The inside of gluten-free focaccia is airy and fluffy, while the outside is crispy and cooked to perfection. Any meal would be complete with this simple gluten-free bread recipe!
Either you’re a bread person or you’re not, in my opinion. Something like, “I’m going to save space for the tortellini” or, “I’m taking the Olive Garden Breadstick Challenge seriously.” Giving up bread since being gluten-free hasn’t been too tough for the latter, with whom I’ve always identified. After I tried the Gluten Free Focaccia recipe, everything changed.
A gluten-free bread recipe that doesn’t require kneading, this one is incredibly airy on the inside and has a crust that is so intensely seasoned that it cracks your bones. From someone who often doesn’t like much for bread, I can say that this gluten-free focaccia is quite delicious!
Things Required
You most likely already have all the common ingredients needed to bake a loaf of gluten-free focaccia right this second, since the recipe is adapted from my Gluten-Free Pizza Crust. The following items are required:
Baking flour combination that is gluten free. The mixtures I tried are detailed below, along with my favorite.
Make this focaccia bread with instant yeast—all you need is the ability to open a packet! My favorite brand of quick-rise instant yeast is Red Star, and we use it often.
The gluten-free focaccia we make uses baking powder to help it rise nicely.
Sugar: Yeast is fed sugar. Instead, you might use honey if you want.
For a more balanced dough flavor, add salt.
A little bit of apple cider vinegar can bring out the yeast’s full capabilities.
When you use extra virgin olive oil, the bread’s inside becomes chewy and tender. To make the crust sound more crisp while baking, we add sprinkle it on top of the bread dough and into the baking pan.
Sea salt, garlic powder, Italian pepper, and dried rosemary are my go-to toppings, but I keep it simple otherwise. Feel free to use fresh rosemary if you want!
The Top Flour Substitute for Gluten in GF Focaccia
For this focaccia recipe, I tried five different gluten-free baking flour blends; however, two of them stood out as particularly effective in producing tall focaccia bread with a light, airy texture and no goo on the inside.
These are the results I got:
Gluten-Free Baking using King Arthur Flour Flour: when baked, the bread will have a texture similar to that of wheat-based focaccia. Strongly suggest.
Introducing Schar Mix It! Bread made using Universal Flour has a towering, puffed texture, similar to Angel Food Cake. The final product tastes more like gluten-free sandwich bread, but it’s still delicious.
Flour without gluten by Krusteaz and gluten-free bread by Pamela’s The baked focaccia has a crumbly texture due to the 1:1 flour mix. Strongly discouraged.
The Red Mill of Bob Baked bread made with gluten-free 1 to 1 baking flour has a doughy, chewy feel. Strongly discouraged.
If you’re not a fan of or can’t locate the King Arthur or Schar blend, or if you prefer a gluten-free flour blend that already includes a binder like xanthan gum, then use it instead of a single flour such as almond, coconut, rice, etc.
Strategies for Achieving Your Goals
Make sure you use yeast that is fresh. While this recipe isn’t particularly difficult, you can increase your chances of success by using fresh, unopened fast rise yeast.
The dough’s texture shouldn’t worry you. The trouble with gluten-free doughs and batters is that they are often mixed up. As you work the dough, you could imagine it transforming into a light and airy loaf of bread. Prepare to be perplexed. Writing this recipe will make you think I’m confused. It is intended that the pre-risen dough resemble a thick cake batter. I’m fine with it! To see how the dough looks and feels, check out the pictures down below.
Underbake at no risk. Thoroughly brown the focaccia in the oven, both on top and on the edges. Underbaked bread can have a dense and gooey inside.
Even out the pan. Spray the baking pan well with nonstick spray to prevent it from sticking and tearing when you remove it.
Nosh on. The gluten-free focaccia is at its finest when eaten warm and fresh from the oven. After a while, that crispy crust will be gone, so devour it all!
Making Gluten-Free Focaccia Bread: A Practical Guide
Begin by combining the dry ingredients.
In the bowl of an electric stand mixer with the paddle attachment (or a big bowl if you’re using a manual mixer), combine the gluten-free all-purpose flour blend, salt, sugar, baking powder, and quick rise instant yeast.
Slowly stir until combined. The dry ingredients will scatter if you mix them with a hand mixer; a whisk is required for this task.
Step 2: Heat and incorporate water.
Then, to activate the yeast, heat the water to a temperature of 110 to 115 degrees. If the temperature is too low, the yeast will not be able to do its job and the bread will turn out flat. If it gets too hot, the yeast could die.
Combine the yeast mixture with the water and a splash of apple cider vinegar. Mix on medium speed until a smooth consistency is achieved, which should take around 15-20 seconds. Give the flour a minute to soak up the water and hydrate by letting the dough sit.
Third, drizzle in the extra virgin olive oil.
Toss in the extra virgin olive oil and mix on low until the ingredients start to come together. Increase the pace to medium and continue beating for one minute.
Look at the dough’s texture, would you? As thick as cake batter.
To make sure all the ingredients are mixed, toss the dough thoroughly with a spatula.
Stage 4: Allow the dough to puff up.
Set the bowl in a warm position to rise for 30–40 minutes after covering it with a tea towel. To proof bread, I set my oven to its lowest rack and turn it on to its “bread proofing” setting, which preheats to 100 degrees; however, you could also use a warm room, a heating pad set to low, or even just a bowl.
Oh no!
Level up the oven, step 5.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and return the rack to the middle position.
Sixth Step: Get the Baking Pan Ready.
Apply a generous amount of nonstick spray to a 9×5″glass loaf pan (I haven’t tried this recipe with a metal pan), then pour in 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil and tilt the pan to coat the bottom evenly. The focaccia’s base will get a delicious golden brown crust as a result of this.
Step7: Pipe dots on top.
Baked focaccia bread often has a “dimpled” appearance on top. When you press your fingertips into the bread dough just before baking, this happens. The gluten-free focaccia dough is so sticky that I wanted to replicate the traditional dimples by spooning dollops over the top using the tip of a spatula.
To make dimples, you can use slightly moistened fingertips with the Schar Mix It! Universal Flour blend that I stated earlier. However, because my King Arthur Flour is stickier, I find that a spatula tip works better.
In Step 8, add seasoning to the top.
In my opinion, this is the part of the recipe that really makes the bread tempting. The combination of extra virgin olive oil with a simple sprinkle of salt, garlic powder, Italian spice, and crushed dried rosemary between your hands is incredibly delicious.
Taste as you go – no measuring required!
Finally, bake.
To get a really golden brown top and sides, bake for 33–35 minutes. To prevent a gooey center, do not underbake.
After 10 minutes, remove the bread from the pan and let it on a cutting board to cool somewhat.
While it’s still warm, slice and serve. Having a bowl of balsamic vinegar, parmesan cheese, salt, pepper, and extra virgin olive oil on hand is totally optional, but it’s highly suggested!
Storage and Freezing Made Easy
To get the most out of that crispy exterior, this bread is at its finest when eaten immediately after baking, as I mentioned before. If there is any leftover, wrap it in foil and set it out on the counter for one day. Warm thoroughly by rewarming in a 350°F oven, covered with foil, for 15 to 20 minutes.
For the purpose of freezing:
Once cooled, wrap the focaccia in foil and store it in a freezer-safe Ziplock bag for up to three months.
Thaw in the fridge or on the counter for a few hours, then heat, covered, for about fifteen to twenty minutes at 350 degrees, or until heated through.
What do you think? Are you going to try this gluten-free focaccia recipe soon? It’s incredibly easy and tastes amazing! Graze it!
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