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I’ve been wanting to try my hand at whole wheat focaccia bread for some time, so I’m excited to partner with Pleasant Hill Grain and share how it turned out in today’s sponsored post.
Featured Comment
This recipe was great and easy for a yeast bread beginner! Loved the oven trick!
Freshly Ground Wheat Tastes Better
First of all, many people aren’t crazy about the taste of whole-wheat flour, especially if they’re just starting to transition from the Standard American Diet where everything is white, white, white! Trust me, I am a former white bread girl and used to feel exactly the same.
But early on in my mission to cut out processed food, I discovered that foods made with freshly ground flour taste SO much better than anything pre-made or even using the off-the-shelf whole grain flour. And I was willing to do whatever it took to make whole-wheat palatable enough for me not to hate it.
At first, I thought grinding your own wheat sounded like someone going a little overboard with making their own food, but I promise it is a simple as grinding your own coffee.
I show you just how easy it is in this quick video clip with my KoMo Classic Grain Mill from Pleasant Hill Grain…
Know What’s In Your Food
Not only does freshly ground wheat taste better, but it’s better for you, as well. Pleasant Hill Grain offers electric and manual grain mills, as well as flakers/rollers and flour sifters, which can honestly be a fun way to provide your family with all that whole-grain goodness many of us are desiring (including gluten-free choices). It’s one sure-fire way to ensure you are truly getting 100% whole-grain, without making things too difficult or time-consuming. Not to mention the satisfaction of “truly scratch-made” foods that are really better in every way!
And for those who need to eat gluten-free due to an allergy or intolerance, milling gluten-free grains at home offers a thousand times more flexibility than buying processed gluten-free products. With freshly ground GF flour, you can make any recipe you can find or create… the sky’s the limit!
Whole-Wheat Rosemary Focaccia Bread Recipe
And now back to that yummy focaccia bread I made. My girls recently made some in a local cooking class (with Chef Alyssa), and the little taste they brought home for me inspired me to try the recipe myself with whole-wheat flour (and a couple other little tweaks). Here’s the final healthy focaccia recipe, just in time for Thanksgiving dinner … would be a yummy way to soak up the last bits of gravy off your plate!
Whole-Wheat Rosemary Focaccia Bread
Ingredients
- 1 envelope active dry yeast (about 2 1/4 teaspoons)
- 1 cup warm water (between 100 and 110 degrees F)
- 1 little squeeze honey (about 1/2 teaspoon)
- 2 1/2 cups whole-wheat flour (freshly ground tastes great in this recipe!)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 8 tablespoons olive oil (divided)
- pepper (to taste)
- 2 tablespoons fresh rosemary leaves (coarsely minced)
Instructions
- Dissolve the yeast in the warm water then add a little squeeze of honey to help it bloom (this works in place of sugar). Set aside until the yeast foams up, 5 to 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, add the flour to a large stand mixer with a dough hook. Mix in the salt and then add 4 tablespoons of the olive oil along with the water/yeast mixture. Knead until smooth.
- Remove the dough from the bowl and knead a little more by hand on a floured surface. Transfer to an oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let stand until it doubles in size, about 1 hour.
I like to heat my oven to 200 degrees F, turn it off, and then place the bowl of dough in the warm oven to proof. If after 20 minutes or so you notice the dough is not rising, take it out, knead it a little more by hand (on a floured surface), and try again. - Transfer the dough to a 9 X 13-inch rimmed sheet pan (half of a normal-sized cookie sheet), stretching it out and tearing off pieces (if necessary) to press it down into one fairly even layer.
Dimple the dough with your fingers and drizzle with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Cover with plastic and let the dough rise again on the counter or in your still-warm oven until puffed up, about 20 minutes (pictured). At this point you can refrigerate overnight if you’d like to prep this recipe a day in advance.
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Sprinkle the rosemary evenly over top, season with black pepper and additional salt (to taste), finish with remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil.
- Bake until golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes. Allow to cool before slicing and serving. Enjoy!
Hi. I’ve tried this a couple of times and I can’t get it to work. The dough doubles on the first rise, but after I flatten it, cover with olive oil and let it rise again in the warm oven, it does not rise at all and stays flat. What am I doing wrong??
We always recommend making sure your ingredients are fresh and making sure you’re kneading it long enough. Sometimes the temp and altitude can affect it as well. – Nicole
American cuisine? Seriously? Sure.
