No-Knead Focaccia — The Easiest Bread You’ll Ever Make

Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 25 minutes (+ 18 hours resting) | Servings: One 30x20cm slab

I come from a world of laminated doughs, precision pastry, and exacting technique. So when I tell you that focaccia is the easiest bread you’ll ever make, I mean it as a profound compliment to the recipe — not a diminishment of bread baking. No-knead focaccia achieves something that taken most bakers years of practice to replicate: an open, airy crumb with a crisp, olive oil-soaked crust, achieved through nothing more than time and a good folding technique.

I started making no-knead focaccia during the slower months at a boutique hotel property, and it became the bread I recommend to every home cook who wants to understand fermentation without the complexity of sourdough.

Table of Contents

Ingredients

500g strong white bread flour
7g instant yeast (1 standard sachet)
10g fine salt
430ml lukewarm water (around 32°C)
4 tbsp good extra virgin olive oil, divided
1 tsp honey
For the top: Flaky sea salt, fresh rosemary, olives (optional)

Method

Step 1: Mix the Dough

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, yeast, and salt. In a separate bowl or jug, combine lukewarm water, honey, and 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Pour the wet mixture into the dry and mix with your hands or a dough scraper until no dry flour remains. It will be a shaggy, sticky mess — this is correct. Do not add more flour. Cover with cling film or a damp tea towel and leave at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Step 2: Stretch and Fold

This replaces kneading. With wet hands, grab one side of the dough, stretch it up as high as you can without tearing it, and fold it over the top. Rotate the bowl 90° and repeat. Do this 4 times (one full rotation = one set). Perform 4 sets of stretch-and-folds, 30 minutes apart. By the end of the fourth set, your dough will be noticeably smoother and more elastic.

Step 3: Cold Ferment Overnight

After the final fold, drizzle 1 tablespoon of olive oil into the bottom of a 30x20cm baking tin and spread it around. Place the dough in the tin. Cover and refrigerate for at least 8 hours, ideally 18–24 hours. The cold slows fermentation down, allowing the flavour to develop slowly and the gluten structure to relax completely. This overnight rest is where the magic happens.

Step 4: Second Rise

Remove from the fridge and bring to room temperature for 2 hours. During this time, the dough will relax and spread to fill the tin. Dimple the surface aggressively with your fingers — go deep, right to the bottom of the tin. Drizzle generously with the remaining olive oil, making sure it pools in the dimples. Scatter flaky salt and rosemary.

Step 5: Bake

Preheat oven to 230°C / 210°C fan. Bake for 22–25 minutes until deeply golden on top and the bottom is crispy when you lift an edge. Cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes before cutting — if you cut too early, the interior steam hasn’t finished redistributing and the crumb will be gummy.

Pro Tips

Olive oil quality matters enormously: This is one of three ingredients. Use the best extra virgin olive oil you own. The flavour is front and centre.
The wetter, the better: A wetter dough produces larger, more irregular air pockets. If your dough seems unmanageably sticky at first, that’s good.
Toppings go on just before baking: Adding toppings too early causes them to sink into the rising dough or burn before the bread is cooked through.

Chef’s Note: In Italian focacceria tradition, the dough is often mixed with a small amount of semolina (I substitute 50g of the bread flour with fine semolina) which gives the crumb a slightly more structured, chewy texture and adds a golden colour to the crust. Try it when you’ve mastered the basic recipe — it adds an extra dimension to what is already a brilliant bread.

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