Focaccia Barese -- The Bread We Bake for Ordinary Evenings

Luis and I sat on the porch after dinner. The evening was quiet. The desert sky went from pink to purple to dark. We held hands — briefly, the way we always hold hands, not dramatically but factually, the fact of two people who have been holding hands for thirty years and who hold because the holding is the marriage, not the ceremony. The porch. The sky. The hands. The enough.

When Luis and I came inside that night, the house still held the warmth of the day, and I didn’t want anything complicated — just something that asked me to be present and patient, the way the evening had. Focaccia Barese is the bread I turn to for nights like that: slow, generous, unhurried. You press your fingers into the dough, and it pushes back just a little, and somehow that feels like the right conversation to be having.

Focaccia Barese

Prep Time: 20 min (plus 1.5 hr rise) | Cook Time: 25 min | Total Time: ~2 hrs 15 min | Servings: 8

Ingredients

• 3 1/2 cups (440g) all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tsp instant yeast
• 1 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 1/4 cups warm water (about 110°F)
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for the pan and drizzling
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1/2 cup pitted Kalamata olives
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• Flaky sea salt, for finishing

Instructions

1. Make the dough. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, yeast, salt, and sugar. Add the warm water and olive oil. Mix with a wooden spoon or your hands until a shaggy dough forms, then knead briefly in the bowl for about 2 minutes until mostly smooth. The dough will be soft and slightly tacky.
2. First rise. Cover the bowl with a clean kitchen towel and let the dough rise in a warm spot for 1 hour, or until roughly doubled in size.
3. Prepare the pan. Generously coat a 9x13-inch baking pan with olive oil — about 3 tablespoons. Transfer the risen dough to the pan and gently stretch it toward the edges. If it springs back, let it rest 5 minutes and try again.
4. Second rise. Cover loosely and let the dough rest in the pan for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C).
5. Dimple and top. Using well-oiled fingertips, press deep dimples all over the surface of the dough. Scatter the cherry tomatoes (cut-side down) and olives evenly across the top. Drizzle generously with olive oil, sprinkle with dried oregano, and finish with flaky sea salt.
6. Bake. Bake for 22–25 minutes, until the top is golden and the edges are crisp and pulling away from the sides of the pan. The bottom should be deeply golden when you lift a corner.
7. Rest and serve. Allow the focaccia to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before cutting into squares. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 280 | Protein: 6g | Fat: 10g | Carbs: 41g | Fiber: 2g | Sodium: 420mg