I love bread. Love it! Take that, low carbers. Seriously, I know I should cut my carbs, but who can resist fresh hot homemade bread? I’ve shared lots of delicious bread recipes before, and most days I don’t mind spending the time to make bread from scratch. But there are days (you know those days) when getting any sort of dinner on the table is a miracle and starting the mixing and kneading three hours in advance is not an option. When I know my day is going to be crazy but I still want the comfort of fresh bread for dinner, I turn to this easiest ever focaccia bread recipe. It starts with frozen bread dough which means there’s hardly any work involved, but it still turns out amazing, what with all the garlic and herbs and stuff. Yum.
You start with one loaf of Rhodes frozen bread dough. Either put it in the fridge first thing in the morning, place it out on the counter in the early afternoon, or use the cheater microwave method (details below) about an hour and a half before you want to serve it.
All three of these methods give the frozen loaf time to thaw. Then all you have to do is spread it out in a 9×13 pan, let it rise for about an hour, drizzle on an herby topping, and pop it in the oven. You get the taste of fresh homemade italian bread with no kneading, no floury hands, no bowls to wash, and about five minutes of actual work.
Yum! Here’s how to make easy focaccia bread:
Start with 1 log of Rhodes frozen white bread, and let it thaw. To do this I either: 1) place 1 loaf in a plastic bag and put it in the fridge early in the morning, 2) place 1 loaf in a plastic bag and set it out on the counter in the early afternoon, or 3) place 1 loaf on a plate and microwave defrost it about an hour and a half before I want to serve. Use the defrost setting in the microwave for about 6 minutes, stopping to check and rotate it every 2 minutes. You just want the dough thawed enough to be able to spread it out. It doesn’t need to have risen any (although it’s just fine if it does). Once it’s thawed, use your fingers to smoosh it out fairly flat in a greased 9×13 pan.
Cover loosely with a kitchen towel and let it rest and rise for about 1 hour. It will get a bit puffy, so poke it back down in places with your fingers to give it lots of little indents. Then put 3 tablespoons olive oil, 2-3 cloves minced garlic, and 2 teaspoons mixed dried herbs in a small pan (use whatever you like or have on hand – rosemary, basil, etc.). Place over high heat and stir for about 60 seconds, just until everything smells good.
Drizzle the herb/garlic/oil mixture over the bread dough, and sprinkle on about 1/3 of a cup parmesan cheese if desired.
Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes, until golden brown on top and sides.
Then serve with soup or pasta, or use it to make amazing sandwiches. It’s easy and delicious.
Here’s a recap of the recipe ingredients:
1 loaf rhodes frozen bread dough
3 tablespoons olive oil
2-3 cloves garlic
2 teaspoons mixed dried herbs
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
Claudia Huye says
Love this! But how do I print the recipe .?? Thanks
Michelle says
This is heavenly!!! So easy and so delicious. We’ve made this 3 times in the past month and a half haha— thank you!
Crin says
Love your recipe….easy and delicious! Today I am going to put some black and green olives
on the top for a little extra flavor. Thank you for sharing!