This Easy Vegan Overnight Focaccia recipe takes the mystery out of the beautiful bread! Those massive air bubbles, gently crispy crust and pillowy but firm structure are perfect for decorating and take just minutes of active time.

Besides its almost mythical presence in my midwestern mind, focaccia always seemed like something reserved for fancy people in the Mediterranean. It evokes images of blissful summer afternoons while drinking prosecco in white linen for some reason.

I am far from a linen-wearing bronzed Italian, but I do have a patio and a view of the water. So my desire for Sunday Funday Foccacia was born.

Black Olive and Tomato focaccia with ramp sprinkles
Roasted Vegetable focaccia with pepper flowers and asparagus stems

In the last season of The Great British Bake Off, Crystelle made this amazing-looking Feta and Grape Focaccia with Fennel and Walnut.

I’m not a grape fan by any stretch of the imagination, but I do love fennel. I wanted to try and replicate her focaccia, but I had never made one!

I was sure it would be challenging and gloopy and generally unsuccessful, right? Wrong.

My first focaccia was a show-stopping success, and with each iteration, it just gets better!

I’m happy to share with you the perfect recipe for the easiest overnight focaccia ever!

Still from the Great British Baking show depicting Crystelle's feta and grape focaccia with fennel and walnut.
From the Great British Baking Show

Why make Easy Vegan Overnight Focaccia?

Focaccia is crispy and soft, can be topped with any damn thing you please, and can impress the pants off your fanciest fancy pants friends.

Focaccia really is the best bread for beginners.

Despite the dough’s gloopy high hydration structure, once you get past the sticky, it’s a remarkably manageable and forgiving dough. The secret to the best focaccia, as with all fermented doughs, is the long cold prove.

For my bread to be patio ready on Sunday afternoon, I usually start the dough after dinner on Saturday night.

It takes just a few minutes to come together. Plus, if you use a stand mixer and prove it in the bowl, there’s nothing extra to clean.

Roasted Grape and Fennel Focaccia with a dish of tomato and tofu feta salad

The long cold proof in the fridge gives the bread an opportunity to really build volume and zillions of tinny bubbles. These provide the bread’s characteristic structure when sliced. The crunchy and chewy crust isn’t too big of a secret.

This recipe calls for A LOT of oil. While I’ve paired it down by half from the original recipe, it can still be viewed as a shocking amount to some. Let me tell you why at LEAST 50 grams of olive oil in one loaf of fancy bread shouldn’t matter.

THE CRUST. Crispy, crunchy, and just a little bit like the best deep-dish pizza you’ve had, this crust is everything.

Black Olive and Tomato focaccia before being baked

The second part of the crust comes from a 20-minute steam bath at crazy high temperatures. Baking at 450 provides the quick blast of heat needed for all the little air pockets to be filled with steam and help to create the focaccia’s lift.

While the total time required for this recipe seems intimidating, please believe me when I say – I’ve made a LOT of bread, and this one is definitely the easiest. Linen pants are not required.

Roasted grape and fennel focaccia with a dish of tomato and tofu feta salad.

Easy Vegan Overnight Foccacia

sonia.h.merkel
This focaccia is fluffy, perfectly crisp, and endlessly customizable! There's no better showstopper for a party than a beautifuly decorated focaccia! Just a little planning and a little patience is all you need!
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Prep Time 14 hours
Cook Time 40 minutes
Servings 4

Ingredients
  

  • 375 grams Lilly White or All Purpose flour 400 grams if using all purpose flour
  • 25 grams Vital Wheat Gluten Omit if using all purpose flour
  • 10 grams sea salt plus more for sprinkling
  • 150 grams recently fed sourdough starter
  • 300 grams tepid water
  • 75 grams good olive oil

Topping Suggestions

  • halved red grapes
  • sliced fennel bulb
  • halved cherry tomatos
  • sliced asparagus spears for flower stems
  • sliced bell pepper rings for flowers
  • chives
  • vegan feta
  • fresh herbs like oregano, thyme, or sage
  • halved shallots

Instructions
 

  • Weigh out your flour, vital wheat gluten and salt into a large bowl. I use my stand mixer. Mix well.
  • Add the water and starter. Set bowl onto the mixer and mix, starting on low, gradualy increasing speed until the dough begins to come together and no dry flour remains.
  • With your mixer on low, begin streaming in the olive oil. Mix until completely combined, and the dough is nice and shiney. This is a very wet dough, and will look like it needs more flour. It does not!
  • Cover your dough and let proof in the refrigerator overnight.
  • About two hours before you are ready to bake your bread, remove your dough and let come to room temperature, about thirty minutes, keeping it covered the entire time. The dough will be huge, and slighlty terifying – this is a good thing!
  • Grease a 9×13 caserole dish with olive oila and line with parchemnt paper.
  • Dump your room temperature dough into your prepared dish and gently press it into the corners. Cover and let prove a second time for about 2 hours.
  • Once it's puffed up again, it's time to decorate. Add sliced grapes, shaved fennel, olives, tomatoes, shallots anything you want! At minimum give the dough a generous sprinkling of coarse sea salt and dimple with well-oiled fingertips to create the characteristic divots.
  • Set your oven to 480F and add a bread tin or cake pan full of water into the oven while it pre-heats.
  • Once your oven is hot, place your foccacia in, being careful to avoid the steam when you open the door! Drop the temperature to 450 and bake for 20 minutes.
  • After 20 minutes, remove the water pan. Bake for another 20 minutes or until the top is golden brown. Let rest for 15 minutes before slicing.