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My gluten-free focaccia bread recipe only takes a few simple ingredients and is also naturally dairy-free and vegan. In just a little over an hour, you can enjoy this popular Italian bread with its signature fluffy texture and crispy top. I love this gluten-free focaccia recipe!
Gluten-Free Focaccia Recipe
This gluten-free focaccia bread is my definition of a simple recipe. The dough comes together easily, and I love that I don’t need any fancy bakeware to make it. I bake mine on a sheet pan slathered in olive oil and fresh herbs. It makes a great side dish, pizza crust, or sandwich bread!
Ingredients
- Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour with Xanthan Gum: I recommend Pillsbury gluten-free. You may experience different baking results depending on the gluten-free flour blend you choose. Not all brands of gluten-free flour are recommended for yeast baking.
- Yeast: Helps the bread rise to become light and fluffy. I like Fleischmann’s RapidRise yeast or Red Star Quick·Rise instant yeast.
- Baking Powder: Gives the yeast an extra boost so the bread rises.
- Water: Adds moisture to the dough to hydrate the flour.
- Honey: Feeds the yeast to help it become active. For a vegan option, use granulated sugar.
- Apple Cider Vinegar: Helps to create a moist and tender crumb. You can substitute with lemon juice.
- Olive Oil: Helps create a light, moist, and springy texture and a crunchy brown crust.
- Salt: Enhances the natural flavor of the bread.
- Rosemary: Adds a delicious herbal flavor. Feel free to substitute for your favorite herb or spice.
Tips and Suggestions
- Measure your flour using the spoon-and-level method to avoid a dense, dry focaccia.
- 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.
- 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.
- Focaccia bread is easily sliced with a pizza cutter.
Why Is My Dough So Soft?
Focaccia dough is a high-hydration dough, so expect it to be soft and sticky! Couple that with gluten-free flour, and you may start to wonder if you’re making a cake or bread. My best advice is to trust the process. There’s no complicated shaping here, so let the dough do its thing. It will turn out!
Why Did My Focaccia Stick To The Pan?
If your focaccia stuck to the pan, you need to use more olive oil. Don’t be shy! Really slather both the pan and the bread in olive oil to prevent sticking.
Can I Use This Focaccia To Make Pizza?
Yes! You can top and bake the risen dough, or you can bake off the focaccia, then add your sauce and toppings and bake again to melt the cheese. The possibilities are endless!
Storage Instructions
Store leftover gluten-free focaccia bread in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days or in the freezer for up to 2 months. Let thaw at room temperature before enjoying.
More Gluten-Free Bread Recipes to Try!
- Easy Gluten-Free Bread
- Gluten-Free Bread Machine Bread
- Gluten-Free Dinner Rolls
- Gluten-Free Sourdough Bread
- Gluten-Free Flatbread
- Gluten-Free Baguette
Gluten-Free Focaccia
Ingredients
- 3½ cups gluten-free all-purpose flour with xanthan gum
- 2¼ teaspoons rapid yeast/instant yeast, 1 packet
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 2 cups warm water*, 110-115°F
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 10 tablespoons olive oil, divided (½ cup + 2 tablespoons)
- 1 teaspoon salt, plus more for sprinkling
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary, or 1 teaspoon dried
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.
- 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 ½ cup of olive oil and apple cider vinegar into the dough mixture and mix on low speed for 1-2 minutes until the dough starts to form. 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 8×10-inch 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.
Video
Notes
- *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.
- Measure your flour using the spoon-and-level method to avoid a dense, dry focaccia.
- 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.
- 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.
- Focaccia bread is easily sliced with a pizza cutter.
- Store leftovers in an air-tight container.
- Reheat in the oven at 375°F on a baking sheet or in the microwave.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
How To Make Gluten-Free Focaccia Step-by-Step
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 3½ cups of gluten-free all-purpose flour, 2¼ teaspoons (1 packet) of instant yeast, 1 tablespoon of baking powder, and 1 teaspoon of salt. Stir to combine the ingredients.
Add 1 tablespoon of honey or sugar to 2 cups of 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 ½ cup of olive oil and 1 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar into the dough mixture and mix on low speed for 1-2 minutes until the dough starts to form. 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 8×10-inch 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 1 tablespoon of chopped fresh 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.
I don’t know if anyone has asked this yet…
How much Xanthan do I add to the flour? The all-purpose flour I use doesn’t have it in it. I buy them separately.
Hi JayJay, we usually recommend 1/8 teaspoon.
