This mini loaf pan focaccia is the second entry in my “scaled down recipes” series. Previously I shared my recipe for a single (epic) cinnamon roll and I had so much fun making it that I just had to try scaling down another one of my faves.
My deep, abiding love for focaccia is well documented, but that doesn’t mean there’s not room for another recipe. We’re now officially about three months into this “new normal” of social distancing, and though flour is easier to come by, there’s still a lot of places where it’s hard to find.
This focaccia recipe is perfect for when you want focaccia but don’t want to use up 4-6 cups of flour satisfy that craving.
This recipe uses just one cup — ONE CUP! — of flour. That’s it! And the final version of the recipe uses a heaping 1 tsp of yeast, which means one packet of yeast (2¼ tsp) can make two mini loaves of focaccia.
With a loaf this small, I usually either slice it into thin ~2″ strips and eat it like a breadstick, dipping it in soup or as a side with spaghetti, but it’s also a fantastic sandwich bread.
For sandwiches, you’ll want to slice it across the middle so you have two square-shaped halves of the loaf. Then slice them in half, separating the dimpled top from the crispy bottom and fill them with your favorite sandwich toppings.
Because of how oily and salty focaccia is, it’s best eaten on the same day you make it. The salt draws moisture out of the bread, which means after 24 hours it becomes quite dry.
To develop gluten and give the focaccia strength and structure, this recipe uses a technique called folding to “knead” the dough.
In early versions of the recipe I was doing folds every 5 minutes, but that made the gluten too tight and the dough didn’t relax nicely into the pan.
The final version of the recipe calls for folds every 15 minutes for 30 minutes (two sets of folds) which is extra nice because it’s much more hands off for you!
a few quick notes
- Yes, making a loaf pan focaccia does take slightly longer than my recipe for a full-size focaccia but there are good reasons for that: 1) because this is so small, when I tried adding more yeast to speed up the rising time you could taste the yeast which was unpleasant and 2) the scaled down dough is too small for an electric mixer, so the gluten is developed by folding the dough over itself a few times during the first 30 minutes of the rise time. It’s also worth pointing out this is still a much faster recipe than any of the full-size no-knead variations by several hours.
- I topped this with garlic salt that I brought back from a trip to the Wieliczka Salt Mine in Poland a few years ago, but you can use any flaky salt you like. You can also top this with fresh herbs, veggies, or anything else you want. Just remember that the dough has to work harder to hold heavier toppings up, so if you’re planning on using anything heavy (whole cherry tomatoes, etc.) less is more!
- I’ve written the recipe below using weight measurements in grams because when you’re working with such small quantities, a little too much of one ingredient or a little less of another can radically change your outcome. So if you have a kitchen scale, you’re definitely going to want to use it here. I did include volumetric measurements (cups, teaspoons) because I find them useful just to have in mind as I’m measuring with the scale, but I don’t encourage using them if you don’t have to.
- I used a 9×4″ (1 lb) loaf pan but you can use a 9×5″ pan (1.5 lb) if that’s all you have. Just know that the dough might not stretch out into all the corners in the larger pan.
- This recipe uses Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt which has larger salt grains than your standard sea salt, kosher salt, or table salt. If you’re using a salt brand other than Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt, double the amount of salt.
loaf pan focaccia [scaled down recipe]
Ingredients
- 120 grams all-purpose flour (1 cup, loosely packed and leveled off)
- 5 grams diamond crystal kosher salt (¾ teaspoon) (use 2x as much of another brand)
- 3 grams instant yeast (1 teaspoon)
- 5 grams sugar (1 teaspoon)
- 10 grams olive oil (2 teaspoons)
- 90 grams water, lukewarm (⅓ cup)
- additional oil for the pan and drizzling on top
- additional salt and/or herbs for topping
Instructions
- Combine flour, salt, and sugar, in a medium sized bowl and mix with your hand to evenly distribute. Make a well in the center and add warm water. Sprinkle yeast on top and let bloom for 30-60 seconds. Add oil, then use a fork or small spatula to stir the liquid in the center, slowly incorporating flour from the sides of the bowl until a shaggy, sticky dough forms.
