Gluten Free Olive and Rosemary Focaccia - a delicious Italian classic!
To label this focaccia as "fantastic" is quite a statement, but I assure you, in no way is it exaggerated. Those of you who have had to eliminate gluten from your diet will be well aware that bread which is gluten free frequently doesn't satisfy as it did in your gluten-eating days. So I am delighted to share this recipe with you, and it's one that you can confidently serve to gluten-eating friends.
I attribute the success of this focaccia to Caputo Fiore Glut, an Italian gluten-free flour created especially for bread. I live in Adelaide and buy it from Imma and Mario's Mercato, 625-627 Lower North East Road, Campbelltown.
The flour is also available at Goodies and Grains, Adelaide Central Market. If these stores are not convenient for you, you will need to search online for stockists, or perhaps purchase online. I cannot suggest alternative flour blends.
The focaccia is easily made, just mixed in one bowl, there is no tipping onto a floured bench and kneading as there is no gluten to develop. Just mix, allow the dough to rise, tip onto a baking tray and shape, let it rise again and then bake.
The focaccia looks amazing when baked so it's at this point that you will need to exercise your restraint. Prior to serving, allow the bread needs to cool on a rack to allow the crumb to settle.
Serve with antipasti, with soup or slice in half horizontally and fill with prosciutto or cheese.
Please let me know in the comments below if you make this.
xx Faye and Alex
P.S. Enjoy this delicious focaccia with our simple to make Roasted Cherry Tomatoes, Green Goddess Dip or Mediterranean Beef Stew.
Gluten Free Olive and Rosemary Focaccia
Please note:
For accuracy, when weights are provided, we recommend weighing your ingredients. This will produce the best results. All oven temperatures listed are for fan forced.
Ingredients
Dough
- 250 gm Caputo Gluten Free Flour
- 7 gm Yeast (1 Sachet)
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon olive oil extra virgin
- 125 ml butter milk
- 125 ml water tepid (make sure it isn't too hot)
Topping
- 2 tablespoon olive oil extra virgin
- 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary chopped
- 12 Kalamata Olives pitted and halved
- sea salt flakes (I use Maldon)
- chilli flakes optional
Instructions
- Place the flour into a medium size bowl with the remaining ingredients. Keep the yeast and the salt separate; the salt may retard the growth of the yeast.
- Stir vigorously and thoroughly with a wooden spoon to make a smooth batter. The dough must be quite damp. If not, add some extra water.
- Scrape the batter into a lightly oiled bowl, cover with cling wrap or a damp tea towel and prove approximately 1-2 hours or until the batter has doubled in size.
- Lightly oil a pizza tray and tip the dough onto the tray.
- Very gently shape the dough with a spoon which has been dipped in water, or, as I do, with fingertips dipped in water.Cover with a damp tea towel and let it rise for a further 30 minutes to 1 hour.In the meantime, preheat your oven to 200 Degrees C (400 F).
- When the dough has risen the second time, use your finger tips or knuckles and press dimples into the dough.
- Drizzle the dough with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and push olives into the dough. Sprinkle with chopped rosemary and some flaked sea salt.
- Bake until golden brown and crisp, about 30 minutes.
Remove from the oven and slide onto a cooling rack. - Brush again with the last tablespoon of olive oil. It gives the bread a nice sheen.
Notes
Nutrition Estimate:
Nutritional Disclaimer:
The nutritional information is an estimate only, and is derived from online calculators. For accurate results, we recommend calculating the nutritional information based on the ingredients and brands you use.
Caroline from Singapore says
Pls may I know what is purpose of xanthum gum. I have a pack in my kitchen. A friend bought me a pack knowing that I love to bake. Wud like to try making bread with it. Appreciate your info.
Alexandra says
Hi Caroline!
Thanks for your question.
Xanthan gum has many uses - in the case of gluten-free baking, it is added if the gluten-free flour blend does not contain a gum/thickener, as it gives the flour the structure and stickiness that is missing from the lack of gluten. (Many commercial blends already have it, and additional xanthan gum is not necessary - we always recommend reading the back of the packet to confirm.) If it is added, only a very small quantity is used.
You'll also find it can be added to various sauces and salad dressings - anything that needs a thickening agent. This article from Bob's Red Mill is a great resource.
Hope that helps! Kind regards, Alex
Amanda says
Delish! Couldn’t stop eating it tbh but it’s always nicer fresh 😊
I just used Woolies brand gf flour as that’s what I had, it may have made it a little tough so next time I’ll try the recommended brand for comparison.
If ever I Google a recipe an yours come up I always choose them as I know they always turn out great
Alexandra says
Hello Amanda, thank you so much for your fantastic feedback on the GF Olive and Rosemary Focaccia. I am so pleased that you enjoyed it made with Woolies flour and know you will be delighted when you try the recommended brand. I am thrilled to hear that you like our recipes - thank you so much, I really appreciate hearing that. Kind regards, Alex 🙂
Joy says
I’ve made this 3 times now and it has been amazing from the first go! Thank you for this delicious recipe that works every time. I am a regular follower as you have wonderful gluten-free recipes. Thank you!
Alexandra says
Hello Joy, thank you so much for your fantastic feedback. I am delighted that you have made the Focaccia several times and that you enjoy our gluten-free recipe. I do appreciate that you took the time to let me know. 🙂
Lisa P says
What size tray did you use, please? 1/2 sheet pan? 🙂 Thank you!
