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Homemade Gluten Free Focaccia needs less than 10 ingredients and is so easy to bake! It has a tender yet chewy crumb and goes well with so many dishes. Serve it plain, with a variety of toppings like olives and fresh herbs, or use it to make pizza.
Easy Gluten Free Focaccia Recipe
Delicious Details
- Cuisine Inspiration: Italian
- Primary Cooking Method: Oven
- Dietary Info: Gluten-free, Dairy-free
- Skill Level: Moderate
Making a good gluten free bread can feel elusive but there’s no reason it has to be! My gluten free focaccia is surprisingly easy to put together, and delivers great results every time. If you love focaccia but have been missing it since you went gluten-free, you’re in luck.
Focaccia is such a lovely bread, with a crisp exterior and a soft interior that is pocketed with air bubbles for extra lightness. This gluten free focaccia is the perfect choice when you want to make an easy bread to serve with dinner tonight. In less than 3 hours you’ll have a beautiful batch of focaccia that you can top simply with olive oil and salt, or pile on fresh or dried herbs or even cheese for more flavor. Sometimes I’ll use GF focaccia as a base for homemade pizza!
Gluten-free bread relies on a few extra ingredients to give it a springy texture that mimics regular bread. In this gluten free focaccia recipe psyllium husk plays the part of gluten, and it works as a miraculous sort of binder for the gluten-free flour. It also gives the focaccia chewy mouthfeel you’ll be unable to resist. So go ahead dip away!
Why You’ll Love This GF Focaccia Recipe
Homemade bread seriously makes everyone happy! I love making gluten-free versions of my favorite bread, and focaccia is one of the best. Here’s why you’ll love this gluten free focaccia recipe:
- It’s easily made gluten-free. This is one of those bread recipes that’s easily adapted to being gluten-free. You just need gluten-free flour and psyllium husk and you’re all set.
- Easily customizable. I love plain focaccia simply dusted with sea salt and dipped in good olive oil, but I also love to add toppings. You can see some suggestions below.
- It’s dairy-free as well as gluten-free. This is a perfect recipe for those who also need to keep to a dairy-free diet! The ingredients needed to make this GF focaccia are all free of dairy as well as gluten.
What You’ll Need
Here’s the list of all of the ingredients you’ll need to make GF focaccia. Be sure to scroll down to the recipe card at the end of this post for the full ingredient amounts.
- Water: Warm water is necessary to activate the yeast before you include it in the dough.
- Honey: Honey works with the warm water to activate the yeast.
- Instant Yeast: Instant yeast will help the focaccia dough to rise.
- Gluten-Free Flour Blend: You can use your favorite gluten-free all-purpose flour blend.
- Psyllium Husk: Use whole psyllium husks in this recipe.
- Salt: I use fine grain salt in my baking.
- Baking Powder: Baking powder works alongside the yeast to create a fluffy bread.
- Olive Oil: I use extra-virgin olive oil.
- Fresh Rosemary and Sea Salt – For topping the focaccia if you wish.
Topping Ideas
Here are some topping ideas you can add to your homemade gluten free focaccia:
- Olives – Press pitted olives into the surface of the GF focaccia dough before you bake it.
- Parmesan cheese – Dust the top of your focaccia with shredded or grated parmesan cheese during the last 15 minutes of baking time.
- Sundried tomatoes – Add a handful of sundried tomatoes to your GF focaccia!
- Fresh herbs – Fresh herbs are a natural companion to focaccia. You can use rosemary, as I suggest, basil, oregano, thyme, or a combination.
How To Make Gluten Free Focaccia
Here’s a step-by-step guide to making perfect, gluten free focaccia! Make sure to let the yeast fully proof (until it’s bubbly and slightly inflated) before proceeding with the recipe for the best results. You’ll find the detailed instructions in the recipe card at the end of this post.
- Proof the yeast. Combine warm water, honey, and yeast in a large mixing bowl and let sit for 10 minutes.
- Add the dry ingredients. Stir in the flour, psyllium husk, salt, baking powder, and olive oil and fold them together to form a soft dough.
- Rise. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, cover, and let the dough rise for 1 hour.
- Form. Stretch out the dough in an oiled pan, then let it rise for another hour. Preheat the oven to 450℉.
- Top. Drizzle the dough with olive oil and toppings if using, then dimple the top with your fingers.
- Bake. Bake the focaccia for 25 minutes, then use the broiler to finish it off.
- Cool. Remove the bread from the oven, let cool for 10 minutes, then slice and serve.
