This gluten-free focaccia bread recipe is going to knock your socks off! It is not only perfect for dipping into seasoned oil, but it also makes delicious gluten-free Italian bread to serve with any meal.
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I’ve tested a lot of gluten-free bread recipes over the years. Check out my Ultimate Gluten-Free Bread Guide for even more options and troubleshooting help.
I have been thinking about this gluten-free focaccia recipe quite a bit lately! Maybe obsessing is more accurate. I have been missing something about that slightly chewy bread topped with cheese and herbs.
You can add any toppings, veggies, fresh herbs, sun-dried tomatoes, cheese…anything you like! This homemade gluten free focaccia recipe is made to be customized! It’s also dairy-free, so anyone can enjoy it!
Focaccia is a popular bread in Italy. It is most often served with flavored oils to dip the bread into. Not only is this fluffy gluten-free focaccia easy to make, but it is also very versatile! Many of my readers say this gluten-free Italian focaccia recipe also makes the best deep-dish pizza crust.
You can make this gluten-free focaccia bread in a skillet, as I show in the video instructions, or bake it in a more traditional style on a sheet pan. Both baking methods are so easy! If you want a delicious homemade gluten-free focaccia recipe to try, this recipe will not disappoint!
While you are here, I have many easy gluten-free bread recipes for you to see and try. If you use this as a pizza crust, top it with my homemade gluten-free pizza sauce!
It turned out amazing! I didn’t add any spices, but I really didn’t need to. Yum!”
Autumn, Facebook comment
Allergen Information:
This recipe is gluten-free, soy-free, and nut-free. See the Substitutions Section below for dairy-free and gum-free alternatives.
Ingredient Notes:
For the full list of ingredients and amounts, please go to the recipe card below.
- Gluten-Free Flour Blend – I tested this recipe using Cup4Cup. Note: Cup4Cup recently changed its flour blend formulation, and it doesn’t behave as the old formulation. I haven’t had a chance to retest this recipe with the new flour blend formulation. That doesn’t mean others will not work; I have not tried other flours. Cup4Cup performed the best in rising. Using a gluten-free flour blend that works with yeast is important. Check the back of the bag and the website to verify.
- Xanthan Gum – If your gluten free flour blend doesn’t contain xanthan gum or guar gum, please add 3/4 teaspoon.
- Active Dry Yeast – You could also use 1/2 cup gluten free sourdough, but the rise time will need to be much longer. Red Star Platinum is NOT gluten-free! I have not tested this recipe with instant yeast.
- Baking Powder – Use aluminum-free baking powder.
- Salt – Sea salt or kosher salt.
- Eggs – Use size large eggs.
- Milk or Non-Dairy Milk – I used almond milk, but any plant-based or regular milk will work.
- Honey – You can also use sugar to feed the yeast if you don’t have honey on hand.
- Olive Oil – I like to use extra virgin olive oil.
- Toppings like fresh herbs, caramelized onion, garlic, sun-dried tomato, and cheeses like parmesan and asiago.
Substitutions:
- Use unflavored plant-based milk to make this recipe dairy-free. If you use cheese, use plant-based cheese like Daiya or VioLife.
- To make this recipe gum-free, use my DIY Gluten-Free Flour Blend. It uses psyllium husk instead of xanthan or guar gum.
Top it with:
- Add garlic for a gluten-free garlic bread focaccia
- You can add your favorite fresh herbs like rosemary and thyme. Herbed focaccia bread is great with a bowl of hot soup! We love baking and cooking recipes with fresh herbs.
- Try sun-dried tomatoes packed in olive oil
- Top with some caramelized onions.
- Top with cheese. Here are my favorites: Asiago, Parmesan, or another hard cheese you like
If you love this recipe with toppings, wait until you try my Gluten-Free Flatbread Recipe!
How To Make Gluten-Free Focaccia:
🔑 Sandi says: First and most important, check the expiration date of your yeast! Next, check that your gluten-free flour blend works with yeast.
Prep the yeast in a glass bowl. Heat the milk to lukewarm, no warmer than 110º F. Add yeast, oil, and honey to the almond milk and let it sit for 5 minutes until frothy with bubbles.
Yeast Tip: Do not heat the milk too hot, as this will kill the yeast!
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Step 1: Add the gluten free flour, baking powder, and salt to a large
To measure your gluten free flour, I recommend using the spoon method or leveling method. In a perfect world, people weigh their flour, but most do not own a kitchen scale. Every gluten-free flour blend has a different weight, making a scale even trickier.
Put the measuring scoop into the flour and fill. Do not pack the flour. Use a knife to scrape along the top to remove the extra flour. You can also use a spoon to fill the measuring cup. Use a knife to level along the top to remove the extra flour.
