Gluten-Free Focaccia {Dairy-Free, Vegan}

An easy recipe for gluten-free focaccia topped with rosemary. This gluten-free Italian bread is also naturally dairy-free and vegan. 

Gluten-Free Focaccia

Gluten-free focaccia is a simple Italian yeast bread that is baked on a sheet pan. This gluten-free flatbread is both chewy and crispy. The top and bottom of the bread are crispy, and the inside of the bread has a squishy and airy texture.

Focaccia is topped with olive oil, salt, herbs, and sometimes vegetables. This gluten-free bread is often served as a side to a meal, and it can be used as a really thick pizza crust or sliced to make sandwiches.

Making gluten-free focaccia bread at home is super easy! Focaccia bread only takes 30 minutes to rise and it bakes for 20 minutes.

You can see how easy it is to make gluten-free focaccia in the recipe step photos and the recipe video.

How To Make Gluten-Free Focaccia

• Preheat your oven to the proofing setting or to 200°F. Once it gets to 100°, turn off your oven.
• In a large bowl, combine the gluten-free all-purpose flour, instant yeast, gluten-free baking powder, and salt. Stir to combine the ingredients.
• Warm the water to 110°-115°F. I microwave the water in a large glass measuring cup for 30-45 seconds. I also use a thermometer to check the temperature. If your water is too hot, it will kill the yeast.
• Add the honey or sugar to the warm water and stir until it is dissolved.
• Pour the warm water and honey or sugar mixture into the gluten-free flour mixture and mix with your mixer on low. (I used my stand-up mixer with the paddle attachment).
• Pour the olive oil and apple cider vinegar into the dough mixture and mix on low speed for 1-2 minutes until the dough starts to forms. The dough will be sticky. (photo 1)
• Place the dough in a greased ovenproof bowl (I used olive oil cooking spray) and cover it with plastic wrap. Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel and place in the warm oven for 30 minutes to rise. (photo 2)
• Remove the dough from the oven and preheat the oven to 400°F.
• Pour 1 tablespoon of olive onto the middle of a baking sheet.
• Turn the bowl over on top of the greased baking sheet. Gently pat the dough into an 8 x 10 rectangle, about 1-inch thick. (photo 3 & 4)

• Use your fingertips to press down lightly into the dough to form the dimples in the dough. (photo 5 & 6)
• Drizzle another tablespoon of olive oil over the dimpled dough. Sprinkle the top of the dough with salt and the chopped rosemary (or your herbs of choice). (photo 7)
• Bake on the top rack of the oven for 20 minutes. (photo 8)
• For a golden-brown crust, set your oven to broil, and broil the bread for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Please watch your oven because every broiler is different and you could over crisp the focaccia.
• Store leftovers in an air-tight container.
• Reheat in the oven at 375°F on a baking sheet or in the microwave.

All of the recipe’s ingredients and the recipe instructions are in the recipe card at the bottom of the page. 

Is Yeast Gluten-Free?

Most yeast is gluten-free, but some kinds of yeast do contain gluten. The most common kinds of yeast used for baking, like active dry yeast, instant yeast, and baker’s yeast are gluten-free.

Brands that I bake with are Fleshman’s Rapid Rise Yeast, Red Star Instant Yeast, and SAF instant yeast. Always check your labels.

Where Is The Best Place To Rise The Focaccia Dough?

Yeast bread rises the best in a warm location. My oven has a bread proofing mode.

When the oven is set in bread proofing mode it is at 100°F. If you do not have a proofing mode on your oven, you can set your oven to the lowest setting and turn it off once it reaches 100°F.

I have even used my toaster oven/air fryer to proof the bread. I set it to the lowest temperature. Once it reaches temperature, I turn it off.

Tips For Making The Best Focaccia Bread

• Make sure that the gluten-free flour blend you are using is recommended for yeast baking. Check the package or the brand’s website. When in doubt, it is always best to use the brand of gluten-free flour that the recipe was created with. 
• Make sure your instant/rapid yeast is fresh. If your yeast expired, you will not get a good rise.
• Do not overheat the water or you could kill the yeast.
• Make sure to rise the focaccia in a warm place. I rise my bread in the oven set to 100°F.
• Shape the dough into an 8 x 10 rectangle shape that is about 1-inch thick.
• Don’t skip the step to dimple (poke little holes) into the dough. It helps the olive oil soak into the bread.
• Bake the focaccia on the top rack.
• For a golden brown and crispy crust, broil the fully baked bread for 30 seconds to 1 minute.
• Focaccia bread is easily sliced with a pizza cutter.

Gluten-Free Flour

When working with yeast recipes, it is really important that you use the right gluten-free all-purpose flour blend. Not all blends are made for yeast recipes.

For example, King Arthur Measure For Measure states on the back of their bag that it is not recommended for yeast recipes. Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 gluten-free flour is also not recommended for yeast baking according to their website. 

I like Pillsbury gluten-free flour. Not all gluten-free flours are created equal. You may experience different baking results depending on the gluten-free flour blend you choose.

This gluten-free focaccia was made with Pillsbury gluten-free flour. It is a rice flour cup for cup blend. A cup-for-cup all-purpose gluten-free flour blend is one that already has the starches and xanthan gum.

