Mini Loaf Pan Focaccia

Made with just one cup of flour (120 grams) this small batch focaccia recipe makes a single mini focaccia that bakes up golden brown and fluffy on top with a crispy bottom in a standard loaf pan.

It's become a favorite in The Practical Kitchen community for good reason! Many readers have shared their favorite creative mini focaccia toppings and many have had success making this with certain brands of gluten free flours, too. See comments below!

This small batch focaccia recipe is perfect for when you want focaccia but don't want to use up 4-6 cups of flour satisfy that craving. It's so good as a side with soup or pasta but also great for making sandwiches or slicing into breadsticks for dipping.

This mini loaf pan focaccia is part of my "small batch recipes" series. I love these little breads because they're the perfect size bread recipe if you're single or live alone and are cooking only for yourself, or if you're cooking for you and just one other person. It's also great if there are any ingredient shortages or if you just want to avoid using up all your best baking ingredients.

For a full size version of this recipe, check out my thick and fluffy overnight focaccia.

Get Ready to Be Obsessed With Mini Focaccia

This small batch focaccia recipe uses just one cup of all-purpose flour. That's 120 grams of flour, which you should definitely measure by weight using a kitchen scale. I have provided volume (cups) measurements at the end of this blog post, but you'll have the best and most consistent results if you measure by weight.

The recipe uses about 3 grams (1 teaspoon) instant yeast, which means one packet of yeast (7 grams / 2¼ tsp) can make two mini loaves of focaccia.

To develop gluten and give the focaccia strength and structure, this recipe uses a technique called folding to "knead" the dough.

To build strength and trap air bubbles in the dough, you'll do folds every 15 minutes for 30 minutes (two sets of folds), letting the dough rest in between, which is great because it's very hands-off for you!

One of my favorite things about this mini focaccia is that it's a gateway bread for so many beginner bakers. So many readers have told me it cured their fear of bread making — it wasn't long before they felt confident enough to try making more complex or recipes like my overnight bagels or basic brioche bread!

Focaccia is a very olive oil-forward bread, so I do like using a bold-flavored olive oil for this mini focaccia because iI want to enjoy that delicious EVOO flavor. I also really like using focaccia as a canvas for infused and flavored olive oils! Think chili oil, garlic oil, rosemary oil, etc.

One reader told me they used this recipe to make a scallion pancake-inspired mini focaccia with sesame oil, topped with scallions and sesame seeds. Genius!

Instructions

Mixing this small batch mini focaccia dough is very simple and doesn't require any fancy equipment. If you have a bowl, a spatula, and at least one hand, you can mix this focaccia dough. Also, I believe in you. And you are capable of making great bread.

Start by mixing the dry ingredients together.

Once the water is absorbed, fold the dough over itself a few times to get the flour to hydrate a bit more. It will be quite messy and sticky. That's normal; don't panic. Just get the dough in a loose ball in the bottom of the bowl. Cover and let it rest for 15 minutes.

A Modified "Slap-n-Fold"

The "slap and fold" is a technique used to add structure and strength to bread doughs in place of kneading. It's particularly useful for very sticky, high-hydration doughs.

Usually it's done on a countertop, but because this mini focaccia recipe is so small, I like to do a modified version of the slap and fold right in the bowl.

The dough will get easier to fold each time as it builds strength and structure. Make sure you're rotating the bowl 90 degrees (a quarter turn) between folds so that the gluten is being stretched in all directions.

As you repeat the folding and resting process, you're building a criss-cross network of gluten inside the dough that will trap air bubbles and enable the dough to rise. If you only fold in one direction, the dough won't have the strength it needs.

Gently stretch the dough into a vaguely rectangular shape in a loaf pan. It won't fill the whole bottom of the pan, that's okay. It will fill out the pan as it rises.

Drizzle the dough with a little more olive oil, and rub some olive oil on your fingers too. Now, it's time for the most fun step of all: DIMPLING.

Press your fingers down into the dough until they touch the bottom of the pan. Spread your fingers slightly when you hit the bottom of the pan to push the dough into the corners.

Cover the loaf pan and let the focaccia rise again in a warm spot. The dough will rise and bubble up in the pan. When the dough has doubled in size, it's ready to bake. Go by what it looks like, not the time on the clock.

Right before baking, drizzle one more glug of olive oil across the focaccia and add any herbs or finishing salts you want to use.

Practical Tips & Recipe Notes

• I usually top this mini focaccia with Maldon Sea Salt Flakes, but you can use any finishing salt you like. You can also top it with fresh herbs, veggies, or anything else you want (I've even done it as a mini version of my onion and pepper focaccia!). 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!
• If you ARE planning on using any heavier toppings — onions, tomatoes, etc — put them on the dough after dimpling but before the final rise. That way when the dough rises one last time, it rises around the toppings and secures them in place.
• I used a 9x4" (1 lb) loaf pan but you can use a 9x5" 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.
• Yes, you can bake this mini focaccia in a toaster oven! You can actually skip the loaf pan in this case too. Drizzle olive oil on your toaster oven's sheet pan and plop the dough out there after the final set of folds. The focaccia may end up a little thinner and crispier as it will spread out into an oval shape rather than a perfect rectangle. It may also need a slightly shorter bake time, so check it after 15 minutes just in case.

BONUS: Weight to Volume (Cups) Conversion + Instructions

I really resisted including volume measurements here, because measuring your ingredients with a kitchen scale is much more accurate and will give you the right ratio of dry and liquid ingredients so that the focaccia dough behaves the way you want it to.

I tested and developed this recipe using weight measurements for accuracy. I can't promise how it will turn out if you measure with cups because not all measuring cups are the same! That said, I am making a rare exception because of how popular this recipe is and providing them for you here. **Please read this carefully!!**

• To properly scoop flour in cups: Stir and fluff the flour in your container well so there's plenty of air in it. Use a spoon to gently spoon the flour into the one cup measure, then sweep any excess off the top. The cup should feel pretty light and the flour should not be tightly packed into it. Think of it more like a ⅞ths cup.
• To properly measure water: Use a liquid measuring cup. Place it on a flat surface, fill with water just until the water reaches the correct marker when you look at it at eye level.
• To properly measure with measuring spoons: Scoop dry ingredients flat, do not use heaping scoops. Olive oil should not overflow the rim of the measuring spoon.

Here are the mini focaccia volume measurements (use at your own risk):

• 1 scant cup all purpose flour, well aerated and properly scooped (see above)
• ⅓ cup warm water
• 2 ¼ teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 ¼ teaspoon sugar
• 1 ¼ teaspoon Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt (use ½ teaspoon of any other brand of salt)
• 1 teaspoon instant yeast

Troubleshooting: If the dough seems overly dry, use wet (instead of damp) hands to mix the dough to incorporate more water or add water ¼ teaspoon at a time until the dough looks right. If the dough seems overly wet and isn't developing strength as you fold it, very lightly dust in more flour as you do the folds.

If you measure with cups and the recipe did not turn out right, that is likely why the recipe did not turn out right. Try again!

📖 Recipe

UPDATE 4/12/21 — A huge thanks to my volunteer recipe testers Beth, Sarah, Lisa, Cecile, Kelly, Rachel, and Christine who gave this a try after someone commented that the dough was "impossible to handle." They gave me some great feedback and sent so many gorgeous photos of their own focaccia loaves.