🔑 Sandi says: You only get one good rise, so shape the dough before rising! Find a warm place. See my dough-rising tips below. Cover the dough with plastic wrap while it rises to prevent it from drying out.
Step 2: Place your dough onto a parchment paper-lined
If you are using a cast-iron skillet, as I did in the video, press the dough into a greased skillet and allow it to rise in the skillet.
Dough Rising Tips:
Getting gluten free dough to rise can be tricky, especially in the colder months. When the kitchen is colder, I like to preheat my oven to 200º F, then turn it off.
Step 3: After letting your dough rise for an hour, remove it from the oven and remove the plastic wrap covering it.
This is what your dough should look like. Your dough should have a similar consistency to this dough.
Step 4: Press your finger into the dough to make little dimples. These dimples are important because they create delicious pockets for the olive oil and toppings and add flavor to infuse into the focaccia bread.
Step 5: Brush olive oil combined with your favorite seasonings over the top of the focaccia dough. See above for some tasty flavor ideas!
*Note: I didn’t brush the seasoned oil over the dough in the cast iron skillet version. In hindsight, I wish I did, and I recommend that you do this step!
Step 6: Bake the focaccia on the baking pan at 375º F for 20-25 minutes, depending on how thick you pressed the dough. Remove from the oven and allow cooling before slicing. You should see a beautiful golden brown color. Slice the focaccia with a serrated knife or pizza cutter.
Dipping Sauces:
I love dipping focaccia bread in herbed extra virgin olive oil with a bit of balsamic vinegar, but also dipping it into sauces and soups. Here are a few of my favorites:
- Gluten Free Marinara Sauce – This simple sauce is made for dipping!
- Creamy Alfredo Sauce – Serve this Italian sauce over pasta and dip in your focaccia!
- Nut-Free Pesto – This tasty nut-free pesto is also great to spread on top of the focaccia!
Frequently Asked Questions:
The bread will be firm to the touch and golden in color. You can insert a toothpick into the middle. If the toothpick comes back clean, the focaccia is done baking. If you see crumbs or dough, it needs to bake longer.
You can bake this in any pan or on a sheet pan. An 8×8 square pan or a cast iron skillet also works well.
This bread will last for up to 3 days in an airtight container or up to 4 months in the freezer.
You can make this gluten free focaccia bread recipe with King Arthur Measure for Measure blend, but it will not rise quite as much as another flour blend. King Arthur states on their package not to use their flour with yeast recipes. You can easily use the King Arthur All Purpose Gluten Free Flour with no xanthan gum in this recipe.
How to Store:
Store this simple gluten free focaccia bread in an airtight container for up to 3 days. I store it in the refrigerator to prevent it from spoiling. You can also freeze this recipe. Freeze the bread after it has cooled. You can slice it or freeze it whole in a freezer-safe zip-style baggie.
I love playing with Sandi’s focaccia recipe!!!”
Krystal, Facebook user
More Gluten Free Bread Recipes:
- Gluten Free Sourdough Bread
- Easy Gluten Free Panettone Bread
- Gluten Free English Muffins
- Gluten Free Breadsticks
- Soft Gluten Free Dinner Rolls (bake in an air fryer or the oven!)
Love This Recipe?
If you made and enjoyed this recipe, I would be incredibly grateful if you could leave a comment below. Please include which flour blend you used. This will help others know this recipe is delicious. Thank you!
Gluten Free Focaccia Bread
Equipment
- Cookie sheet
Ingredients
Yeast Mixture
- 2 teaspoons active dry yeast
- 1 teaspoon honey or sugar
- ¾ cup warm milk or non-dairy milk + 2 TBSP
Dough
- 2 ¼ cups gluten free flour blend * see note
- 1 teaspoon baking powder aluminum-free
- ¾ teaspoon sea salt
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
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Instructions
For the Bread
- In a large mixing bowl, add 2 1/4 cups gluten free flour blend, 1 teaspoon baking powder, and 3/4 teaspoon sea salt and whisk to blend.
- In a glass bowl, heat the milk or non-dairy milk so that it is lukewarm. (Make sure it is no hotter than 110º F, or your yeast may die.)
- Add 2 teaspoons active dry yeast, 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, and 1 teaspoon honey to 3/4 cup warm milk or non-dairy milk and let it sit for 5 minutes. When the yeast is frothy, add 2 large eggs to the liquid and mix well.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix into a soft dough.
- If making in a cast iron skillet: oil a large cast iron skillet and put the dough in. Spread the dough to cover the bottom of the skillet. Cover with plastic wrap so it doesn't dry out.
- If making this more traditionally, place your dough on a parchment paper-lined cookie sheet and press into a circle. Cover with plastic wrap.
- Let the dough rest in the pan for 1 hour.
- If you are making this on a cookie sheet. Press the dough down to 1/4 to 1/2 inch thickness. Dust the focaccia with gluten free flour blend. Use your fingers to make dimples in the dough.
