No-Knead Tomato & Thyme Focaccia

Making bread is one of the most rewarding and relaxing pastimes, and this no-knead tomato and thyme focaccia is an ideal place to start. (We’re allll about no-knead bread recipes!) This springy, flavoursome focaccia recipe is so simple that it will pull you into the world of making your own bread for life. Swear. You’ll also get to eat some beautifully tasty carbs while you’re learning this lifetime baking skill, so it really is a win-win situation.

This is the latest in our series of tasty recipes that feature just 7 simple ingredients. They are all super tasty and can be made by people of any cooking ability.

You can also change the toppings up depending on what you have on hand. Rosemary? Black olives? Basil? Think of the bread dough as the tapestry on which you can get creative!

No-Knead Focaccia Bread: Ingredients

• 5 cups plain flour (all purpose flour is also good!)
• 6 tbsp quality olive oil
• 1 tbsp salt (plus extra for sprinkling on top)
• 2 tsp dry yeast
• 1 tsp honey
• Small plum or cherry tomatoes
• Thyme

Add the yeast, salt and honey to 2 1/2 cups of lukewarm water. Mix it up well and let stand for 4-5 minutes.

Add in the 5 cups of flour to the water mixture.

Mix well into a soft dough and when you have the dough shaped into a rough ball, add 6 tablespoons of olive oil (the better quality the tastier your focaccia will be!). Turn the dough around in the oil so that it is fully coated.

Cover the bowl with a lid or clingfilm and let it rise for at least 8 hours in the fridge (we left ours in overnight!) or 3-4 hours at room temperature. The dough should double in size.

Once it’s risen, gently fold over the edges of the dough into the middle, repeating a few times so that it is ‘folded down’ on itself.

This is the easy “no-knead” part!

Butter a baking tray to make sure it doesn’t stick, and add extra olive oil in the middle.

Place dough on the tray, turning once so that it is covered yet again with olive oil. Allow to rest at room temperature for 1 hour.

Chop up your tomatoes lengthways (you want to place them in the dough so that the tomato juice does not spill into the dough itself) and pluck the thyme stalks.

Pre-heat your oven to 450°.

Stretch the dough out to fill the tray and press your fingertips deep into the dough to make holes in it. Your fingers should almost reach the bottom of the tray. Add the tomatoes and thyme to the dough, along with a generous sprinkle of crunchy salt flakes.

Place into the oven on the middle tray at 450° and bake for 25-30 minutes until golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Brush with extra olive oil, slice into squares or rectangles, and enjoy!

There you have it: authentic Italian tomato and thyme focaccia in a few easy steps.

If you likes this recipe check out our Big 7 Food Instagram account for more of the same.