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Soft Potato Focaccia Bread

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A soft delicious Focaccia Bread that’s made with the addition of cooked potatoes. So delicious you will be making it over and over. Perfect as an appetizer or even made into a sandwich.

potato focaccia in 2 black pans, rosemary & zucchini and cheese

Italian love their bread. My husband can’t go a day without Fresh Bread with his meal. Whether it’s to wipe up some left over sauce, or a bit of olive oil left in the bowl.

It doesn’t matter, he needs his bread!

So when I decided to try making a focaccia bread with a special ingredient, yup potatoes. I was told potatoes help to make the dough soft but I never imagined this soft and delicious.

We all agreed that we would follow the traditional Pugliese way of making focaccia and that would be including potatoes in the ingredients!

How to make Potato Focaccia Bread

  • Cook the unpeeled potatoes until tender, then peel and pass through a potato ricer, set aside to cool.
  • In the bowl of your stand up mixer add the flour, yeast, honey, salt and potatoes, start to knead.

how to make potato focaccia potato cooked and mashed, and ingredients in the stand up mixer

  • Then add the oil, continue to knead.
  • Add the water in a slow stream while kneading.
  • Continue to knead for about 3-4 minutes or until dough is smooth.

how to make potato focaccia dough first knead and then final knead in mixer

  • Move the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead into a ball.
  • Place in a lightly oiled bowl, cover the bowl with plastic and let the dough rise in a draft free warm area for approximately two hours.

how to make focaccia dough place in dough to rise and risen dough

  • Once the time has passed, form the dough into 2-3 circles and place in prepared pans.
  • Make holes in the dough with your finger tips, sprinkle with rock salt, and fresh rosemary leaves then drizzle with olive oil.

how to make focaccia dough in the pan with rosemary and zucchini and cheese

  • Bake for about 20 minutes. Eat warm. So darn good.

What is the difference between focaccia and pizza?

  • Some pizza dough doesn’t contain oil and the focaccia dough does.
  • Focaccia dough can contain mashed potatoes.
  • Focaccia dough has a longer rising time than pizza.
  • Focaccia is thicker, Pizza is thinner.
  • Pizza has a tomato sauce, focaccia doesn’t.
  • Pizza is made in a brick oven, focaccia isn’t.
  • Focaccia bread is baked in a lower temperature oven then Pizza.
  • But both are definitely delicious.

potato focaccia bread on a white paper cut into pieces

For this Potato Focaccia I decided to make two different types of focaccia. I made the traditional rosemary, rock salt and olive oil and another type that is very popular here in Italy during the summer.

A zucchini and cheese focaccia. I shredded the zucchini and the firm mozzarella. First I topped the dough with the zucchini sprinkled a little oregano and salt on top then topped it with the shredded cheese and baked it.

Yes this Focaccia could definitely give my Best Pizza Dough a run for it’s money!

More delicious Focaccia Bread Recipes

potato focaccia in 2 black pans, rosemary & zucchini and cheese

Can the dough be made in advance?

Yes the dough can be made the night before and left to rise over night in the fridge. Place the focaccia dough in the bowl cover it with plastic wrap and refrigerate.

When ready to bake, remove it from the fridge, let it sit at room temperature for 30 minutes, then bake as instructed in the recipe.

How to store Focaccia Bread

Store the bread in an airtight container or bag at room temperature, it will keep for two days.

Can the Dough be frozen?

Yes the dough can also be frozen, freeze it after the first rise. The dough will keep for up to six months.

Thaw the dough in the fridge, then place the dough in the prepared pan. Let it sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before baking.

How to Knead the dough by hand

Kneading by hand –  In a large bowl mix the flour, yeast, honey and salt (place salt away from the yeast) and the mashed potatoes with a fork. Then add the oil and water, mix again with a fork, then move the dough to a flat surface and knead for 5-7 minutes or until the dough is smooth and elastic, then knead into a ball. Place in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm draft free area for approximately 2 hours or doubled in bulk.

So if you are looking for a soft tasty Italian Focaccia Bread I hope you give this one a try, and let me know what you think. Buon Appetito!

slices of potato focaccia on white parchment paper

potato focaccia bread on a white paper cut into pieces
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5 from 24 votes

Soft Potato Focaccia Bread

The addition of cooked potatoes makes this the softest, most delicious Focaccia Bread you will ever taste. The perfect appetizer!
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Course Appetizer, Bread and Pizza, Main Dish
Cuisine Italian
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Rising Time 2 hours
Total Time 2 hours 35 minutes
Servings 3 focaccia
Calories 655kcal
Author Rosemary Molloy