- Preheat oven to 375º F.
- In a small dish, add your chosen toppings to the olive oil and mix. Use a basting brush to spread the oil mixture over the dough.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until golden and crusty. Baking time will vary slightly depending on how much you press your focaccia dough flat.
Video
Notes
- I have tested this recipe with Cup4Cup, Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 GF blend, and Authentic Foods Multi Blend. That doesn’t mean others will not work; I just have not tested other flours. Note: Cup4Cup recently changed its flour blend formulation, and it doesn’t behave as the old formulation. I haven’t had a chance to retest this recipe with the new flour blend formulation.
- You can add any toppings you like. Some fun ideas include sun-dried tomatoes, fresh herbs, cheeses, scallions, etc.
- You will know the focaccia bread is finished baking when you insert a toothpick into the center, and it will come out clean. If you see crumbs or dough, it will need to bake a little longer.
- You can bake this bread in a cast-iron skillet or on a cookie sheet as specified above.
- This bread will keep fresh for up to 3 days in an airtight container or up to 4 months in the freezer.
SPECIAL NOTE
Please know that every gluten free flour blend has a different starch to grain ratio. If you use a blend I didn’t test, my rule of thumb is to add more flour if your dough or batter is wet and add more liquid if the dough or batter is too dry!
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclaimer
Nutritional information is an estimate provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the actual nutritional information with the products and brands you are using with your preferred nutritional calculator.
*This gluten-free focaccia recipe was updated in a post from 2014.
I just used a blend of King Arthur GF flour and TJ’s GF AP flour, along with egg replacement. The texture was soft & cake like.
I am so glad to know an egg replacer worked in this recipe. Can I please ask which you used? Other readers who can’t have eggs would benefit from knowing.
I used Bob’s Red Mill egg replacer.
Thank you for coming back and letting me know Bob’s egg replacer worked well in this recipe. Eggs are getting more scarce, so I am using that egg replacer more often lately.
Great recipe! I’m experimenting with Trader Joe’s GF AP flour and BRM egg replacement.
Hi Juanita, It is good to know that TJ’s flour worked well, as well as the egg replacement. I just picked up a bag of TJ’s flour to test in a recipe.
This focaccia bread lives up to its name as being the best. I followed the directions and it came out just like you said. It has that chewy bite that is delightful. Used bread dipping oil with it.
Thank you so much!
You made my day. I am so glad you tried my recipe. Thank you!
Made this to go with homemade soup for my inlaws. Was so good!!! Nice and light and delicious. Will be making it again.
I am so glad you loved this bread. That is so sweet you made it for your inlaws. Thank you so much for coming back to let me know!
Hi,
Question, so the cup 4 cup flour actually contains milk. What dairy free gluten free flours would you recommend for this bread?
Thanks,
Hi Jess, For this recipe I would recommend my DIY flour blend (though you may need a little less flour since it doesn’t have the dried milk powder) or Pillsbury GF.
Sandy
You know I am a huge fan…
I feel a bit silly about this question but I am Irish not Italian.
Is Focaccia a side or like a pizza. How is it best served meal wise?
Hi Beth. This bread is more of a side, often dipped into pasta sauces, etc. Many also just dip into olive oil with herbs. One girl used it as a pizza crust and it seems to have taken off. I haven’t tried this yet, but it sounds really good.
Hi. The recipe doesn’t say how much baking powder nor does it tell you to put the olive oil in the mix. I saw that in the video. How much baking powder does it need?
Thank you
Cathy
Great catch Cathy, thank you so much. Add one teaspoon to the dry ingredients. The olive oil will go with the wet ingredients.
I don’t see the Caramelized onions in the recipe? Am I missing something?
Thanks
Hi Moe, LOL, that is the battle I had with my onion hating kids. You can add any toppings you like to this focaccia bread. When I remade the recipe to take new pictures, my kids begged me to exclude the onion. I will put a note in the post so people know :-).
Is there a suitable substitute for the eggs? Food allergies are a challenge, for sure!
Hi Carol, I haven’t tested this recipe without eggs. If you do try something like aquafaba or another substitute, please let me know how it works. I am sure it would help other egg free readers.
Just wanted to say thank you, not only for this great looking recipe but, for the PRINT option on your site. Too often the recipes include color ads in the middle. This takes a huge amount of ink, not to mention the paper.OOPs! Should not gripe. Just wanted to say thank you.
You are so sweet. I am sorry about the ad in the recipe. I am not sure how to remove that from the print option…I am not much of a techie. I hope you have a nice evening.
Can you use regular milk?
Hi Marie, I am not sure. I haven’t tested it with regular milk as we are trying to do mostly dairy free right now. If you try it, please come back and let us know how it turned out :-).