Cherry Tomato and Rosemary Focaccia Bread

This delicious Cherry Tomato and Rosemary Focaccia Bread recipe is easy to make. Italian focaccia is served with olive oil, an aromatic loaf that is perfect for sharing with friends and family.

This recipe is good for any day of the year though, not just for the holiday season and as Christmas bread.

The toppings do not have to be arranged as illustrated in the photos, yet it’s a perfect suggestion as a Christmas side dish for this time of year.

Focaccia is a flat, Italian yeast bread with a soft and fluffy texture and a crisp exterior. Focaccia is a flat bread, and similar to pizza dough.

It’s a versatile bread that can be plain or have toppings such as vegetables, herbs and even meats.

This easy focaccia bread recipe is like the popular bread served at restaurants, the impressive and drool-worthy start to a heavenly Italian dish.

Most often focaccia bread is served with olive oil for dipping.

Homemade focaccia bread is great for beginners, and is made in less time than you’d assume.

This carbohydrate comfort food is great for special occasions for for that cozy Sunday dinner.

The end result is the best focaccia bread ever, with great flavor. I love the toppings of cherry tomatoes and fresh Italian herbs, not only for a colourful bread recipe, but for the blended tastes that makes focaccia so very addicting.

Ingredients to Make Tomato Rosemary Focaccia Bread

As you will see in the below focaccia recipe (which includes a printable recipe card), the fresh rosemary and cherry tomatoes aren’t added until the later steps as toppings.

So if you’d like to make plain focaccia bread, simply omit that step.

The simple ingredients are:

• Active Dry Yeast – if you use instant yeast, simply add it to the flour.
• White Sugar – for that hint of sweetness and helps to activate the yeast.
• Warm Water – The water temperature of the water should be 40°-43° C / 105°-110° F to activate the yeast.
• Bread Flour – gives focaccia that chewy texture, you can use all purpose flour but that will make your bread lighter and less ‘focaccia-like’.
• Salt – to season
• Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
• Kosher Salt – to season further
• Fresh Rosemary – If you use dried rosemary, add it into the dough
• Cherry Tomatoes – optional, yet gives colour and flavour.

How to Make Focaccia Bread

In a medium bowl add warm water, sugar, yeast and just 1 tablespoon of flour. Mix everything together and cover the bowl with plastic wrap at room temperature. Let this ferment for 10 minutes.

After 10 minutes has passed, transfer the yeast mixture to a large bowl of the stand mixer.

Combine flour and salt to the bowl, and stir everything together to form a homogenous dough using the dough hook.

Cover the bowl with plastic cling wrap again, and allow the dough to further ferment for 1 hour. This is the first rise.

For best results, ferment in a warm place like beside a preheated stove.

After the dough is fermented for an hour, line a baking sheet (in the shape of your choice) with parchment paper.

Place the dough ball into the bottom of the pan and drizzle with olive oil. Spread the focaccia dough out to the sides of the pan with your fingers.

Cover with a towel and wait for 1 hour to ferment again. This is the second rise.

Is allowing time to ferment necessary? Yes, and this is to allow the gluten to develop. The first and second rise are necessary for the texture. Yet it’s a do-nothing time to allow for the dough rise, which is pretty simple.

After that hour you’ll notice that the focaccia bread dough has risen well. Pour olive oil on your hands and on the dough and poke dimples into the dough with your fingers.

Don’t poke all the way down, but make little pockets for the oil and toppings to settle into.

Arrange fresh sprigs of rosemary and cherry tomatoes (tomatoes pressed slightly into bread) on the dough into form of a Christmas tree.

If you’d rather make another arrangement or focaccia bread art for any other time of year, feel free to do so. (If you are making plain focaccia bread, skip this step and go straight to bake).

The final step is to sprinkle kosher salt on top of the dough and bake in a preheated 350F degree oven for 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Other topping suggestions:

• Other herbs such as fresh thyme, basil, sage, or oregano
• Caramelized onions
• Minced fresh garlic
• Sun-dried tomatoes
• Parmesan cheese
• Crumbled feta cheese
• Olives
• Black Pepper