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Olive and Sundried Tomato Focaccia Bread

A focaccia bread flavored with olives, sun‑dried tomatoes, rosemary, oregano, and olive oil.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 12 ingredients
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Why it works: Rosemary and oregano match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 344 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓

Olive and Sundried Tomato Focaccia Bread

Oven400°F
Time15–20 minutes

Ingredients

Directions

Make the dough

  1. In a large bowl, stir together the yeast, warm water and sweetener. Let sit for 10 minutes.

  2. Stir in flour and salt until well combined.

  3. On a lightly floured surface, knead dough for 6–8 minutes.

  4. Transfer dough to a large, lightly oiled bowl.

  5. Cover with a cloth and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, approx 1–1½ hour.

Shape and top

  1. Preheat oven to 400°F.

  2. In a small bowl, mix together the rosemary, oregano, salt and pepper. Set aside.

  3. Punch down dough and roll out to form a rectangle.

  4. Place on a lightly oiled cookie sheet and let rise for 30 minutes.

  5. Dimple surface of dough all over with fingertips and brush surface with olive oil.

  6. Sprinkle rosemary mixture evenly over dough and top with olives and sundried tomatoes.

Bake

  1. Bake 15–20 minutes or until the edge is browned.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

615Calories
15 gProtein
16 gFat
103 gCarbs

Counts 8 of 9 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 8 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Tomato1 medium (123g)22
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Oregano1 tsp dried (1.8g)5
Rosemary1 tsp dried (1.2g)4
Olive1 large (4g)4
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Waternot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Rosemary + oreganotop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together344 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  2. Olive + tomatotop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together15,539 recipes

    Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).

  3. Oregano + tomatotop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,767 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-hexenal (green, leafy).

  4. Rosemary + olivetop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,590 recipes

    Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).

  5. Rosemary + peppertop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together2,324 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Yeast
Ferments the dough, producing gas that makes it rise and become airy.
Flour
Forms the gluten network that gives the focaccia its structure and chew.
Olive oil
Adds moisture and richness, and helps the top brown and crisp in the oven.
Kalamata olives
Add salty, briny flavour and moisture to the topping.
Sundried tomatoes
Add concentrated, sweet-tart flavour and chewy texture to the topping.

The step that matters

Let the dough rise until doubled. The rise is what makes the crumb light and airy. Underproofed dough bakes dense, while overproofed dough may collapse and lose structure, so judge by size rather than the clock alone.

Swap the tomato

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (flour, rosemary, oregano, pepper, olive):

  1. Eggplantfits better
  2. Capsicumfits about as well
  3. Spinachfits about as well
  4. Tomatothe original

Fit is the average pairing score against flour, rosemary, oregano, pepper, olive. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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