for 30 minutes, carefully remove the bowl. The dough should be almost doubled in size and look very airy. When you touch the dough it should be slightly sticky. If the dough has not risen or looks hard, then your water or oven were too hot and the yeast was killed. But, hopefully that's not the case!

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a nine by thirteen inch baking dish and line it with parchment paper for easy removal. Trust me, even if the baking dish is greased and floured, this brad will still want to stick to it. Use a spatula to transfer the dough to the prepared baking dish and spread the dough evenly across it. Then, add about one tablespoon of olive oil over the dough and put a little oil on your fingertips. To create that signature focaccia dimple look, you're going to use your oiled fingertips to press into the dough, then release. Repeat the process across the top of the dough until it looks dimpled.

Next, combine one tablespoon of olive oil in a small glass with two teaspoons of dried rosemary, one teaspoon of oregano, one teaspoon of sea salt, and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice. Mix together to combine then pour it over the dimpled dough.

Time to Bake the Bread

It's finally time to bake this gluten-free focaccia bread! Place the baking sheet in the middle of the oven and bake for 23 minutes at 400 degrees Fahrenheit. After 23 minutes, broil on high for two minutes. Broiling it will crisp up the top of the brad and give it a golden appearance. Just make sure you don't go past two minutes as the top will start to burn.

Allow the focaccia loaf to cool for ten minutes in the baking dish. After the allotted time, take hold of the sides of the parchment paper and gently pull up. The paper should release from the dish and take the bread with it. Place the parchment paper on a cutting board, then carefully remove it from the bottom of the focaccia. Allow the bread to cool for another five minutes before slicing it. During this time, garnish the whole loaf with flakey sea salt for a finishing touch!

The Bread Doubles as a...

While this gluten-free focaccia bread is AMAZING on it's own, it can also be used as a pizza crust! If you've never tried focaccia bread as a pizza crust, then I highly suggest you check out this recipe now. This Focaccia Crust Pizza is unlike any gluten-free pizza you've ever had before and is truly out of this world. Not to mention, you can custom your pizza however you see fit,