Tips for the Best Focaccia
Gluten-free breadmaking can feel overwhelming, but there are tips you can follow to take away the stress.
- Use fresh yeast. This seems like a no-brainer, but it’s so important to use fresh yeast when you make any kind of bread! In addition, if you see that the yeast has not fully proofed after about 10 minutes, discard it and start again with a fresh batch.
- How to know your yeast is proofed. Fully proofed yeast will look slightly puffy and bubbly – the main thing to look for is that the yeast, water, and honey mixture has inflated in the bowl. If the yeast hasn’t inflated at all, it may be old or the water temperature was either too hot or cold.
- Check your water temperature. When you warm water to proof yeast for bread, you will want to use an instant-read thermometer to get the temperature right. Too cold or too hot can ruin the proofing process! The ideal temperature is between 105° and 115°F.
- Weigh your ingredients. In gluten-free baking it’s often helpful to weigh out your dry ingredients. In bread-baking this is even more essential! I’ve included the weight in grams of the ingredients needed in the recipe card.
- Bake the bread long enough. You’ll want to keep the focaccia in the oven so that it fully bakes. Underbaked gluten-free bread can have unpleasant stickiness inside if it doesn’t bake long enough.
Common Bread-Baking Questions
Traditional focaccia is not gluten free – like many breads, it’s made with wheat flour. But in this recipe, you’ll use a gluten-free all-purpose flour blend to make gluten free focaccia.
If your gluten free focaccia is gummy on the inside, it means you need to bake it longer. Gluten free breads need a longer baking time than regular breads and undertaking can result in a sticky, gummy interior.
Bread dough needs to be placed in a warm spot – your kitchen counter will work if your house is warm, otherwise, you can place the bowl of dough in the oven. Preheat the oven to 200℉ for 2 minutes, then turn it off and place the dough inside to proof.
How To Store Leftover GF Focaccia
Store leftover focaccia in an airtight container on the counter for up to 2 days, although it’s best the day it’s made. Gluten-free bread doesn’t last as long as regular bread, so you’ll want to eat this up quickly. You can also store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Make It A Meal
Focaccia makes a wonderful appetizer, but it’s also a nice choice to serve with dinner. Here are a few of my favorite ways to serve focaccia:
- With pasta. Gluten free focaccia is perfect for sopping up extra pasta sauce! Try it with my Gluten Free Skillet Lasagna or Penne with Tomato Cream Sauce.
- Alongside soup. Soup is another wonderful companion to GF focaccia! Dip it into a bowl of Instant Pot Tomato Soup or Butternut Squash Soup with Sage and Thyme.
- Make it a pizza! You can use GF focaccia dough as a base for pizza. Top it with marinara sauce and your favorite toppings after the 25 minutes of baking time is up, then place the topped dough under the broiler to finish cooking, heat the sauce, and melt the cheese.
- Add a salad. Bread and salad make a lovely light meal! Choose one of my refreshing salads like an Easy Greek Salad or a hearty Grilled Chicken Salad with Berries and Blueberry Maple Balsamic Vinaigrette with slices of gluten free focaccia.
Gluten Free Focaccia
Ingredients
- 2 cups, less 1 Tablespoon water /465 ml
- 1 Tablespoon honey /15 ml
- 2 ¼ teaspoon instant yeast
- 2 teaspoons psyllium husk /5 grams
- 3 ½ cups gluten free flour blend /438 grams (I use King Arthur brand)
- 2 teaspoon salt /12 grams
- 1 teaspoon baking powder /5 grams
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil /30 ml
- More olive oil for the pan
- Fresh rosemary and sea salt for topping, optional
Instructions
- Combine warm water, honey, and yeast in a large mixing bowl. Let it sit for about 10 minutes.
- Add the flour, psyllium husk, salt, baking powder and olive oil to the water mixture. Fold together with a spatula. It should be wet and soft.
- Scrape down the sides of the bowl, cover and allow to rise for 1 hour in a warm location.
- Pour 3 tablespoons of olive oil into a 9×13 pan. Transfer the focaccia dough to the oiled pan. Gently stretch the dough to fill the pan. Cover and allow to rise for another 60 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 450℉.
- Once the dough has risen, drizzle the top with more olive oil. Top with your favorite toppings – we are using fresh rosemary and sea salt. Use your fingers to dimple the top, but take care not to completely deflate the dough.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes, then turn the oven to broil and cook an additional 2-3 minutes until golden brown on top.
- Remove the bread from the pan and let it cool for 10 minutes before slicing.
Notes
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