Don’t let the name confuse you, this Butter Focaccia is still a focaccia but made with a rough puff technique that gives you a delicious, crispy on the outside, soft on the inside bread. This recipe uses my no-knead overnight focaccia recipe base. Cold butter is added to the flour before mixing in the yeast and water.
I like to think of it as a croissant-focaccia hybrid of sorts. A croccia? A focissant? Whatever you wish to call it, I promise that you will love it.
You can adapt it to your liking, add fresh herbs and other toppings of choice. Make sure to also try my Fig and Onion Focaccia, Za’atar and Olive Focaccia, Tomato Focaccia, focaccia pizza and Jalapeno Cheddar Focaccia.
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Why you will love this recipe
- All the textures! It's crispy on the outside, soft and buttery on the inside, savory and even a touch sweet from the butter.
- Versatile! Feel free to adapt this recipe. Add the toppings you like, maybe follow some of my other focaccia recipes for inspiration (for example, my gruyere focaccia or tomato feta focaccia).
My Butter Croissant Focaccia Recipe is inspired by Amy's Sourdough Croissant Bread recipe. When I saw it on Instagram, I knew I had to adapt it to my overnight focaccia recipe.
I hope you will love it as much as I do!
Ingredients
This recipe is pretty straightforward and uses standard pantry and fridge ingredients. You will need:
- Flour: I like to use 100% white all-purpose flour (unbleached preferred). However, feel free to sub in some whole wheat flour (up to 25% of the total flour amount). You can also use bread flour. You can use my whole wheat focaccia recipe as a base.
- Yeast: I like to use Instant yeast when making no knead bread, but dry active yeast will work just fine too. Just make sure to bloom it in the water for a few minutes before making the dough. You can also use fresh yeast but do adjust the quantity. When using fresh yeast instead of dry, use double the amount by weight.
- Butter: This recipe uses a total of 1 stick plus 2 tablespoons of butter! That may seem like a lot of butter, but trust me and trust the process! Besides, you’ll end up with 12 portions so it’s not that bad! I like using salted butter here, but if you only have unsalted butter, it’ll work too. Just add a little extra salt to the dough.
- Olive Oil: It wouldn’t be a focaccia without olive oil. Since we have quite a bit of butter in this recipe, I only recommend using a little bit of olive oil when drizzling on top of the dough and for greasing the pan.
Refer to the recipe card at the bottom of this post for the full like of ingredients and quantities.
Step by Step
This is not a difficult recipe to make, but I encourage you to read through all the steps before starting so that you know what you're in for.
Step 1. Mix in butter. To a large bowl, add all-purpose flour and grated cold butter (Image 1). Using a fork or your hands, stir well (Image 2). You are looking for a crumbly texture (the butter should be distributed throughout the flour).
Step 2. Mix in yeast, salt and water. Add the instant yeast, Kosher salt and cold water (Image 3). Mix with a wooden spoon until all the flour is hydrated (Image 4). The mix should be shaggy and there should be no dry flour streaks.
Rise. Drizzle a little bit of extra virgin olive oil over the top of the dough, cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a tight-fitting cover and refrigerate overnight for at least 18 hours (Images 5-6).
Deflate and shape. At least 2 hours before you want to bake the focaccia, take the bowl out of the fridge and uncover it. Using your hands or a dough scraper deflate the dough slightly and transfer the dough to a generously buttered and oiled baking tray (9x13) or sheet pan (Image 7). Shape it loosely by grabbing each end and folding it over like you would a letter. Flip the dough over so the seams are on the bottom (Image 8). Cover the tray with a towel and set aside for 1.5-2 hours until spread covering the surface of the baking tray (Image 9).
Dimple. Preheat your oven to 450F/230C. The dough should now have spread covering the surface of the baking tray. If not, you can help it stretch to the edges by carefully easing it to the corners. Drizzle the cooled melted butter over the dough and start dimpling with your fingers, covering the entire surface. This creates valleys and mountains in the dough and you should also see air bubbles forming. Add a pinch of salt if you like (Image 10).
Bake. Bake in the preheated oven for 20-22 minutes, until golden brown (Image 11). Every oven is different, so your focaccia may need more time. Let the focaccia cool for 30 minutes before cutting into it.
Expert Tips
- Ice cold butter! Grating butter can get messy. Make sure to freeze your stick of butter for 15 minutes. This will make grating easier and less messy. You may want to wear gloves when handling the butter.
