This recipe makes a super fluffy focaccia topped with caramelized onions, shallots, and garlic, plus herbs and the French favorite, gruyere cheese! This easy no-knead yeast bread makes a delicious appetizer or side dish, or a treat for brunch. You could also add a fresh salad to make it a light meal. All it takes is a head start to allow for the dough to rise overnight or all day, plus 2 more hours before it goes in the oven, and you'll be enjoying this shareworthy savory goodness in no time.
Focaccia comes from the Roman word, ‘focacious,’ meaning ‘fireplace’ or ‘center.’ But, you don’t have to make this bread over a fireplace and certainly not in the center of a room! A cast iron skillet or Dutch oven will do just fine. It’s a flavorful yeast bread made in the oven and topped with allllllll the savory goodness.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
You can make the dough in one bowl with simple ingredients and no kneading, making it an easy focaccia recipe - even for beginners.
This onion focaccia bread has a super soft and fluffy texture, and each piece is smothered with caramelized onions and shallots, herbs, and cheese - a French onion focaccia of sorts!
It can be baked ahead and warmed at the last minute - a sure way to impress your guests. It’s a lovely addition to a wine tasting party, a special dinner, or your next game day get together. Pair with our 2020 Chardonnay or 2020 Pinot Noir!
Onion and Gruyere Skillet No-Knead Focaccia
Serves 6-8
Inspired by Jim Lahey no knead bread
Suggested wine pairing: 2020 Chardonnay or 2020 Pinot Noir
INGREDIENTS:
4 c unbleached bread flour and/or unbleached all purpose flour + more if needed (we prefer to do ½ bread flour and ½ all purpose flour
2 tsp + ½ tsp kosher salt
1 tsp instant yeast
~2 c water
2-3 Tbsp olive oil
1 onion, thinly sliced
3 shallots, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2-3 sprigs fresh thyme and rosemary, chopped
~ 6 oz gruyere cheese, grated
Fresh ground pepper and salt
SPECIAL TOOL NEEDED:
Ideally, you'd use a 8-9 inch cast iron pan or Dutch oven, but could be done with a baking sheet if need be.
DIRECTIONS:
Combine flour, yeast, and salt in a large bowl. Add 2 cups water (it should be about 70°F - room temp) and stir with your hands until combined. You’ll have a shaggy, sticky dough; add a little more water if it seems dry. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rest for 8-18 hours at room temperature (a couple of hours less if your kitchen is warmer; a couple more if it’s cool). The flavor gets better the longer you wait. Optional: After the first 30 min rest, stretch and fold the dough*. The dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles.
Next, lightly flour a work surface, transfer the dough to it. Grab one edge of the dough, and fold it over itself once, then grab the opposite side and fold over on itself. It will be soft but not terribly sticky once dusted with flour. Cover loosely with plastic wrap, let rest about 15 minutes.
Using just enough additional flour to keep the dough from sticking, gently and quickly shape the dough into a ball. Generously coat the bottom of a cast iron pan (or Dutch oven) with olive oil. Carefully pick up the dough and set it in the pan. Cover with another cotton towel (or plastic wrap) and let rise for about 2 hours. When it’s ready, the dough will be doubled in size. Note: We highly recommend trying the rest of Jim’s recipe. It makes a wonderful artisan loaf of bread! But here’s where we split off from his recipe to do our own thing...
While the bread is rising, sauté onions and shallots with 2 tsp of olive oil and ½ tsp salt and pepper over low-med heat for about 5-10 min. Then add garlic and herbs to same pan and sauté for about 3-4 min. Set aside.
Preheat the oven to 450° for 30 minutes to make sure it’s really hot. Drizzle the dough with olive oil, then dimple with your fingertips. When the half hour is up, put the pan into the oven and bake for approx 25 min. It will be a light golden brown. Remove bread from oven and sprinkle the cheese on top, and then the onion mixture. Place back in the oven for 10-15 min or until the internal temp is 200°. If you want the topping to be a little darker or with a slight char feel free to broil it momentarily, but watch it closely!
Let cool for about 15 min, slice, and serve warm. Enjoy with a lovely glass of Chardonnay!
*Optional tip: Try a few “stretch and folds” in the bowl because dough is fun to work with! During bulk rise, you have the option to perform a series of ‘stretch & folds’ to strengthen the dough. Start 30-45 minutes into the bulk rise. Gather a portion of the dough, stretch it upwards and then fold it over itself. Rotate the bowl ¼ turn and repeat this process until you have come full circle to complete 1 set. Do this once or twice spaced about 1 hour apart. Although this step is not mandatory, it will increase the total volume and height of your bread.
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