Your New Obsession: Foolproof Focaccia With a Crackly Crust and Pillow-Soft Middle

Crackly at the edges, cloud-soft in the middle. That is the focaccia I want on the table when dinner needs a little theater and I refuse to fuss. It plays well with soup, salad, a cheese board, whatever is lingering in the fridge. The fun part: you can keep it classic with rosemary and garlic or dress it up with olives and cherry tomatoes. Here is exactly how to get that airy crumb inside and a bronzed, dimpled top outside.

What you need

• Wheat flour - 500 g, sifted
• Warm water - 300 ml
• Olive oil - 40 ml, plus more for greasing
• Fresh yeast - 20 g (or dry yeast - 7 g)
• Sugar - 1 tsp
• Salt - 1 tsp
• Fresh rosemary - a few sprigs
• Garlic - 2 cloves, thinly sliced
• Large cherry tomatoes - 6 to 8, halved (optional)
• Pitted olives - 10 to 12 (optional)

How to make it

Step 1: Wake up the yeast. In a bowl, stir the sugar into the warm water, then add the crumbled fresh yeast (or the dry yeast). Give it a gentle mix and let it stand 10 to 15 minutes until it looks foamy.

Step 2: Mix and knead. In a large bowl, combine the sifted flour and salt. Pour in the yeast mixture and 30 ml of the olive oil. Knead until the dough feels soft and elastic. Adjust with a touch of flour or water if you need to fine-tune the consistency. A light tackiness is perfectly fine here.

Step 3: First rise. Move the dough to a lightly oiled bowl, cover with a towel, and set it somewhere warm for 1 to 1.5 hours. It should roughly double in size.

Step 4: Shape. Gently deflate the dough and transfer it to a lightly oiled rectangular or round pan. Press and stretch it to fit, leaving a slightly uneven surface. Those little hills and valleys are your friend.

Step 5: Dimple and top. Press deep dimples all over with your fingertips. Drizzle over the remaining olive oil (about 10 ml), and add a little more if the surface is not lightly glossed. Scatter the halved cherry tomatoes, the olives, rosemary sprigs, and the thin garlic slices. Let it rest 20 to 30 minutes for a quick second rise.

Step 6: Bake. Heat the oven to 220 C. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the top turns golden. Let it cool briefly, slice, and serve warm.

Small pro tip

If the dough feels stickier than you expect, oil your hands instead of working in extra flour. That keeps the interior airy and open. And those fingertip dimples are not just for looks: they catch olive oil and a pinch of coarse or flaky salt, help everything bake evenly, and give focaccia its signature texture.