- Use cold water. We want to preserve the butter chunks in the dough as much as possible. Using cold water does that. You may ask yourself, will the cold water hinder the yeast? Not really, since the yeast will have a long 18-hour nap in the fridge where it will do its thing slowly.
- Don’t Hurry the process. Allow the dough to rise in the fridge for at least 18 hours and you’ll need 2-3 hours for the second rise. The timing will depend on the temperature in your kitchen and how active the dough is. That said, plan ahead!
- Parchment paper: Line your baking sheet or baking pan with parchment paper for easy cleanup. Don’t use aluminum foil as it will stick to the bread! This is especially important if using a glass or ceramic baking pan.
- BUTTER THE PAN! Ok, this might be my best focaccia baking tip to date. Before you oil the pan, butter it. The butter creates a layer between the pan and the dough, making it so incredibly easy to remove the bread from the pan once baked.
- Let it cool slightly! Don't cut into the piping hot focaccia right away after it's finished baking. If you cut too soon, the steam can make the dough gummy. Let it cool for at least 30 minutes first. I know it's hard, but trust me, it'll be worth the wait.
Recipe FAQs
This is a great make-ahead recipe because you can prepare the focaccia dough and refrigerate it for up to 3 days. You can then bake it when you’re ready. Once baked, the focaccia can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Yes, you can freeze focaccia slices in freezer bags or freezer-safe containers for up to 6 months and reheat in the oven or toaster oven when want to enjoy it.
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Recipe Card
Butter Focaccia (Croissant Focaccia)
Equipment
- 9x13 Baking pan or large rimmed baking sheet - Affiliate link
- Kitchen Scale - Affiliate Link
Ingredients
For the Dough
- 4 cups All-purpose flour - 520 grams - Bread flour can also be used
- ½ cup Cold salted butter (grated) - 1 stick or 4 ounces, see note
- 2 teaspoon Instant yeast - 7 grams
- 1 teaspoon Kosher salt - 5 grams
- 2 cups Cold water - 473 grams
- 1-2 teaspoon Extra virgin olive oil - For lightly drizzling the top of the dough
For Baking and Garnish
- 1 teaspoon Butter - For greasing the pan
- 1-2 tablespoon Extra virgin olive oil - for greasing the pan
- 2 tablespoon Butter (Melted)
- Flaky salt
Instructions
- Mix in butter. To a large bowl, add 4 cups All-purpose flour and ½ cup Cold salted butter (grated). Using a fork or your hands, stir well. You are looking for a crumbly texture (the butter should be distributed throughout the flour).
- Mix in yeast, salt and water. Add 2 teaspoon Instant yeast, 1 teaspoon Kosher salt and 2 cups Cold water. Mix with a wooden spoon until all the flour is hydrated. The mix should be shaggy and there should be no dry flour streaks.
- Rise. Drizzle 1-2 teaspoon Extra virgin olive oil over the top of the dough, cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a tight-fitting cover and refrigerate overnight for at least 18 hours.
- Deflate and shape. 2 hours before you want to bake the focaccia, take the bowl out of the fridge and uncover it. Using your hands or a dough scraper deflate the dough slightly and transfer the dough to a generously buttered and oiled baking tray (9x13) or sheet pan. Shape it loosely by grabbing each end and folding it over like you would a letter. Flip the dough over so the seams are on the bottom. Cover the tray with a towel and set aside for 1.5-2 hours.
- Dimple. Preheat your oven to 450F/230C. The dough should now have spread covering the surface of the baking tray. If not, you can help it stretch to the edges by carefully easing it to the corners. Drizzle 2 tablespoon Butter (Melted) over the dough and start dimpling with your fingers, covering the entire surface. This creates valleys and mountains in the dough and you should also see air bubbles forming. Add a big pinch of Flaky salt.
- Bake. Bake in the preheated oven for 20-22 minutes, until golden brown. Every oven is different, so your focaccia may need more time. Let the focaccia cool for 30 minutes before cutting into it.
Notes
- Don’t Hurry the process. Allow the dough to rise in the fridge for at least 18 hours and you’ll need 2-3 hours for the second rise. The timing will depend on the temperature in your kitchen and how active the dough is. That being said, plan ahead!
- This recipe uses Instant yeast. But if you only have active dry yeast, you can bloom it in lukewarm water for 5 minutes before adding it to the dry ingredients.
- Use really cold butter! Cold butter will be easier to grate before adding to the flour. Freeze your stick of butter for 15 minutes before grating it.
- Use salted butter. If you can, use salted butter. If you only have unsalted, add an extra teaspoon of kosher salt to the mix.
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