While it may be winter right now, let’s make ourselves a hint of summer flavor with a delicious, fresh cherry tomato focaccia. This focaccia is a perfect appetizer. This Italian bread-baking recipe is also suited for beginner bakers. It is super easy to make, and the fluffy dough, crispy crust, and flavorful cherry tomatoes are guaranteed to satisfy. In general, it’s super cool to learn how to make focaccia! I have lots of fun with it.
What is Focaccia:
Focaccia is a flat, fluffy, and crisp Italian flatbread. It is a yeast dough with high moisture and olive oil content, giving it a delicious fluffy texture and crispy crust. Focaccia works as an appetizer, side dish, or even for sandwiches. Depending on the toppings used, there is so much versatility with focaccia.
Ingredients for making Cherry Tomato Focaccia:
This cherry tomato focaccia is a simple recipe, using only standard focaccia dough ingredients and cherry tomatoes as a topping.
- Flour
- Cherry Tomatoes
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- Water
- Yeast
- Sugar
- Salt
Choice of flour: Use an all-purpose or bread flour for this recipe
The natural sweetness of cherry tomatoes brings a surprising amount of flavor to this focaccia. Especially in combination with olive oil, this focaccia tastes like pure summer.
An extra virgin olive oil gives delicious flavor and helps with the crust of the focaccia.
You can use dry or fresh yeast for this cherry tomato focaccia. For convenience, I like to use dried yeast.
I like to include a bit of sugar in the dough to help activate the yeast.
Optionally, you can customize the toppings of this focaccia to your liking. Some tasty additions are balsamic, garlic, basil, or black pepper. But this focaccia will also be delicious as it is.
Cherry tomato focaccia recipe:
Preparing the Dough:
Making the dough is super easy. It only consists of combining the ingredients and letting the dough rest. If your yeast needs prior activation, add it with the sugar to lukewarm water until it turns bubbly. Otherwise, you can combine it with the other ingredients right away.
Gently combine the ingredients, except the cherry tomatoes, in a mixing bowl. Reserve 1-2 tbsp olive oil to drizzle over the focaccia before baking.
The focaccia dough doesn’t need much kneading. It will be rather wet and sticky.
Cover the bowl with a clean cloth and let the dough rise for at least 1 hour. I like to prepare the dough ahead and let it rest overnight.
Topping it with Cherry Tomatoes:
Preheat your oven to 425°F (220°C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Next, pour the dough onto the backing sheet and gently spread it out. Try to destroy as little yeast bubbles as possible in this process. Slice the cherry tomatoes in half and gently press them face-up into the dough. Give the focaccia a generous sprinkle of sea salt and top it with olive oil. Lastly, let the focaccia rest on the baking tray for at least 45 minutes before baking.
Baking the Cherry Tomato Focaccia:
Place the Cherry Tomato Focaccia in the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes or until turning golden brown. Be careful that it doesn’t burn. Remove from the oven and let it cool slightly before slicing and serving.
Serving and Presentation
Cherry Tomato Focaccia Serving Suggestions:
- Slice the Cherry Tomato Focaccia into squares or wedges and serve it as an appetizer.
- Pair it with a fresh salad like this Panzanella for a light and satisfying meal.
- Take it out as a outdoor treat. I packed some of mine for when I went hiking in Sardinia. The perfect outdoor snack after some exercise!
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
You can make this recipe in approximately three hours, including dough rising time. I like to give the dough a longer rest time overnight whenever possible.
This recipe is not suitable for keto or paleo diets due to the use of all-purpose flour.
Yes, you can prepare Cherry Tomato Focaccia ahead of time and reheat it in the oven or microwave. It’s best when served fresh but can still be enjoyed reheated.
Other topping ideas could be eggplant, zucchini, onion, artichoke hearts, garlic and rosemary, or sun-dried tomatoes.
Some more Recipe Inspirations:
- Spaghetti aglio, olio e peperoncino
- Penne all’arrabbiata
- Spinach risotto recipe
- Spaghetti alla puttanesca
- Wild garlic focaccia
- Simple cherry tomato pasta recipe
- Artichoke pasta recipe
- Vegan spaghetti alla Nerano
Easy Cherry Tomato Focaccia Recipe
This cherry tomato focaccia bursts with the fresh taste of summer. It is a delicious simple recipe that works great as an appetizer or snack.
- Total Time: 110 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Ingredients
500g flour
425ml warm water
200ml olive oil
200g cherry tomatoes
1 tbsp sugar
2 tsp salt
7g dry yeast
Instructions
If your yeast needs prior activation, add it with the sugar to lukewarm water until it turns bubbly. Otherwise, you can combine it with the other ingredients right away.
Combine all ingredients, except the cherry tomatoes, in a mixing bowl. Reserve 1-2 tbsp olive oil to drizzle over the focaccia before baking. The dough doesn’t need much kneading. It will be rather wet and sticky.
Cover the bowl with a clean cloth and let the dough rise for at least 1 hour.
Preheat your oven to 425°F (220°C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Pour the dough onto the backing sheet and gently spread it out. Try to destroy as little yeast bubbles as possible in this process.
Slice the cherry tomatoes in half and gently press them face-up into the dough. Give the focaccia a generous sprinkle of sea salt and top it with olive oil.
Let the focaccia rest on the baking tray for at least 45 minutes before baking.
Place the Cherry Tomato Focaccia in the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes or until turning golden brown. Be careful that it doesn’t burn.
Notes
I like to prepare the dough ahead and let it rest overnight.
- Prep Time: 80 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Snack, Appetizer
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Italian
- Diet: Vegan