Paleo Focaccia Bread
I love focaccia bread. The first time I had it was at a cafe near the university I went to. The cafe was called Deux Gros Nez (which translates to “two big noses” in French). Keep in mind that this was in Reno, Nevada. It was the coolest place around (duh! it had a French name!) and we thought we were very cool every time we went there. Plus, everybody there seemed to be smoking….how very European!
Many years later, I had REAL focaccia bread on one of my many trips to Italy. It is possibly the best thing ever. I think the best we had was in San Gimignano, but it was also really good in the Cinque Terre. We used to buy a big square of focaccia, some olives, fresh cherry tomatoes, a hunk of cheese and some prosciutto from little grocery shops. It was much more economical than eating in a tourist restaurant(and much more delicious). Now I really thought I was cool 🙂 Here’s my daughter enjoying some focaccia high above a village in the Cinque Terre while we were hiking through olive groves.
Samantha in the olive groves enjoying some focaccia
Here’s a gluten-free (but not dairy free) version of focaccia bread for you to try out. Enjoy it with a glass of wine. Close your eyes and pretend you are in Tuscany. I found the original version of this recipe at GastroChef.
Colorful tomatoes
Ingredients
- 4 eggs
- 4 Tablespoons plain Greek yogurt or coconut milk (I used yogurt)
- 1/4 cup plus 1 Tablespoon coconut flour
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- a generous pinch of salt
- 1 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
- A handful of cherry tomatoes and black olives, chopped or halved
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1-2 Tablespoons of fresh herbs (thyme, oregano, rosemary or basil…your choice)
- 1/4 Parmesan, shaved or coarsely grated
Instructions
- Mix the eggs and yogurt or coconut milk together in a small bowl. I used a stick immersion blender, but a whisk would work equally well.
Eggs and yogurt
- In a medium bowl, combine the coconut flour, finely grated Parmesan, salt and baking soda.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir to combine.
- Spread your dough (it’s like a batter consistency) onto a parchment lined baking sheet. I sprayed the paper with olive oil.
Spread the batter fairly thinly
- Toss the halved cherry tomatoes, olives, herbs and olive oil together and then place them on top of your dough.
Tomatoes, olives and herbs
- Place into a pre-heated 375 F (190 C) oven for 12-15 minutes.
- Remove and sprinkle the shaved Parmesan over the top and return to the oven for an additional 3-5 minutes.
Hot from the oven
The Verdict
This was actually very bread like. Was it like real authentic focaccia? No, and I didn’t expect it to be. If you are ever in Italy, you might want to just throw caution to the wind, eat some real focaccia and suffer the gastrointestinal consequences. However, until you make it to Italy, this is a pretty darn good alternative. It’s even better when you dip it in some salted olive oil.
Light lunch or snack
Focaccia
Ingredients
- 4 eggs
- 4 Tablespoons plain Greek yogurt or coconut milk (I used yogurt)
- 1/4 cup plus 1 Tablespoon coconut flour
- Generous pinch of salt
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
- A handful of cherry tomatoes and black olives, chopped or halved
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1-2 Tablespoons of fresh herbs (thyme, oregano, rosemary or basil...your choice)
- 1/4 Parmesan, shaved or coarsely grated
Instructions
- Mix the eggs and yogurt or coconut milk together in a small bowl. I used a stick immersion blender, but a whisk would work equally well.
- In a medium bowl, combine the coconut flour, finely grated Parmesan, salt and baking soda.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir to combine.
- Spread your dough (it's like a batter consistency) onto a parchment lined baking sheet. I sprayed the paper with some olive oil.
- Toss the halved cherry tomatoes, olives, herbs and olive oil together and then place them on top of your dough.
- Place into a pre-heated 375 F (190 C) oven for 12-15 minutes.
- Remove and sprinkle the shaved Parmesan over the top and return to the oven for an additional 3-5 minutes.
Notes
You could also add some chopped red onion or some fresh pressed garlic (or even whole cloves). It's delicious with olive oil drizzled over the top after it comes out of the oven. You can also pour a little olive oil on a plate, sprinkle a little sea salt into it and dip your focaccia...YUM!
12 Comments
Featured On
Follow Us!
looks yum. next on my list of things to try!
Hi Ruby,
Let me know how it turns out if you try it 🙂
I am not pointing a finger here, but if I want to be excluding dairys in my diet, this wouldn’t be paleo. Have you tried making with something else substituting yoghurt and cheese? Just curious, because I love fociaccia too… 🙂
Hi Eva,
Many people do consider whole fat dairy from quality sources to be paleo (or at least primal). It’s definitely one of those grey areas. I don’t personally add much dairy in my diet. My husband sometimes eats yogurt and cheese. Most of the time, if I add cheese in a recipe, it’s only in a small amount as a garnsih which could easily be left off. This recipe is certainly the exception since the cheese acts as a binder. I haven’t tried it without the cheese and yogurt. The yogurt could be left out and coconut or almond milk could be used instead. I would try replacing the cheese with a tablespoon or two or arrowroot flour or maybe some vegan parmesan cheese. Here is a recipe: http://www.veggieful.com/2012/08/vegan-parmesan-cheese-recipe.html I’ve made cream cheese from cashews before and it turned out quite good. I tried a google search for you looking for dairy free gluten free focaccia, but most of the recipes call for gluten free flour mixes or rice flour etc…Good luck and let me know if you find a recipe that works out for you 🙂
Hi Lisa, am about to start the second batch, the first is long gone! The cheese is very good with the coconut, who would have thought…
I have not been able to find coconut flower and tried to make some in the blender, tricky tricky but it sort of worked. Oh and I used sour cream instead of the yoghurt. ( yoghurt = too lean, LOL)
Thanks for the nice recipes, we appreciate your efforts!
Hi Miriam,
I’m glad you liked it 🙂 Did you just grind up some coconut flakes to try and make the flour? Coconut flour is available at many reform hauses and bio laden. In Zürich, Vitus in the Niederdorf area has it. Look here for the address and also I have listed a place here in Switzerland that sells it online http://swisspaleo.ch/shopping-guide/health-food-stores/ I usually buy mine at a small store in Uster called Apfel Baum. I think it cost something like 25 francs for 1kg but 1kg last forever. If you are ever in Germany in Konstanz http://www.bio-markt.info/web/Bio-Supermaerkte/Baden-Wuerttemberg/115/1/0/236.html(about an hour from Zürich) they have a huge health food store called AlNatura that has coconut flour, almond flour, coconut oil, and lots of nut butters all for a better price than here. I love sour cream that would be tasty. Actually, the yogurt I used is full fat Greek yogurt and it tastes just like sour cream to me.
Yes, in the magimix. The flakes get a bit smaller but it is by no means flour. Thanks for the links, I am actually pretty close to Konstanz, a good reminder!
The Regenbogen Winterthur sells the stuff too.
Mmmhhh, I just tried the recipe yesterday and it turned out very yummy. I am very lucky as I travel to the US a lot, so I always carry some coconut flour back in my suitcase.
As to a dairy free focaccia bread I stumbled across this recipe on the internet but haven’t actally tried it.
http://www.paleoplan.com/2013/11-25/new-paleo-herbed-focaccia-bread-recipe/
So maybe Eva will try it and let us know how it turned out?
Hi Gabrielle,
Glad you liked it 🙂
It sound yummy. Just a question, how much of 1/4 of parmesan?
Thank you!
Best regards from Croatia
Ana
Hi Ana,
It’s one cup of parmesan in the mix and then 1/4 cup for sprinkling over the top 🙂
Thanks! Making it tonight!