- Switch to your hands or a bowl scraper and begin folding the dough. Fold the top edge of the dough forward over the center of the dough and press down to anchor it in place. Rotate the bowl 90 degrees and repeat several times until the dough is cohesive and no lumps or dry spots remain. If the dough sticks to your hands or the bench scraper, dip them in water or coat them in a small amount of oil.UPDATE 3/10/21 — with the revised recipe adjustments, the dough is too sticky to pick up and fold as seen in the video. Just fold it over itself in the bowl.
- Cover the dough and let it rest 15 minutes. Then repeat the folding process. Let it rest for 15 minutes, then fold again. Again, if the dough sticks to your hands, dip them in water or coat them in a small amount of oil.
- Spray a loaf pan with cooking spray, then drizzle in approximately 1 TBSP olive oil. Transfer the dough from the bowl to the pan, using oiled fingers to gently stretch the dough into a loose rectangle shape. It won't reach the edges of the pan yet. Cover and let rise at room temperature (70°-75°F) 1 hour.
- After an hour, the dough should have increased slightly in size. Oil your fingers and dimple and stretch the dough into all the corners of the pan. Press your fingers down into the dough until they hit the bottom of the pan, then spread them out. It's okay if you tear the dough in a few places.Cover, and let rise for another 30-60 minutes until the dough is airy and bubbly and has filled in the bottom of the pan.
- During the final 30-60 minutes of rising, preheat the oven to 400°F with a rack in the center position.(If your loaf seems to be rising slowly, place the loaf pan on top of the preheating oven so the yeast benefits from the residual heat.)
- Right before placing it in the oven, drizzle on a little more olive oil and sprinkle the surface of the dough with flaky salt, herbs, or any toppings of your choosing, and bake for 20 minutes until golden brown on top.If after 20 minutes it's still looking pale, bake for an additional 5 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and run a knife around the edges to loosen the dough and turn it out onto a cooling rack. Let cool at least 15 minutes before slicing.
Video
Notes
- If you are using a different brand of salt, use half the amount. Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt has larger grains and you need less of finer salts to achieve the same results.
- You may need up to 1 TBSP more water if your dough feels very dry. The best way to incorporate water into your dough is to wet your hands or the bowl scraper while doing your folds. It’s better to err on the side of less water rather than more.
- Original recipe: Had only 77 grams water and 3 grams of sugar. Folded 3x every 10 mins for 30 mins. Baked at 425°F instead of 400°F. Rest of the recipe follows exactly.
Hi !! Can I use whole wheat flour for the recipe?
I haven’t tried it, but a good rule of thumb for using WW flour in any recipe is that you can replace up to 25% of the flour with WW flour. That would mean replacing 30 grams of the AP flour with WW flour. So you’d use 90g AP and 30g WW flour here. I wouldn’t recommend using all whole wheat flour, because it’s a much tougher flour that absorbs a lot more water — it’s very rare that whole wheat recipes use entirely WW flour. You may also need to add a little bit more water or use wet hands… Read more »
I am always looking for SMALL recipes – I live alone and just don’t fancy a whole loaf or a dozen cakes.
This baked up perfectly. It is tender and just yeasty tasting enough . Thank you a billionty times ; i have bought my last delivery pizza.
Yum!!! I’m so glad to hear that. 🙂 Looks great, thank you for sharing a pic!!
Love this scaled-back recipe! I don’t normally attempt to bake bread, but this is one I am ready to try! Thank you.
You got this!!!
Excellent. Crispy on the outside and tender on inside. Perfect size.
Enjoy the bread!!!
the dough was just too sticky to work with.. I’ve tried spraying oil on it and watering my hands but it’s just unworkable what a shame
I’m sorry it didn’t work for you! There’s a couple reasons you may have had this issue: 1) Did you measure using a scale? 2) And with the updated recipe the dough is much wetter and sticker — you’re not going to be able to pick it up and fold it in your hands the way I do in the videos (I’m working on updating the videos!). You can use a bowl scraper to fold the dough over itself in the bowl without picking it up. Also, you’re not supposed to spray oil on the dough — just rub a… Read more »
Just made the bread this morning and the smell of it baking it woke my teenager up. It lives up to the beautiful scent. crispy but not hard on the bottom crust fluffy inside. Might eat a loaf for my lunch. Putting the olive oil in the bottom and not skimping gives a delicious flavor. Made one with Herbes de Provence + salt and one with just salt. Both yummy.
This recipe is so cool if you just want enough fresh focaccia for one or two people (and looks so impressive for what’s very little effort)