Onion Focaccia Recipe

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Onion Focaccia is a soft flatbread that you dimple with your fingers.

Salt, oil and herbs flavour this delicious pizza-like bread served warm with stews and soup. There is absolutely no cheese used to make this Onion Focaccia.

For the newbies, Focaccia is one of the easiest bread to make, a beginners bread. I began my yeast journey with this delicious and simple focaccia.

This week in the Foodie Monday BlogHop we are doing the #222 Mystique Mediterranean, where we attempt making the foods from Mediterranean Diet a theme that I suggested.

My affair with the Mediterranean Diet is quite a recent one, in fact, I have been trying to read up on it for the last 2 years.

The reason being our health problems and since the Mediterranean diet is based on the heart-healthy food consumed in the Mediterranean  Sea area. This food uses a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains and pulses, nuts, seeds and fish along with with poultry an occasional glass of red wine hence it is ideal for us.

Especially true for as my hubby has problems with spicy and masala in food and  I cannot eat without masalas Mediterranean Diet is a happy compromise between us.

So to sum up in a Mediterranean Diet you avoid refined flours and grains, refined oils like soybean, sweets with sugars like pastries, aerated drinks, processed meats.
What you can eat plenty are legumes, vegetables, fruits, whole grains, nuts and seeds, potatoes, herbs, spices, fish, seafood and EVO extra virgin olive oil.  You can eat once a week or moderate amounts of cheese, eggs, yogurt and poultry.

To adapt the Mediterranean diet to suit my Indian pantry and pocket

• I use olive oil to drizzle or when I make focaccia/pizza.
• I buy local produce so as to reduce our carbon footprint, poultry and fish are eaten out of the home so it is easier.
• The best way to reduce my hubby cheese consumption is that I hardly buy any. 
• Soft drinks and wines etc we hardly have any at home so it is only when we go out. Even then we prefer the Goan Futi Kadhi or Sol Kadhi as our drink.

But now let us make Onion Focaccia for which you will need

Extra-virgin Olive Oil: All the flavour of good focaccia will depend on Extra-virgin Olive Oil.  Along with flavour, it gives a texture to the bread. Invest in a good EVO to get the flavour from your focaccia.

Herbs: Fresh garlic and herbs are essential for good focaccia. Use garlic, rosemary, thyme fresh is good but in case you do not have access to fresh herbs use the dried substitutes.  I have used garlic only this time.

Yeast, sugar and warm water: Any bread depends on the combo of the three to give the bread a good structure. Yeast is a living fungus that needs warm water and the sugar to grow and flourish. In case you want to substitute sugar use honey.

Flour: Maida/All-purpose flour is perfectly okay to make focaccia, use bread flour if you do not mind a chewy bread.

Salt:  Use it to season the bread, without salt your bread is tasteless.

Onions: As we are making onion focaccia we will need onions sliced. You can also caramelise the onions to make caramelised onion focaccia bread.

Since I forgot to take the process shots I will walk you through my steps add the pictures later.

• Crush the garlic, you can also mince it up. In case you are using fresh herbs chop them up too.
• Sift the flour add sugar and yeast together. Add the salt in the opposite end along with the herbs and garlic( I know I will be mixing it all up but still I do this step and believe my bread rises better because of it. ) Mix well.
• Add the warm water and mix the dough up. The water needed will differ from flour to flour so add a little at a time.
• Knead on a  lightly floured surface till smooth and elastic. This is the best step in bread making all my frustrations, anger my misgivings go away as I knead the dough. Form a smooth ball.
• Cover with cling film and let the dough rise and double in size. About 30 minutes to 1 hour we live in a hot and humid place remember.
• Press the dough in the oiled mould, cover and let it rise for 1/2 an hour.
• Slice 2 onions and sprinkle with salt. Separate the individual petals.
• Preheat the oven to 200C/400F, make holes on the surface of the dough about 1 inch apart.
• Scatter with salted onions and oil. Bake.

