Whole Wheat Focaccia Bread
Posted Jan 30, 2017, Updated Oct 09, 2022
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
This Whole Wheat Focaccia Bread Recipe is ready in 1 hour! It’s an easy, delicious bread recipe that is the perfect side dish to any meal!
This Whole Wheat Focaccia Bread is a great recipe to make when you’re craving homemade bread but don’t have hours to wait for it to rise. With only one rise (as opposed to the usual 2), you can be eating fresh, homemade whole wheat focaccia bread in one hour–flat!
This whole wheat focaccia is brushed with olive oil and then sprinkled with seasonings & parmesan cheese. Nutritious comfort food at it’s finest.
How to Make Easy Focaccia Bread
Begin by preheating the oven to 200 degrees F. The dough will rise in the warm oven to speed up the process!
Next, combine the dry ingredients in both the dough and the topping and set them aside.
Then, in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the dough hook, mix together water, honey and yeast. Let stand for 5 minutes or until foamy.
Once yeast is foamy (proofed), add oil and flour mixture and mix on low speed.Slowly increase the speed and knead the dough in the mixer until it pulls away from the sides.
Transfer the dough to a floured surface and knead until it’s smooth and no longer sticky ( you may need to add a little bit more flour). Roll out the dough to fit the size and shape of a cast iron skillet.
Put the dough in the prepared skillet, cover with a damp towel and let rise in the preheated oven for 15 minutes.
Once the dough is risen, remove from oven and increase oven temperature to 400 degrees F.
Use your finger to make indentations in the top of the dough, then gently brush the whole wheat focaccia dough with olive oil and sprinkle with the topping mixture. Then bake and enjoy!
Serve
Serve warm with your favorite main dishes (like this pesto pasta or crockpot roast).
Store/freeze
Store leftovers in an airtight contianer in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 1 month.
Recipe FAQs
If you’re not in a rush you can make the dough, put it in the skillet and let it rise in the refrigerator (instead of in the oven) so you can bake it later.
Focaccia is bread, it just has the added bonus of a delicious topping with olive oil drizzled over the top that seeps into the holes.
You can eat it warm or cold. I always prefer to eat my bread warm.
Yes, freeze it in an airtight container wrapped in plastic wrap for up to 1 month.
This bread lasts for up to 3 days stored in the refrigerator or 1 month in the freezer.
Whole Wheat Focaccia: Substitutions
As always I recommend making this recipe exactly as written, but here are a few possible substitutions:
- Whole Wheat Flour: You can substitute the whole wheat flour with all-purpose flour, bread flour, whole wheat pastry flour, white whole wheat flour, etc.
- Honey: I have used granulated sugar in place of honey with great results!
- Topping – olive oil: You can use a mixture of butter and olive oil (or just butter) to brush on the bread if you’d like to add a little buttery flavor. I like to use flavored olive oils (like garlic or herb-infused).
- Topping – parmesan cheese: Feel free to omit parmesan cheese for a dairy-free version!
If you make and love our recipes, it would mean so much to me if you would leave a comment and rating! And don’t forget to follow along with us on Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, and Youtube – be sure to tag @joyfoodsunshine and use the hashtag #joyfoodsunshine so we can your creations!
Whole Wheat Focaccia Bread
Ingredients
Dough:
- 1 cup warm water 105 degrees F
- 1 ½ TBS honey
- 2 tsp yeast
- 1 ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 1 tsp sea salt
- ½ tsp Italian Seasoning
- 2 ½ TBS olive oil
Topping:
- 1 TBS olive oil try herbed
- 1 TBS Italian Seasoning
- 2 TBS Parmesan Cheese
- ½ tsp sea salt
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 200 degrees F.
- Grease a large, 12” cast iron skillet, set aside.
- In the bowl of your standing mixer fitted with the dough hook, mix together water, honey and yeast. Let stand for 5 minutes or until foamy.
- In a small bowl, mix together all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, Italian seasoning and salt. Set aside.
- In another small bowl, mix together Italian seasoning, salt, garlic powder and pepper. Set aside.
- Once yeast is foamy (proofed), add oil and flour. Mix on low speed.
- Slowly increase your speed and knead in your mixer until dough pulls away from the sides.
- Transfer to a floured surface and knead until it’s smooth and no longer sticky ( you may need to add a touch more flour).
- Roll out your dough to fit the size and shape of your skillet.
- Put the dough in your prepared skillet. Cover with a damp towel and let rise in the preheated oven for 20 minutes.
- Once dough is risen, remove from oven and increase oven temperature to 400 degrees F.
- Use your finger to make indentations in the top of the tough.
- Gently brush the dough with olive oil and sprinkle with the topping mixture.
- While dough is rising, preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 20 -30 minutes.
- Let cool and eat!
Video
Notes
Ingredient Substitutions
- Whole Wheat Flour: You can substitute the whole wheat flour with all-purpose flour, bread flour, whole wheat pastry flour, white whole wheat flour, etc.
- Honey: I have used granulated sugar in place of honey with great results!
- Topping – olive oil: You can use a mixture of butter and olive oil (or just butter) to brush on the bread if you’d like to add a little buttery flavor. I like to use flavored olive oils (like garlic or herb-infused).
- Topping – parmesan cheese: Feel free to omit parmesan cheese for a dairy-free version!
Store/freeze
Store leftovers in an airtight contianer in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 1 month.Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
More delicious recipes
Serve this whole wheat focaccia bread with your favorite Italian dishes! Also, check out our other bread recipes!
- Serve it alongside this pesto pasta.
- Pasta primavera is one of my favorite Italian dishes.
- Dip it in the best homemade basil pesto sauce.
- This avocado pasta sauce is so delicious you’ll want to eat it by the spoonful.
- We love this no knead bread and homemade French bread.
This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you purchase a product through a link you clicked on here, I receive a portion of the sale. Thank you for supporting JoyFoodSunshine!
This was amazing! great recipe! I added caramelized onions at the bottom of the skillet before cooking the bread. Great with a butternut + acorn squash soup.
Can I make this with only full wheat flour and no normal flour?
This bread looks amazing! I love that it is whole wheat! I love the topping on this!
Can’t go wrong with a great homemade bread recipe!
This bread is stunning and goes perfectly with the soup! Love the fresh combination!
Thank you Julie!
Homemade bread is so delicious! We made focaccia once and it was so good. Need to do it again! And love that you made it in the cast iron skillet – I just got one!
I LOVE baking things in my cast iron skillet!
I LOVE making homemade bread! My favorite right now is 100% whole wheat pull-apart rolls. They’re AMAZING for breakfast with nut butter and tea 🙂
OoOO that sounds wonderful Alisa!
When I have the time to make homemade bread it’s always always worth it; it’s so light fluffy, delicious, and it always goes well with soup. And I have to agree with you; Progresso canned soups can be amazing!
I LOVE homemade bread so much!