Ingredients

FOCACCIA DOUGH

  • 1 medium potato (150 grams)
  • 2 1/4 cups + 1 tablespoon all purpose flour (300 grams)
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
  • 1/2 teaspoon honey
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1/2 cup + 3 tablespoons lukewarm water

ROSEMARY TOPPING

  • 2-3 sprigs fresh rosemary leaves
  • 2-3 pinches rock salt
  • 2-3 tablespoons olive oil

ZUCCHINI & CHEESE FOCACCIA

  • 1 small zucchini shredded
  • 1/2 cup firm mozzarella shredded
  • 1/2 teaspoon oregano
  • 1 pinch salt
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil

Instructions

  • Boil the unpeeled potato until tender. Drain, remove skin and mash well or pass through a potato ricer.
  • In the bowl of a stand up mixer add the flour, yeast, honey and salt (place salt away from the yeast) and the mashed potatoes, start to knead (on #2 speed).
  • Continue to knead, add the oil, then pour the water slowly (a slow stream), continue to knead for 3-4 minutes (no higher than #3-4 speed) or until dough is smooth and starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl. Remove to a flat lightly floured surface and knead into a ball. Place in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm draft free area for approximately 2 hours or doubled in bulk.
  • Pre-heat oven to 400F (200C). Lightly oil a pizza pan. I used three 7 inch (19cm) pans.
  • Divide dough and place in prepared pans, with finger tips make prints in the dough.
  • To make the rosemary focaccia, sprinkle the dough with rosemary leaves, rock salt and drizzle with olive oil.
    To make the zucchini & cheese focaccia, top the dough with shredded zucchini, sprinkle with oregano and salt, top with shredded cheese and drizzle with olive oil.
  • Bake for approximately 20 minutes until dough is cooked. Serve. Enjoy!

Notes

Kneading by hand -  In a large bowl mix the flour, yeast, honey and salt (place salt away from the yeast) and the mashed potatoes with a fork. Then add the oil and water, mix again with a fork, then move the dough to a flat surface and knead for 5-7 minutes or until the dough is smooth and elastic,then knead into a ball. Place in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm draft free area for approximately 2 hours or doubled in bulk.

Nutrition

Calories: 655kcal | Carbohydrates: 86g | Protein: 19g | Fat: 27g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 15mg | Sodium: 1179mg | Potassium: 568mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 205IU | Vitamin C: 15mg | Calcium: 141mg | Iron: 7mg
Tried this recipe?Mention @anitalianinmykitchen or tag #anitalianinmykitchen!

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  1. Jenny says

    Amazing! My Italian fiancé loved it! I am so close to getting to his Nonna’s level! …but he is able to remember his small town with this recipe!!!! Thank you for sharing this!

    Reply

  2. Zana says

    Hi Rosemary,

    I tried this recipe and the potato foccacia is really good, crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. The only thing is, I can’t seem to get the bread to be as thick as your photo shows , at most I will get about 3/4 inches thickness and that is it. According to your recipe you do not proof the bread a second time, just the one time then after putting it in the pan, straight into the oven. Is that right? I tried handling the dough as gentle as possible after the first proof so that it will go into the pan nice and thick, but after splitting the dough into 3 pieces it becomes somewhat deflated and thin going into the pan and the oven without a second proof. Can you give me a tip as to how to get it nice and thick like yours? Thank you for such a delicious recipe!

    Reply

    • Rosemary says

      Hi Zana, yes just one rise, but if you prefer place the dough in the pan and after you have made finger prints in the dough, cover it and let it rise again for 30-60 minutes and then bake, see if that helps. Let me know.

      Reply

      • Zana says

        Hi Rosemary,

        I tried doing the second rise and it worked beautifully. Thank you again for such a lovely recipe. This will definitely be in the weekly bread rotation for sure.

  4. Peter T Gleeson says

    5 stars
    This turned out absolutely magnificent. So easy to put together. I think that this focaccia could end up as a regular item for my lunches and also to go with various soups. Thank you

    Reply

  5. Malou says

    5 stars
    I eat this for breakfast, lunch and dinner when I make it. It’s really irresistible especially when still warm. Truly delicious with soup. Thank you

    Reply

  6. Nikki Moranville says

    5 stars
    I am so in love with your Weekend Menu emails! Makes it difficult to decide which to cook THIS weekend. Thank you so much for creating this platform!

    Reply

  9. Diane says

    Hi! In your picture it looks like your using a cast iron frying pan But in your instructions it says a pizza pan. Which one is it?

    Reply

  11. Dawn Weston says

    5 stars
    Hello again Rosemary, just wanted to let you know how much I love this recipe. I have used it for Focaccia, pizza and batches of little flour sprinkled bread rolls, which are currently my favourites. I wish I could share a photo of them with you, I am so delighted with how they look as well as their taste!

    Reply

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