I followed this recipe exactly and it did not turn out well ended up going to the trash. it was very dense and dry but the flavor seemed fine. I went over the steps again after making this to see if I missed anything and realize the dough was said to be sticky and that may have been the mistake. The dough didn’t rise at all probably because it was so dry. I should have added more water because 2 cups that was called for definitely wasn’t enough the dough wasn’t sticky at all. I may give this recipe one more attempt and make sure the dough is sticky. The reason I’ll try again is because the reviews are good. if it turns out good next time I’ll make another review. Recipe should either weigh out flour I think instead of measuring, I think that could have been why too my dough didn’t turn out well and it wasn’t enough water?
Hi Mindy, we provide metric measurements in the recipe card and highly recommend using them in GF baking whenever possible for the best results. It sounds like you may have packed too much flour into your measuring cups, which can cause this bread to turn out dense and dry. We recommend using the spoon-and-level method to measure flour to help avoid this issue. Depending on the brand of GF flour you use, you may also need to make adjustments to the amount of water used in the recipe, as different brands require different levels of hydration. We recommend looking at the video and/or step-by-step photo instructions for reference on how the dough should look!
I just made this recipe, It was awesome! I used Krustyz gluten free flour bc that’s all I had. I did have to use about a half cup more flour bc it was really sticky. It was still sticky, but much more manageable! It came out crispy on the outside and soft and airy on the inside! Thank you for sharing this recipe! I will definitely make this again!! This would be awesome bread for a grilled cheese with tomato soup! 🤤
I’ve made your focachia bread recipe at least a half doz times and it is a great hit with everyone.
The instructions were very easy to follow, and the bread turned out amazing!! Maybe a slight bit doughier/denser than expected, but I’m sure that’s on me for over mixing or using the wrong flour blend.
Highly recommend trying this recipe!
Made is recipe EXACTLY as written. Used Robin Hood GF flour which claims can be used for bread making. It looked fantastic coming out of the oven. Unfortunately it had no flavour, was cake-like and over all wasn’t good at all. Tossed it in the compost. Maybe it was the GF flour?
Hi Debbie, we recommend Pillsbury gluten-free. You may experience different baking results depending on the gluten-free flour blend you choose. Not all brands of gluten-free flour are recommended for yeast baking.
Absolutely delicious recipe!! I have been making this recipe from Mama’s cookbook for several years, always with delicious results. But I made it today using her updated recipe and the results were delicious and amazing. I used KA Measure for Measure and no one could tell that the bread was GF. The bread cooked up golden brown and crispy on the outside but soft and chewy on the inside. Mama definitely knows Gluten Free and Dairy Free!!
Awesome recipe, turned out perfectly! I added chopped jalapeño peppers on top with chopped fresh rosemary and oregano, delicious!
Honey is not vegan.
Hi Marine, if you take a look at the ingredients section of the post, we state that for a vegan option, you can swap out the honey for granulated sugar.
Came out perfect! Moist on the inside, crunchy on the outside. The honey added a touch of sweetness and the fresh rosemary made it super flavorful!
My son loves this bread. We’re going to try using it as a pizza crust since he likes thick crust and all of the store bought pizza crusts are thin.
Hi Michelle, make sure to check out our gluten-free pizza crust recipe (click here!), too!
Your post says cover with a kitchen towel but in your pic it’s obviously covered with plastic wrap. So did u do both?
Hi Kim, as stated in the recipe, “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.”
This is amazing and perfect for gluten free ppls trying to live without bread and make out themselves!
tried this recipe with Krusteaz gluten free flour. I don’t have a stand mixer so I used my hand mixer with the dough blades. the dough was very very sticky, like biscuit dough, but it rose. when i turned it out into the pan, thrre was no way to dimple it. Baked it and it’s denser than I would like. what did I do wrong?
Hi Michelle, we used 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.
our pastors daughter made this for alshWednesday, and it was wonderful so I plan to make it myself.
I tried this and it was still pretty raw and dense in the middle after 25 minutes – any tips for cooking this at altitude? (I’m in the Denver, Colorado area)
Hi Becki! I would suggest baking the focaccia for 5 to 10 minutes longer.
Outstanding!!! My husband loved it. I used Maldon salt on the top. It baked beautifully and the crispy edges were wonderful. Joann
My husband is gluten free and I have made it my mission to make him good gluten free food. I decided to take the risk of making this focaccia and we were blown away! Mama Knows Gluten Free has become my go-to site for gluten free breads. Thank you for this delicious recipe!
I’m a big focaccia lover, and this recipe made me so happy! It’s easy to make and really good! Thanks so much!!
