Crispy Focaccia Bread with Garlic Herb Oil

Today we are introducing everyones favorite Crispy Focaccia Bread recipe. Seriously, it’s everyones favorite. Long thin crispy focaccia sticks with a slight chew and perfectly crunchy bottom.

Baked in only 5 minutes flat, this focaccia is fast in the oven, easy, and frankly, quite dreamy. Hot from the oven, we’ll brush this crispy flatbread with an aromatic mix of toasted garlic, olive oil, and fresh herbs. Ready to make it?!

Guysss I am so excited about todays recipe!! I have been making this focaccia for a couple years now. It started as a holiday tradition and then we started craving it during the year(weekly, daily?!).

This focaccia recipe isn’t that trendy thick fluffy bread you poke your fingers into. That focaccia is great, and… this is just different! Each piece of this bread is long and thin, and so crispy you won’t know where to stop.

For a fluffy focaccia recipe, try this Easy Overnight Focaccia.

The Story 

Years ago, when I was studying dance at the Jerusalem Academy, I had a night job with a girlfriend at one of  the cities top-rated restaurants. The Eucalyptus, run by chef Moshe Basson, is to this day, one of the only restaurant I recall and literally start drooling about.

A toxicating mix of Middle Eastern flavours, the menu was something I pored over and muttered in my sleep to memorise, and the goose breast with sweet wine and fruit still comes to me in my dreams. And the focaccia!! The pastry and dessert chef, Abu Fadi, was a wonderful old Arab man who made the best chocolate soufflé… and perfect focaccia.

This recipe is an ode to the “house bread” at Eucalyptus, something that pairs perfectly with dips, and is practically begging to be your meal starter.

How long does crispy focaccia take to make?

Each crispy flatbread will only be baked in the oven for 5 minutes!  Because we are baking at a very high heat of 480 F(250 C) this bread doesn’t need a lot of time to bake at all.

BUT the dough does need to rest overnight. Don’t worry!!! I promise, the decision to make this recipe the night before will be the best thing you did for yourself all week.

How to make crispy focaccia

This crispy focaccia is made in a few steps. Mixing the dough, letting it rest, shaping the breadsticks, and baking it at a very high temperature.

1.Mix the dough.

I like to use my Kitchen Aid stand mixer, but you can do this by hand as well(it will be a slight arm workout!)

Mix yeast with water. When you see bubbles forming on top of the water, you know the yeast is at work.

Add sugar, which helps the yeast to do its job, and plain white sifted flour. If what you have on hand is bread flour, you can substitute with that, although I personally always use regular all purpose flour for this focaccia recipe!

Knead for 7 minutes. The last minute, we’ll add the salt and extra virgin olive oil. Olive oil adds a lovely rich flavor to the dough, so no substitutions!

2. Rest the Dough

Transfer dough to a greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rest 20 minutes.

Punch the dough down, and shape.

This focaccia recipe makes 15 long flat breads. They are longer and not so wide- kinda great for personal eating fun! My kids loveee snacking on them.

I use a simple handy kitchen scale to weigh each piece of dough so they are equal. Each will be 50 grams.

You can eyeball it, but totally get a kitchen scale! It’s also great for weighing challah strands when you’re’ making this perfect challah recipe.

Place the balls of dough on a large baking tray lined with parchment paper, cover it with plastic wrap, and place them in the refrigerator for 24 hours, or overnight.

3. Herb Oil.

To make the herb oil, lightly sauté finely minced garlic in olive oil over a low flame, until the garlic gets nice and fragrant.

Let this cool and then add the salt and fresh herbs- parsley, basil, and thyme. If you have rosemary, you can use some of that as well, and if you don’t have fresh herbs, substitute with dried!

4.Baking time! The best time!

When you are ready to eat, preheat the oven to high heat. Heat up a baking brick, pizza stone, or use my favourite home baking bread trick- a baking sheet turned upside down!

This is important to make the bottom of the bread super crisp.

You MUST preheat the baking sheet before placing the focaccia on or they will stick to the pan and be harder to remove. Once preheated(give it ten minutes), it is time to shape the focaccia. 

5. Shaping the focaccia:

One at a time, take a ball of dough and using the middle two fingers on both hands, begin to gently stretch the dough from the centre of the ball. Work slowly so it doesn’t rip.

Once the dough is about the length of your hand, stretch the width by pulling out from the centre. Continue stretching out the length until it is long and thin- around the same length as the short side of your baking sheet. If the dough is sticky, dip your fingers into the olive oil.

The centre of each flat bread will be thinner than the edges. Start, and as you work with each piece of dough you will get better at making them uniform.

If you try this recipe please give it a star rating below and be sure to add any of your special comments. Readers(and me!!) love hearing how things come out in your own kitchen. Happy cooking!