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cheesy focaccia bread recipe easy recipe
Appetizer | Bread | Side Dish

Cheesy Garlic Focaccia Bread

Cheesy Garlic Focaccia Bread is the perfect crispy bread recipe that you've been searching for. Crispy on the outside, soft on the inside, this focaccia is covered in melty cheese and delicious garlic butter sauce. It's a perfectly indulgent side dish, perfect for dipping in soup or marinara sauce.


Prep Time30 minutes
Cook Time30 minutes
Total Time11 hours
Yield12 servings

INGREDIENTS

Focaccia
  • 1 ¼ tsp active dry yeast*
  • 1 tsp honey**
  • 1 ¼ c warm water
  • 2 1/2 c bread flour***
  • 2 tsp sea salt
  • ¼ c extra-virgin olive oil (divided)
Garlic Butter Topping
  • 8 tbsp butter
  • 1/4 c parsley (chopped)
  • 6 garlic cloves (grated or minced)
  • 1 1/2 c mozzarella cheese (shredded)
  • 2 tbsp finishing salt (like Le Saunier de Camargue Herbes De Provence Fleur de Sel)

INSTRUCTIONS

Cheesy Garlic Focaccia Bread
  • Mix the yeast, honey, and water together in a large bowl. Allow to sit for 5-10 minutes until the mixture gets foamy and yeasty. If your yeast doesn't foam at all at this point, toss it out and try different yeast.
  • Add the flour and salt to the bowl, and mix everything with a large spoon or spatula until a rough dough forms. The dough may still seem wet and lumpy, but it should hold together.
  • Drizzle about 2 tbsp of olive oil on top of the dough, and gently turn the dough in the oil so it’s coated. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge overnight (8-24 hours), or, if you're in a hurry, on the counter for at least four hours. The dough will double in size.
Garlic Butter
  • Meanwhile, prepare the garlic butter by melting the butter in a small pan over medium heat. Add the minced parsley and garlic. Cook for about 1-2 minutes. You just want to wilt the parsley and soften the garlic a bit, but be careful not to burn it. Remove the pan from heat and allow it to cool slightly. Transfer the garlic butter to a bowl and set aside.
Cheesy Garlic Focaccia Bread, cont.
  • Grease an 8x8 baking dish with butter. Set aside.
  • Once the dough is risen, drizzle an additional 2 tbsp of olive oil on the dough and give the dough a quick knead to deflate it in the bowl.
  • Turn the dough out onto a lightly oiled counter. Pat it into a rough rectangle (the dough will still be a little sticky).
  • Using a sharp knife or bench scraper, divide the dough in half, and then cut six pieces from each half for a total of twelve pieces of dough.
  • Working one at a time, form the dough pieces into balls and dip them in the garlic butter, turning them so they're coated on all sides. Lay the dough snugly in the baking dish so they're touching. Reserve any leftover garlic butter, setting it aside.
  • Allow the dough to rise, covered, for about 2 hours.
  • Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 450 F degrees.
  • Oil your hands and poke deep holes all over the dough. Don’t be shy–you want there to be lots of holes that touch the bottom of the pan!
  • Bake the bread for about 15 minutes. Remove the focaccia from the oven and sprinkle the mozzarella on top. Return to the oven and bake for 15 more minutes, until golden brown.
  • Brush the hot focaccia with leftover garlic butter and sprinkle with the finishing salt.

Notes

*My ride-or-die yeast brand is Saf! This yeast has never failed me. It's very active and my breads rise perfectly with this yeast.
**Feel free to substitute the honey with equal parts white sugar or maple syrup, if vegan.
***I have also made this recipe with all purpose flour, and while the focaccia tasted great I prefer the texture that I get from bread flour.