I’ve made this multiple times and LOVE it. I’m now seeing how I can be creative with it. What do we think? Use it as a pizza crust base? Like bake halfway add toppings and bake until done? Do we think it’ll work or will it collapse? Any suggestions would be appreciated!
I’ve used this foccacia bread as pizza crust and it turned out amazing! My husband requests it all the time. I’ve mixed some dried basil, oregano, and garlic into the dough before spreading it out and it makes for an even better pizza crust that way!
My twins were diagnosed with a wheat allergy and my italian self was heartbroken!! We made homemade focaccia every friday night and I was devastated to give up this tradition. Enter “mama knows gluten free” and omg even my sicilian mother admitted she likes the GF recipe better!! I have made it several times for guests and everyone loves it! I have made many other recipes and this is my go to site for GF recipes. love Love LOVE!!
I made this tonight for dinner and it was a HIT!!!! We might have made ourselves sick eating too much because it was so delicious. 🙂 Thank you for sharing this recipe 🙂
I’m a relatively recent gluten free girlie (3rd year in) and I so miss good bread. This recipe totally satisfied my craving! I demolished about a quarter of the loaf (can one call it a loaf?) straight out of the oven. I have no regrets.
We used KA Measure for Measure and it turned out really well despite the fact that it’s apparently not optimal for yeast-baking. I also put Jacobsen flaky garlic salt and Trader Joe’s white truffle olive oil on it in addition to the rosemary. Just so good!
I just mix all the dry separately except the yeast, put all the wet in the bread maker pan, put flour/dry on top with yeast last. Put in bread maker on dough, put on baking sheet and bake. My grandson absolutely loves it just as is!
brilliant recipe but totally dangerous as I can’t stop eating it now 🤣. best bread I’ve had since having to go gluten-free, bravo 👏👏
I have not made this recipe yet, but plan too. I have made several of your recipes and they have been good. You are one of my top reliable sources for good gluten free recipes. And I learned my lesson early on about flours and use the flours you used with the recipe. I must say, however, I am always amused at the comments on any recipe when they say something like ‘love this recipe. I used X instead of X, left out Y, and ………’. How do they know if they loved your recipe when they didn’t follow the recipe! Same goes for if they change the recipe, it’s a flop and then they say the recipe wasn’t good! Their recipe wasn’t good, but they have no idea about yours because they didn’t make your recipe. This not only happens here, but on any recipe site.
To all those who are going to change the recipe and then review, start your own recipe website and let others change your recipe!!! 🤣🤣
I made it for a gluten/dairy free friend & she loved it. I used Cup4Cup & the Doug was very wet after I did the raise & turned it onto the pan but it still baked perfectly at 20 minutes. I added 1 tsp garlic powder to the dry before I made the dough & I used a mix of dried herbs that I had on hand, about 1 1/ 2 – 2. tsp total & it turned out fantastic!
This is a few months later after your comment, Kathy, but Cup4cup has milk in it, FYI 🙁 Just in case you need to make anything else for your dairy free friend.
The Focaccia recipe that came to my email box today from you has slight variations from my copy of your EVERYTHING cookbook, c 2019. Eg. Today’s web version calls for 3 1/2 cups gluten-free all-purpose flour with xanthan gum, an extra cup from your cookbook, but both indicate the recipe makes 12 servings.
Which of these two recipes do you recommend I use?I like that the sodium level is significantly lower in the recipe on the web since our sodium must be limited.
I was diagnosed with allergies to both gluten and dairy in my late 30’s. Our two now-grown children and their children developed these allergies as babies. My husband developed these allergies when he was near retirement age. Thank you for the time and energy you gave to developing your EVERYTHING G-F AND D-F COOKBOOK and MAMA website. It’s the best of any I’ve seen in my over 50 years of searching.
Hi Ann! I recommend that you bake the recipe from the website as it is the updated recipe. Thank you so much for buying my cookbook and your kind and encouraging words. You are so welcome I love sharing the recipes I make for my family and helping others.
Hi Ann! Thank you so much for your kind words and encouragement. I would recommend baking the recipe from the website, since it’s the most updated recipe. You are so welcome I love sharing the recipes I make for my family and helping others.
I used King Arthur GF flour and this was so easy to make. I find dimpling is much easier when you’ve poured and spread some of the olive oil on top. It’s going in the oven now!
Reduced the oil and water slightly, mixed with Minimalist bakers GF mix, and rubbed black garlic with coarse salt on top. Unbelievably great. Thanks for another winning solution for gf/df luxury!
I made this twice. First time was a dismal failure. My own fault. Second time…PERFECT! It’s so good, you can’t tell it’s gluten-free. I used Presidents Choice All Purpose GF flour blend. I found that if I oil my hands with olive oil, I get nice dimples.