Alexandra says
Hi Lisa, I used a pizza pan, about 31cm (12 inches) in diameter. If you don't have one, I think a half sheet pan would work but it may not cover the whole pan. You can free form it, just use oiled fingers to ease the dough over the greased tray to about 1 cm (1/2 inch) thick and proceed as per the recipe. I hope this helps. Cheers, Alex 🙂
Mary White says
I’m not sure what I did wrong but my dough didn’t rise. I used Pillsbury GF flour, and I didn’t mix the salt in until all of the other ingredients were mixed because I didn’t want to kill the yeast. My dough seemed dry, so I added a small amount more water, a tablespoon at a time. I’m not good with metric measurements, so I asked Alexa to convert the grams and milliliters.
Alexandra says
Hi Mary,
I wrote this recipe using Caputo bread flour, so I can't comment on the Pillsbury flour as such, as it is not a brand I have used. (I will have to see if I can get it here, so I can give it a try).
It sounds as though your yeast didn't activate. This usually happens when the yeast has died. It may be worth buying a fresh packet of yeast?
It may have also been due to the bread being prepared in a cold environment - a warm kitchen etc is important to help with bread making.
Kind regards, Alex
kara says
Mary - the fiore glut flour used here is a Wheat with the gluten removed so it reacts completely different than a PIllsbury where it is a bunch of GF flours mixed to resemble regular flour. If you use PIllsbury, you might need to add baking powder/xantham gum
Cape says
I used the Namaste brand GF flour blend. It worked well. The only problem is that it already has xanthum gum in it and I added more, so it was kind of weird inside, but we still ate it. I'm making it today, Thanksgiving Day, 2020. I'm looking forward to a perfect couple of loaves. Thanks so much for sharing this recipe. This bread will be a lovely addition to our feast.
Happy Thanksgiving, Faye and Alex!
Alexandra says
Hello!
Thank you so much for letting us know you tried the recipe. I am so pleased it will feature as part of your Thanksgiving.
Wishing you all the best!
sarah says
HI there! Looking forward to trying this recipe. I was wondering if you could possibly clarify something for me. One of the dough ingredients is salt but in the instructions it says "Place the flour into a medium size bowl with the remaining ingredients. Keep the yeast and the salt separate; the salt may retard the growth of the yeast." So when am I supposed to add the salt? Thanks!
Alexandra says
Hi Sarah!
You add the salt at the same time as the yeast, but we recommend keeping them separate in the bowl until you start to mix the ingredients together. (We usually put them at opposite sides of the bowl)
Enjoy!
Maria says
The Dough came out amazing! I posted the pick of the focaccia bread I made on instagram and tagged you on it.
Alexandra says
Hi Maria,
Thank you so much for letting us know - we are so pleased you like this recipe!
Thank you also for tagging us. 🙂
Angela says
Hello,
I stumbled upon your blog and so happy I did. My married daughter has recently been diagnosed as Coeliac so have been researching and trialling recipes for her.
So pleased to know of this Italian GF flour. I live in Brisbane so will search online for it.
Have you made GF loaves of bread with it? Any advice and help would be greatly appreciated.
My first trial of your recipes will be the GF Pear & Raspberry Cake. Looks like it will be delicious!
Thanks so much for the time and effort you put into your blog. I am SO thankful.
Regards,
Angela
Alexandra says
Thank you, Angela - we are so pleased you came across the blog!
The GF flour is just superb - we are experimenting with more recipes at the moment, but haven't made loaves at this time. (But it is something we are keen to start testing soon!)
I hope you'll enjoy the Pear Cake - do let us know when you give it a try.
Kind regards, Alex
Kate says
I made this using Caputo Fioreglut flour and it turned out absolutely amazing, nobody could tell it was gluten free! The inside is soft and fluffy, not dense like many gluten free baked goods, while the outside is crunchy. Would make again!
Alexandra says
Kate, I am delighted that you enjoyed the focaccia. Thank you so much for letting me know. 🙂
Norma Nikutowski says
Awesome recipe. It is very easy to follow! Thank you!
Alexandra says
Hi Norma! Thank you so much 🙂 I am so pleased to hear that!
Catherine shane says
This is a perfect i love the recipe .
Alexandra says
Thank you so much, Catherine!
Josie says
I have made this focaccia twice now and it is so good. I didn't put the olives on last time and put more salt & rosemary and served with a cheese platter. For those who are gluten free it tastes just like a shop bought Italian bread.
Alexandra says
Thank you, Josie! This is great feedback. So happy to hear you enjoy it so much 🙂
Frank says
Great recipe. Unbelievable that gluten free bread could be light and airy. Has anyone tried to make this as a sweet bread instead of savoury. Maybe adding cranberries or raspberries?
Alexandra says
Thank you for the lovely comments, Frank. As yet, I haven't made a fruit version. Tuscan winemakers sometimes make a version which they top with seedless, red wine grapes during the harvest. I think a sprinkle of granulated sugar over the top prior to baking would work well. You could also increase the sugar in the dough a little if you prefer a slightly sweeter focaccia. 🙂
Rebecca says
This one is pretty high on my to-make list! Is this best eaten the day it is baked or would it be ok for a day or 2? Wondering if I could make it and put it in our lunch boxes for a couple of days.
Alexandra says
It is definitely better day 1 -
but it reheats very well! I would probably put it in the oven for five minutes wrapped in foil to freshen it up, and then allow it to cool before putting it into the lunch boxes 🙂 It is just delicious!