In case you are using the food processor to mix the dough

• Run the processor with the dry flour for 1/2 minute then add the water. Be careful add little water at a time.
• Once the dough comes together let it run for 4-5 minutes. 
• Form a ball then follow the steps

The recipe in detail is below.

Print Recipe

5 from 4 votes

Onion Focaccia

No cheese Onion Focaccia, is one of the easiest bread to bake, soft and delicious with soup, stew. Ideal for your Vegan Guests

Prep Time15 mins

Cook Time40 mins

Rising time1 hr

Course: Appetizers-Starters, Brunch, Dinner

Cuisine: Mediterranian Cuisine

Keyword: Bread, Flatbread, Focaccia Recipe, Onion Focaccia, Yeasted Flatbreads

Servings: 1 loaf

Author: ArchanaPotdar

Equipment

• Oven
• Baking tray
• Chopper

Ingredients

For the Focaccia Bread:

• 3 cups flour
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp sugar
• 1/2  tbsp instant yeast
• 2 garlic cloves crushed
• 2 tbsp Extra virgin olive oil
• 225 ml  warm water

To topping:

• 1 onion sliced thin
• 1/2 tbsp salt
• 1-1/2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Instructions

• Crush the garlic, you can also mince it up. I used only 2 garlic cloves use more if you feel like a more garlicky bread.
• In case you are using fresh herbs chop them up too.
• Sift the flour add sugar and yeast together. Add the salt in the opposite end along with the herbs and garlic( I know I will be mixing it all up but still I do this step and believe my bread rises better because of it. ) Mix well.
• Add the warm water and mix the dough up using extra water if the dough is dry. (The water needed will differ from flour to flour so add a little at a time).
• Turn out on a surface lightly floured and knead the dough till smooth and elastic say about 10 minutes and form a smooth ball.
• Transfer the dough to a clean lightly oiled bowl. Cover with cling film and let the dough rise and double in size.
• Oil a baking tray press the risen dough in the mould cover the dough with a damp tea towel and let it rise for half an hour. I used an 8-inch mould use a 10-inch is recommended.
• Slice 2 onions and sprinkle with salt. Separate the individual petals and keep covered.
• About 10 minutes before the end of the 1/2 hour preheat the oven to 200C/400F.
• Make holes, on the surface about 1 inch apart in the dough.
• Scatter the onions and as the onions are salted you need to add more salt. Drizzle the water too on the focaccia bread.
• Bake for 25-30 minutes till the top is well done.
• Cool on the wire rack.
• I served onion  Focaccia with green peas soup.

Variation of Onion Focaccia

• You can caramelise the sliced onions in a little oil and salt before adding to the focaccia.
• You can add herbs like rosemary, thyme, sage to the dough. Use fresh if you have and access to them else use dried ones.
• Use cherry tomatoes, olives, sun-dried tomatoes, cheese for an extra taste. Bake till the cheese is done and looks bubbly.

Serving Focaccia

• Serve any focaccia, especially onion focaccia with soups like  Protein-Rich Broccoli and Almond Soup Recipe,  Simple Pumpkin Soup.
• Stews Vegan Lebanese Chickpea Stew.
• Make a sandwich, since mine is thicker than the regular focaccia today I will make a pizza. Top it with olives, corn, sun-dried tomatoes, feta cheese.

Storing Focaccia

Focaccia stores well in the fridge and freezes well too. Keep your focaccia in the fridge covered in cling film. If storing in the freezer wrap some foil too.  Use up the focaccia within 2 days if refrigerated and within 1 month if frozen.

If you like bread then these easy bread recipes are for you

• Whole Wheat Focaccia with Peppers, Tomatoes, Olives and Dried Rosemary
• Focaccia Pugliese or Potato Focaccia Pugliese
• Focaccia
• Maneesh – Middle Eastern flatbread

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