I love this recipe, my family loves this recipe. I use King Arthur cup for cup and it works beautifully. The dough is much softer than pictured here using this flour. I let it mix for 4 minutes once all the ingredients are added and I let it rise in the stand mixer bowl. I bake it in a glass baking dish for 30 to 40 minutes and it’s delicious! (Glass is best with KA flour)
I’ve made this a few times and it’s really good! I just use 1/4c of olive oil instead of 1/2c
Easy to follow recipe , delicious results! I used cup4cup flour and honey . Also the dough was sticky so it didn’t really dimple when I pressed lightly it peaked a bit still came out delicious! Baked it for 20 minutes and broiled for 1 min 20 sec
Cup4Cup Multipurpose flour or a different Cup4Cup flour? They have quite a few gf flour blends.
Hi Doreen! I bake with Pillsbury gluten-free flour. It is a cup for cup all-purpose flour gluten-free blend with xanthan gum. Cup4Cup is a brand of a gluten-free all-purpose flour blend. It has milk powder in the blend, so I have not test baked with it.
Amazing!!! My husband and I are so excited to finally be able to enjoy bread again!!! I used King Arthur 1-1 gluten free flour and followed the recipe as instructed. My bread turned out perfectly. Thank you for such an EASY and delicious bread recipe!!!
Fantastic! I can have chewy delicious bread again! I will be trying flavor variations and using this instead of attempting pizza dough or rolls in the future. And some of it is going to get toasted in cubes and used in a Focaccia Panzanella recipe with fresh summer tomatoes. Thank you so much for an easy and delicious bread!
Thank you for a fabulous, easy recipe…………….I will definitely make this more often! If I can manage, this recipe successfully, then so can all the other idiot bakers……………love from South Africa!
This is great and now a regular side dish. THANK YOU from Australia 🙂
This is the best bread ever!!!! It is soooo good! Whenever I make it for my family they always end up devouring it as soon as it gets out of the oven! Also, you can add different stuff on top. Sometimes I won’t add any spices and I will put jam on the bread, it’s so good.
Mine came out perfect! This was my first attempt at yeast bread. I didn’t have a mixer, so I just used a spoon and a bowl. I was a little worried because my dough was stick and wouldn’t ‘dimple’. It was more like stalagmites. But it worked out.
This focaccia recipe has been on repeat at our house for the last few months. With all the gfree/dairy free folks in our family its a hit for every family get together. A very easy & quick recipe to make. Love it. Trying your pie crust recipe next 🙂
My husband says this is the best gluten-free bread he’s ever had!
I use Walmart brand all-purpose gluten free flour and it works great. I do not use honey I use agave in the Raw. my kids and my husband love it. it also works great for making a muffaletta crust
My husband said this is the best gluten-free bread he’s ever had
It actually worked! I did a few variations, 3 c + 2tbs gf flour, 1/2 c tapioca dried basil thyme oregano garlic powder. put it in stoneware baking dish, spread it out covered it and let rise. then dimples olive oil salt and pop in oven.
light airy plenty of holes. perfect to dip in olive oil and hot sauce.
Can I use Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 gluten-free flour and add xanthan gum? If so, how much do I add?
Hi Margie! The Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 gluten-free flour already has the xanthan gum on the mix. You will not need to add any extra xanthan gum to the recipe. Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 flour is not recommended for yeast baking according to tho their website. I bake with Pillsbury gluten-free flour. I order it from Walmart. I also like Better Batter gluten-free flour for yeast baking.
The best & easiest thing I’ve ever made!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This is hands down
DELICIOUS
EASY
FAST
SIMPLE INGREDIENTS
I was nervous because GF flour is a pain and I’m not a baker at all… not only did I proof this in my Air Fryer but I BAKED it too!!! We will add this to our top GF Vegan Recipes. My daughter is in love with it. Had to hide it.
Ms. Audrey. As I was making your pizza crust, I was literally telling my husband I wonder if I can make focaccia Bread from this recipe and this is I think Exact..!! Can’t wait!
Quick question. I used King Arthur All purpose flour plus 1tsp xanthan gum. Once all was mixed it looked rather thin, somewhat runny, so I added additional 1/2 cup flour. I read that someone used KA one to one flour, which is different than the GF All Purpose I’ve used. Anyways, they stated that their end result was much smoother/runnier. So, should I add the extra flour or if just try as the runnier batter? I forgot to submit the question so I went ahead with the extra 1/2 cup GF AP KA Flour (that’s a lot of letters). Turned out beautifully. 😁