Name: Focaccia barese
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 3 h 20 min
Cuisine: Italian, Bari / Puglia
Ingredients: 500 g Italian 00 or plain white flour, medium-strength bread flour also works; 300 g water, room temperature; 25 g fresh brewer’s yeast, or about 8 g instant dry yeast; 15 g fine sea salt; 10 g caster sugar, supports the short fermentation; 50 g extra-virgin olive oil, divided between dough handling and tray; 500 g ripe plum tomatoes, or a mix of plum and cherry tomatoes; 100 g small black or green olives, Baresane-style if available; 25 g extra-virgin olive oil, for the surface; 3 g dried oregano; 4 g fine sea salt, for the topping, adjust to olive saltiness

Focaccia barese: wide hero view of a thick round golden focaccia topped with cherry tomatoes, black olives and oregano, with a cut wedge showing the soft crumb

Prep30 minutes

Cook20 minutes

Total3 h 20 min

Yield1 large 32 cm focaccia, about 8 portions

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The dish

About Focaccia barese

Puglia’s official tourism portal describes focaccia barese as crisp at the edges, richly oiled and softly sweet from tomatoes pressed into the dough. Flour, salt, yeast and water form the base, while olive oil, fresh tomatoes and olives provide the defining topping.

There are many dough variations, including versions with potato or semolina, but no single household formula owns the name. The topping is more consistent: tomatoes and olives are the recognisable Bari signature. This version therefore uses a straightforward soft wheat dough to stay close to the regional tourism description and the inspected photographs.

The dough remains soft enough to rise around the tomatoes rather than baking like a dry pizza base. Oil under the dough fries the lower edge and helps create the crisp rim that contrasts with the tender interior.

Tomatoes are pressed into the surface cut-side down or lightly crushed so some juice enters the dimples. If they are watery, the oven must be fully hot before baking or the centre can remain gummy.

Focaccia barese is traditionally enjoyed hot or warm rather than straight from the oven at its most blistering temperature. A short rest allows tomato juice and crumb to settle without losing the crisp edge.

Technique

Three things that matter

Keep the dough soft. A dry, heavily floured dough produces bread rather than the tender Bari-style crumb.
Oil the pan and surface. Olive oil is part of both flavour and edge texture, not a decorative drizzle.
Press tomatoes into the dough. Their juice seasons the surface as the dough rises and bakes around them.

Cook the dish

Ingredients

Everything needed to prepare the dish, arranged for fast scanning before cooking.

Dough

500 gItalian 00 or plain white flourmedium-strength bread flour also works
300 gwaterroom temperature
25 gfresh brewer’s yeastor about 8 g instant dry yeast
15 gfine sea salt
10 gcaster sugarsupports the short fermentation
50 gextra-virgin olive oildivided between dough handling and tray

Topping

500 gripe plum tomatoesor a mix of plum and cherry tomatoes
100 gsmall black or green olivesBaresane-style if available
25 gextra-virgin olive oilfor the surface
3 gdried oregano
4 gfine sea saltfor the topping, adjust to olive saltiness

Step by step

Method

Mix and start fermentation

Mix a soft dough. Dissolve fresh yeast and sugar in 50 g of the water. Combine with flour and most of the remaining water, then add the dough salt. Work until smooth and elastic, adding the last water only if the flour can absorb it.
The dough should be soft and slightly sticky, not pourable.
Give the first rise. Cover and leave at 24–26 °C for about 60 minutes, or until visibly expanded.
The dough should be aerated and relaxed rather than necessarily doubled exactly.

Shape and top

Oil and stretch in the pan. Coat the pan generously with about 35 g of the measured olive oil. Transfer the dough and use oiled fingertips to spread it to the rim. Rest 20 minutes if it springs back.
The dough should cover the pan without tearing or being rolled thin.
Add tomatoes, olives and oregano. Crush or halve the tomatoes and press them into the surface, distributing their juice. Add olives, oregano, topping salt and the remaining olive oil.
Tomatoes should sit partly inside the dough rather than merely resting on top.
Proof in the pan. Leave for about 60–70 minutes, until the dough rises visibly around the tomatoes and olives.
The surface should look airy, with the toppings embedded in shallow wells.

Bake and settle

Bake very hot. Heat the oven to 250 °C well in advance. Bake for about 18–22 minutes until the edge is deeply golden and the underside is crisp.
Lift an edge: the base should be browned, not pale and soft.
Rest before cutting. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a board and rest another 5–10 minutes before cutting.
The crumb should set while the focaccia remains warm and the edge crisp.

Practical guidance

Regional variation

Potato and durum-wheat semolina appear in many Puglian versions. The official tourism description also recognises a straightforward wheat-flour dough, so this batch keeps the formula simple and reproducible.

Tomatoes

Use ripe but flavourful tomatoes. Very watery tomatoes can be squeezed lightly, but enough juice should remain to season the dough.

Olives

Taste olives before adding the topping salt; brined olives vary dramatically in salinity.

Storage

Focaccia is best the day it is baked. Re-crisp leftovers directly on an oven rack at 190 °C.

Troubleshooting

The centre is gummy. The tomatoes were extremely wet, the oven was underheated or the focaccia was cut immediately.
The edge is pale. Too little oil was used in the pan or the metal pan did not receive enough bottom heat.
The dough is dense. The dough was too dry or the pan proof was shortened.
The olives make it too salty. Brined olives and topping salt were not balanced together.

Nutrition per serving

Serving size: 1 of 8 portions
Calories: approximately 400 kcal
Carbohydrates: 55 g
Protein: 9 g
Fat: 16 g
Fibre: 4 g
Sodium: approximately 720 mg

Estimate includes measured olive oil and 100 g olives; actual oil retained in the pan changes the final energy value.

Allergens and food safety

Contains wheat/gluten.

Use oven-safe pans and take care with hot tomato juice and oil when moving the baked focaccia.

Store cooled leftovers covered for up to 2 days or freeze; refrigerate only if local temperature or toppings make room-temperature storage unsuitable.

FAQ

Does focaccia barese always contain potato?

No. Potato appears in many versions, but regional sources also describe dough made simply from flour, water, yeast and salt. Tomatoes and olives are the more consistent identifying topping.

Should the tomatoes be placed cut-side up or down?

Either can work. Pressing them into the dough matters more than orientation because some juice should season the surface.

Can the focaccia be baked on a rectangular tray?

Yes. The round shape is strongly associated with many Bari bakeries, but the topping and dough treatment matter more than the exact pan geometry for home baking.

Final note

What matters most

Result: A thick golden focaccia with crisp oily edges, a soft aerated crumb and sweet-savoury pockets of tomato, olives and oregano.
Key: A soft dough, generous pan oil and a fully heated oven keep the centre tender while the rim crisps.