Focaccia Bread

Focaccia is a flat Italian bread that is similar in taste and texture to pizza dough, but is often square-shaped and topped with herbs, olive oil and sea salt. It’s great for making sandwiches, and can also be used as a pre-made crust for pizza. We love to top this airy bread with everything from caramelized onions and artichokes to blue cheese and pears. Here, our best focaccia recipes.

Chef Marco Canora makes this focaccia with freshly milled, small-batch whole-wheat flour. Slideshow: More Flatbread Recipes

In a class at Point Reyes's new culinary center, students learn to top focaccia with pears and blue cheese.    More Bread Recipes  

At The Sentinel, Dennis Leary's riff on a Reuben uses locally made corned beef and fresh focaccia, but the sandwiches are just as delicious with top-quality deli corned beef and store-bought flatbreads.    More Tasty Sandwiches  

Paul Kahan serves dishes like spicy pork rinds at his Chicago restaurant, The Publican, but he was game to create a healthy alternative. His idea: a focaccia made with spelt flour, which is high in protein and gives the bread an appealingly hearty texture. Instead of using an excessive amount of cheese or meat, he tops the focaccia with tangy marinated kale, soft and sweet slices of winter squash and a few shavings of nutty, salty pecorino cheese.  Restaurant Coverage from F&W Editors    Great Italian Recipes  

Jessamyn Waldman makes her excellent focaccia rolls from a dough she learned while baking at New York City's Restaurant Daniel. When she sells the rolls at farmers' markets, she varies the toppings by season; she uses potato and rosemary in the winter and tomatoes and feta in the summer.    More Bread Recipes