This has been a long-time favorite of my family. I started making it shortly after leaving culinary school when I was highly interested in experimenting with bread at home. We have enjoyed Breakfast Focaccia on many holiday mornings and weekends alike!

I enjoy making bread, I just haven't always been very good at it. It takes a lot of practice and patience. That said, this recipe is a straight dough method, making it one of the easiest bread recipes to master.

Making the dough

As long as your yeast is fresh it will rise with no problem. "Straight Dough" method means that you can literally throw everything into the bowl of your stand mixer and let it do the kneading for you.

Then you just have to practice your patience and let it rise for about an hour and a half, or until doubled in size. After the first rise, you roll the dough out into a rectangle roughly the size of the baking sheet. Then allow it to proof again until doubled in thickness in a heavily oiled pan.

One of the great joys of focaccia is the fact that it is basically soaked in olive oil. Because of this be sure to use the best quality olive oil you can reasonably afford for this focaccia. It will lend so much flavor to the finished product that you will want it to be GOOD!

Making it Breakfast Focaccia

Now to take is from just focaccia to Breakfast Focaccia, I cook a package of bacon halfway and then place them on top for baking. I also make a couple of larger indents into the bread just before baking to make room for a fresh-cracked egg I add in the last 10 minutes of baking. I also give it a generous seasoning of salt and pepper on top when it goes into the oven.

This is a perfect brunch recipe that my family requests ALL THE TIME! I usually only pull it out a few times a year so that they can really enjoy it. But it is fairly simple and something you could make any time the craving hits.

I makes the perfect Christmas morning breakfast! Or any morning for that matter!

Breakfast Focaccia

I am providing the recipe in grams because it comes out PERFECT if you use precision. You will want an electric scale to measure the ingredients for ease of use.

Ingredients

450 grams warm water, 105-110 degrees
10 grams Active Dry Yeast
750 grams Bread Flour
8 grams Kosher Salt
25 grams Olive Oil
½ cup Olive Oil, for the pan
6 lg eggs
12 slices of bacon, par-cooked
Kosher Salt
Fresh Cracked Black Pepper

Instructions

Layer all ingredients in this order in the bowl of an electric stand mixer.
Mix with the dough hook on the second speed for about 12 minutes until the dough is smooth and slightly tacky.
Grease the bowl with a spray of pan spray or a little bit of olive oil and allow the dough to proof for 1.5 hours or doubled in size.
Turn the dough out onto the counter and roll into a large rectangle about the size of your baking sheet. Place about a half a cup of olive oil on the baking sheet and coat both sides of the dough in the oil. Allow the dough to rise again until doubled in thickness in the pan.
Par cook the bacon until it has released most or all of its fat but hasn't crisped yet.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Brush the dough with more olive oil. Dock the dough by poking deep holes with your fingers at regular intervals. Season the top of the dough with a generous sprinkle of salt and using a ladle make 6 larger holes to hold the eggs at the end of cooking.
Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes. Remove the bread from the oven and add the eggs in the designated spots, pressing them down again if needed with the ladle. Place the bacon strips around the bread and all around the 6 egg spots. Give the bread a sprinkle of black pepper and some salt on the eggs. Bake 10 minutes longer, or to your desired egg doneness.
Slice into 6 equal pieces and enjoy!

Notes

You can leave the eggs and bacon off and add some fresh herbs to the top with the salt and pepper and have perfect herbed focaccia to use as a side.

I sometimes give the eggs a little crumble of borsin cheese on them for some extra flavor. I use the Garlic and Herb flavor, but use your favorite.

Nutrition Information:

Serving Size: 1 grams
Amount Per Serving: Unsaturated Fat: 0g

Other great breakfast recipes!

I don't usually need anything else to go with this recipe, but pairing it with my Pumpkin Spice Coffee Creamer for your coffee might be a good idea. Or if you want to pack a little extra protein in you could make Sarah's Prosciutto, Fennel and Asparagus Frittata to make it brunch!

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