No.70 The 100 Most Popular Recipes Ever · October 2026

Focaccia

Made famous by Samin Nosrat

Photo: Kurtkaiser, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

From Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat, 2017.

Ligurian focaccia went viral in the 2010s, and Samin's version, with a salty brine poured over before baking, is one of the most baked breads online.

Written in our own words and tested in a home kitchen. Get the original in Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat.

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups (600 g) lukewarm water
• 1/2 tsp (2 g) active dry yeast
• 1 tbsp (15 g) honey
• 5 1/3 cups (680 g) all-purpose or bread flour
• 1 tbsp plus 1 tsp (18 g) fine sea salt
• 1/2 cup (120 ml) extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for the pan and top
• For the brine: 1 1/2 tsp fine salt dissolved in 1/3 cup (80 ml) lukewarm water
• Flaky salt, for finishing

Steps

1. Stir the yeast and honey into the water. Add the flour and salt and stir until no dry flour remains. Cover and leave at room temperature 12 to 14 hours, until it has more than doubled and is full of bubbles.
2. Pour 1/4 cup olive oil into an 18 by 13-inch rimmed sheet pan. Tip the dough onto it, pour another 1/4 cup oil over, and gently stretch it toward the edges. If it springs back, wait 10 minutes and try again.
3. Leave it to rise at room temperature 30 to 45 minutes, until puffy. Heat the oven to 450F (230C) with a baking stone or steel on the middle rack if you have one.
4. Dimple the dough all over with your fingertips, pressing all the way to the bottom of the pan.
5. Pour the brine over the dough so it pools in the dimples. Leave 30 to 45 minutes more, until very bubbly.
6. Sprinkle with flaky salt and drizzle with a little more oil.
7. Bake 25 to 30 minutes, on the stone if using, until the top is golden and the bottom crisp and brown (lift a corner to check). For a browner top, finish 1 to 2 minutes on the top rack.
8. Brush with a little more oil, let it cool in the pan 5 minutes, then slide it onto a rack.

Chef's tips

• The brine is the Ligurian trick: it makes the top tender and well seasoned.
• Focaccia is best the day it's baked; reheat leftovers in a hot oven.

This is Chef Amazing's write-up of the dish, tested for a home kitchen. The original is in Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat by Samin Nosrat: get the book, No. 4 on The 100 Greatest Cookbooks.

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