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impress your guests this summer with strawberry focaccia! thick fluffy homemade bread, with thinly sliced and roasted strawberries, and a balsamic maple glaze on top. crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside.

Focaccia is my absolute favorite bread. I cannot resist it. So fluffy and chewy, crispy, and golden nothing compares. Even better it is so easy to make at home!! This strawberry focaccia is the perfect summer variation. Slightly sweet but perfect to share with guests for a dinner party or summer gathering. It looks absolutely stunning and everyone will be so impressed.

Focaccia Making

While focaccia isn’t hard to make it does require some rising time. It has a double rise which is what will allow it to get that super fluffy and beautiful inside. Focaccia is very easy to knead by hand or you can use a stand mixer. Also, focaccia and olive oil love each other so make sure you are ready to use a decent amount of olive oil. You can make your focaccia thicker or thinner by using a large baking pan but I prefer it to be super thick!

Olive Oil Choice

Typically, I would want say to use extra virgin olive oil for focaccia. Like in this sea salt focaccia recipe. However, because this is a slightly sweeter non traditional focaccia I prefer to use light olive oil. Personally, I didn’t want the focaccia to be overpowered with an EVOO flavor I really wanted the strawberries to shine through. If you prefer EVOO you of course can use it just make sure you use high quality oil.

Bread Flour VS All Purpose Flour

To make our strawberry focaccia I recommend using bread flour. You can use all purpose flour as well. However, bread flour has a higher protein content with of course naturally lends itself better to making bread. It results in chewier, fluffier bread. I tested the recipe with both and both ways come out great but I do love using the bread flour if you have it on hand. It is also great for making cakes! I have not tested this recipe using gluten free flour, but my friend Britt has a great recipe for GF and vegan focaccia.

Proofing Tips

Before I started blogging I was actually really scared to make bread. I thought it was hard to make. Now don’t get me wrong making stunning loaves of perfect bread is a bit of an art but things like this are totally in your wheelhouse, I pinky promise. The part that scared me was proofing dough. I felt like mine never proofed right but here are some tips to help you.

Make sure your yeast is alive. Of course an easy way to ensure this is to use non-expired yeast. If your yeast is 1 to 2 months old (even up to 3) I would say it is safe. You can always test your yeast as well. If you need to learn how to do that check out this article.
Water temperature is important. Yeast needs certain temperatures to work. If you use active dry yeast you need to make sure your water (or any liquid you use) is the proper temperature for the yeast to bloom. I prefer instant yeast I don’t need to be as particular about water temperature i just usually use warm water from my sink.
Proofing temperature is important. My favorite place to proof is in an turned off oven with the light on. It yields the best results in my house. Everyones home is different. Different times of year, like winter vs summer, can also affect the time you need to proof. So, don’t go based just on time but also on size.
You don’t necessarily need a long proof in the fridge… I know there are plenty of recipes that will tell you to proof in the fridge and do a lot of overnight cold proofing. While this will create a bubbly, air filled dough you don’t need to do that to create delicious focaccia.

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