Most gluten-free all-purpose flour blends have starches and xanthan gum already in them. The xanthan gum helps replace the elasticity and texture of gluten.

So make sure to check the ingredients of your gluten-free flour as not to add any extra xanthan gum to your flour if it already includes it. If you add extra xanthan gum to the recipe you will get gummy bread!

Pro Tip For Measuring Gluten-Free Flour

First, it’s important to use a measuring cup made for dry ingredients (not a pyrex liquid measuring cup) to measure the flour. I always measure gluten-free flour with the “spoon & level” method.

I use a spoon to scoop the flour into the measuring cup. Then I use the back of a knife to level off the top of the measuring cup.

Please do not scoop the flour out of the bag with your measuring cup. If you do, you could end up with more flour than is called for in the recipe.

Easy Gluten-Free Focaccia Bread

My gluten-free focaccia bread recipe only takes a few simple ingredients and is also dairy-free and vegan. In just a little over an hour, you can enjoy this popular Italian bread!

More Gluten-Free Bread Recipes To Try!

• Easy Gluten-Free Bread {Dairy-Free}
• Gluten-Free Sweet Cornbread {Dairy-Free Option}
• Gluten-Free Dinner Rolls {Dairy-Free Option}
• Homemade Gluten-Free Bread {Dairy-Free Option}

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5 from 16 votes

Gluten-Free Focaccia {Dairy-Free, Vegan}

An easy recipe for gluten-free focaccia topped with rosemary. This gluten-free Italian bread is also naturally dairy-free and vegan. 

Course Side Dish

Cuisine Italian

Keyword gluten-free dairy-free focaccia, gluten-free focaccia, gluten-free focaccia bread, gluten-free vegan focaccia

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

rising 30 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes

Servings 12 servings

Calories 225kcal

Author Audrey from Mama Knows Gluten Free

Ingredients

• ▢ 3 ½ cups gluten-free all-purpose flour with xanthan gum I like Pillsbury gluten-free flour. Not all gluten-free flours are created equal. You may experience different baking results depending on the gluten-free flour blend you choose. Not all brands of gluten-free flours work well for yeast baking.
• ▢ 1 packet rapid yeast/instant yeast or 2 ¼ teaspoons of rapid yeast/instant yeast
• ▢ 1 tablespoon gluten-free baking powder
• ▢ 2 cups warm water (110°-115°) (heat 30-45 seconds in the microwave)
• ▢ 1 tablespoon honey Vegan use granulated sugar.
• ▢ 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
• ▢ ½ cup olive oil
• ▢ 1 teaspoon salt, plus extra for sprinkling
• ▢ 2 tablespoons olive oil (for greasing the pan and for the top of the bread)
• ▢ 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary or 1 teaspoon of dried rosemary You can use your favorite herb in place of the rosemary. I really like a combination of garlic powder and an Italian seasoning blend too.

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

• Preheat your oven to the proofing setting or to 200°F. Once it gets to 100°F, turn off your oven.
• In a large bowl, combine the gluten-free all-purpose flour, instant yeast, gluten-free baking powder, and salt. Stir to combine the ingredients.
• Warm the water to 110°-115°F. I microwave the water in a large glass measuring cup for 30-45 seconds. I also use a thermometer to check the temperature. If your water is too hot, it will kill the yeast.
• Add the honey or sugar to the warm water and stir until it is dissolved.
• Pour the warm water and honey or sugar mixture into the gluten-free flour mixture and mix with your mixer on low. (I used my stand-up mixer with the paddle attachment).
• Pour the olive oil and apple cider vinegar into the dough mixture and mix on low speed for 1-2 minutes until the dough starts to forms. The dough will be sticky.
• Place the dough in a greased ovenproof bowl (I used olive oil cooking spray) and cover it with plastic wrap. Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel and place in the warm oven for 30 minutes to rise.
• Remove the dough from the oven and preheat the oven to 400°F.
• Pour 1 tablespoon of olive onto the middle of a baking sheet.
• Turn the bowl over on top of the greased baking sheet. Gently pat the dough into an 8 x 10 rectangle about 1-inch thick.
• Use your fingertips to press down lightly into the dough to form the dimples in the dough.
• Drizzle another tablespoon of olive oil over the dimpled dough. Sprinkle the top of the dough with salt and the chopped rosemary (or your herbs of choice).
• Bake on the top rack of the oven for 20 minutes. For a golden-brown crust, set your oven to broil, and broil the bread for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Please watch your oven because every broiler is different and you could over crisp the focaccia.
• Store leftovers in an air-tight container.
• Reheat in the oven at 375°F on a baking sheet or in the microwave.

Video

Notes

• I like Pillsbury gluten-free flour. Not all gluten-free flours are created equal. You may experience different baking results depending on the gluten-free flour blend you choose. Not all brands of gluten-free flours are recommended for yeast baking. 
• Store leftovers in an air-tight container.
• Reheat in the oven at 375°F on a baking sheet or in the microwave.

Nutrition

Serving: 1slice | Calories: 225kcal | Carbohydrates: 28g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 8g | Sodium: 197mg | Potassium: 109mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 5IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 69mg | Iron: 1mg

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