It would be helpful if recipes state grain used. Even if I use a different grain it gives me a better idea of how to adjust. Appreciate you providing recipes.
Hi, this particular recipe states that it uses whole-wheat flour. We’ve also included a link to the specific brand. – Nicole
Dear Lisa:
Thank you ever so much for this recipe. It’s one of the best recipes I’ve found in years.
I made the focaccia the other day and it came out perfectly. The ingredient proportions are spot on. It kneaded easily and tasted great.
I was helped by having a fairly warm day–it was 27 Centigrade (80.6 Fahrenheit) in my bedroom (proofing room) and the dough rose quickly.
My one suggestion would be the addition of a pastry brush to evenly spread the olive oil on top of the dough.
The flavor was delicious, but does anyone have suggestions on how long to knead the bread if you don’t have a mixer with dough hook? Though the dough doubled and seemed good when it went into the oven, it came out flattened and more breakable than soft. I imagine that I didn’t knead it long enough?
this recipe was great and easy for a yeast bread beginner! i had to use a too big sheet pan and it turned out just fine, just needed to knead a little more. loved the oven trick!
Glad to hear they came out well for you! – Nicole
This wasn’t as tall as white flour focaccia can be, but it is delicious. It has a nice texture – neither dense nor chewy; the rosemary was the perfect topper. Three of us ate half of it at one meal!
I’m so glad to hear everyone enjoyed them. – Nicole
I didn’t knead it long enough, I know that now. I also added diced banana peppers, halved kalamata olives, some peppadew baby peppers and sun dried tomatoes before baking. Everything was awesome, but the tomatoes burned so I peeled them off before eating. I wish the bread would have surrounded the toppings I put on like regular focaccia does as it bakes, but oh well. Could be part of my not kneading it long enough issue. Still had great taste!! Oh, I also put my dried rosemary in oil then used that as called for, and after baking I added some Malden salt for flavor. We’ll def make this again.
I hate to be a Debbie Downer, but my bread didn’t come out well at all. There was no flavor and the texture was like cardboard. I probably should have used fresh ww flour. Thanks for sharing y
our recipe..
Sorry to hear it didn’t come out well for you. We always recommend all your ingredients are fresh, especially with this recipe. – Nicole
I just made this using white whole wheat flour (which was all I had), and it came out absolutely delicious. I followed the recipe exactly, and I had some basil olive oil on hand which worked great with it. Thank you for this recipe, I will definitely make it again.
what if i’m using instant yeast?
I cook for 30 so tripled the recipe. My whole wheat flour is not the same brand or hand ground. I had to double the olive oil and added an extra cup of warm water to get the dough to bind pre- rise. Then there was not enough dough to fit 3, 9×13’s without going super thin. So I skipmed on the 3rd pan. Once in the pan I allowed over an hour for the second rise. I did not have a large first rise. Again, I feel due to the flour I have on hand being of the cheaper bulk variety. I also only have dried rosemary. So I chopped, whisked with olive oil, and allowed a soak for 20 minutes. Then I spread it by hand across the tops. The taste was good. People who like whole wheat really enjoyed it. Overall a good recipe. Thank you for 100% whole wheat recipe.
Recipe turned out great! I mixed everything by hand and added caramelized onions and olives on top. I used the convection oven and found it was a little overcooked, but still very good! Reduce cook time if you use the convection oven.
Glad to hear they came out for you! – Nicole
What kind do wheat berries do you use for this recip?
Very good. I like it so much.
had my mouth watering the whole time it was cooking. Thanks for the share!
Hello!
I think I smell it baking!
Yum, I love focaccia! Have never made the whole wheat version though. I need to since it’s much healthier. Pinning this!
Yeah, I have been looking for a good focaccia recipe. Rosemary sounds delicious, but I can’t wait to customize it with cheese and dried herbs. Alas, the cold weather finally did in my Rosemary plant. I love the make ahead tip, as it makes the bread doable on a weeknight. Can’t wait to pair this bread with my favorite winter soups!
Do you have a preferred type of wheat berry you buy? Last time I bought organic hard red winter wheat, and it made baking tricky, but I know there are lots of other types!
Could organic cane sugar be used in place of the honey,seeing that when raw honey is heated all the nutrients are destroyed making it no different than sugar? Or are you using a cheap pasteurized honey instead of raw?I just hate to use my nutrient dense raw honey in any recipe that requires it to be cooked.
You could definitely use a little sprinkle of sugar instead … just helps move the yeast along is all!