Stovetop & Oven

Roasted Cherry Tomato Focaccia

Name: Roasted Cherry Tomato Focaccia Bread
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 210 min
Ingredients: 2 cups warm water (90°F, divided); 2¼ teaspoons active or instant dry yeast; 2 tablespoons sugar; 2 tablespoons olive oil; 2 teaspoons salt; 5 to 5½ cups all-purpose or bread flour; 1 pint cherry tomatoes; 3 shallots (sliced); 1 to 2 cloves garlic (thinly sliced (optional)); 2 tablespoons olive oil; 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar; ½ teaspoon dried oregano; 6 fresh basil leaves; salt and freshly ground black pepper

Roasted Cherry Tomato Focaccia is as pretty as it is delicious. Serve it alone, with an olive oil dip or as the bread in a sandwich.

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Roasted Cherry Tomato Focaccia bread in a baking pan on a cooling rack with a red and white striped towel.

What is Focaccia?

When it comes to bread, focaccia is one of the best. It’s a flat, Italian yeast bread that is somewhat similar to pizza dough, with a soft texture inside and a more crisp exterior. It can be plain, baked with rosemary or topped with vegetables like this roasted cherry tomato focaccia. It can be served alone with some olive oil to dip into, or sliced and used for a sandwich. If I’m sitting at a restaurant and a bread basket arrives, the focaccia will always be the first thing I’m drawn to. In San Francisco, I used to trek down to the North Beach area to buy focaccia from Liguria Bakery – the famous family-run bakery that has been making only focaccia for over 100 years, and worth travel of any distance. Focaccia is special and it’s also a lot of fun to make at home.

Two white ramekins, one with instant yeast and one with active dry yeast.

Instant vs Active Dry Yeast

First things first. Focaccia starts with yeast. There are several different varieties of yeast on the market these days, and they can cause some confusion, so let’s clear that up first. The two main yeast varieties you will find are active dry yeast and instant yeast. Active dry yeast (pictured on the bottom in the photo above) needs to be dissolved in lukewarm water before being added to dry ingredients. Instant yeast (pictured on top in the photo above) is milled into smaller particles and can be added directly to the dry ingredients. Instant yeast is also sometimes called rapid-rise and because it activates faster than the more coarse active dry yeast, rising times are quicker.

The good news is that you can use either yeast for this recipe. If you were making large commercial quantities of something, you would need to adjust the amount of yeast depending on which you are using, but when making a smaller quantity, just use a 1:1 ratio. If you are using active dry yeast, however, just know that it might take a little longer to rise.

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Two dishes of yeast proofing on a counter top.

Proofing Yeast

Regardless of which yeast you use, however, it is important to know that your yeast is still active before you start. To do that, you need to proof the yeast by mixing it in a little lukewarm water with a little sugar. It takes 10 to 15 minutes, but the yeast should froth as in the photos above (instant on top and active dry yeast on the bottom in the photo above). This is a sign that the yeast is active and ready to go. If it doesn’t froth, you should start with new yeast and be thankful that you didn’t waste your time and ingredients by skipping the proofing step!

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Focaccia Dough

I love making doughs – I truly do. I think they are magical and beautiful as they come together and change as you knead them. This recipe offers you a choice of using all-purpose or bread flour and gives a range of 5 to 5½ cups. I always use bread flour when I’m making breads, but you might only have all-purpose flour on hand. The difference between the two will really come down to how much flour you add. Because bread flour absorbs more liquid than all-purpose flour, you won’t need to add as much to the dough to get it to the right consistency. That right consistency is really something that you get used to. You always want to start by adding as little flour as you can and then add enough flour to get the dough to a stage where you can handle it without it sticking too much to your hands. If you’re using a stand mixer, a dough of the right consistency will clean the bowl for you – the dough will form a ball and the bowl will be relatively free from flour. You’ll know when you’ve kneaded the dough enough because it will feel like a horse’s nose (soft and smooth) and you should be able to stretch a small part of the dough out without it tearing.

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Roasted Cherry Tomatoes

This roasted cherry tomato focaccia takes regular focaccia and tops it with beautiful and flavorful tomatoes that have been roasted in an herby balsamic dressing. These tomatoes are so sweet and delicious – perfect with soft tender focaccia, but delicious tossed in pasta or on a crostini too. You could use all red cherry tomatoes or a mix of colors. Either will brighten up this focaccia and give it a burst of flavor on top.

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Focaccia Dimples

One of the distinguishing features of focaccia are the dimples on top. These dimples are made with your fingertips and the dough rises around them as it bakes. These dimples also make perfect pockets for the roasted cherry tomatoes and any olive oil that you drizzle on top.

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Unbaked roasted cherry tomato focaccia in a baking pan.

Topping Focaccia

Roasted cherry tomato focaccia is obviously topped with roasted cherry tomatoes, but you could vary the topping. You could keep it simple with just some olive oil, garlic and rosemary, or you could add sliced olives. Even some julienned salami and cheese would work nicely. Just make sure whatever you put on top won’t burn. Be ready to cover it with some aluminum foil if it starts to get too dark.

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Roasted cherry tomato focaccia bread on a cutting board cut into pieces.

How to Serve Focaccia

Once you have your beautiful tray of focaccia, you have to decide how you will slice and serve it. You could cut it into small squares and enjoy it on its own or as a side with some pasta. Or, you could cut big squares, slice them in half horizontally and use them to make a sandwich (shaved ham is particularly nice!). Or you could cut it into strips and serve it with olive oil to dip into. If you want to make a simple but delicious herbed olive oil dip, add ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil with 1 tablespoon each of fresh parsley, fresh oregano and fresh basil, a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes, 1 tablespoon of grated Parmesan cheese and some freshly ground black pepper. Delicioso!