Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free, Egg-Free Sun-Dried Tomato and Olive Focaccia
You know what it’s like to not be able to have bread or pizza or focaccia. My family does, too. For the past five years, I’ve been trying off-and-on to replicate the chew, the bounce and the bend that occurs naturally in a gluten-full bread. I’ve made batches and batches of doughs—all failures. But, those failures have led me to the biggest bread success I’ve ever had. And I’m happy to share it with you.
The best part is that you can shape the dough—with your hands. This is no batter bread dough. Confession: I was honestly never a fan. Instead, you combine the dough, let it sit and minutes later you have a dough that you can knead and shape. Unbelievable.
Do you see that crumb?
The dough is very flexible. Twist it—or not—and you have yourself some puffy breadsticks!
My friends and I are playing with ratios again as part of the Gluten-Free Ratio Rally. What’s the Gluten-Free Ratio Rally? We’re a group of food bloggers and cookbook authors committed to baking with ratios. This month’s assignment: focaccia. Thanks, Heather, from Discovering the Extraordinary, for being our host! Please check Heather’s site for the complete list of bloggers with links to their focaccia recipes.
Me and my ratio: After playing around in the kitchen with various ratios, this one made me (and my family) the happiest. It’s easy to remember, too. Feel free to have fun with the ratios. It will depend ever so slightly on the ratio of grains and starches in your gluten-free all-purpose flour blend. Also, just in case, I’ve included cup and spoon measurements if that’s what you’re more comfortable with.
1 part dry
1 part liquid
1½ cups (210 g) cornstarch
¾ cup (120 g) potato starch
¾ cup (105 g) white rice flour
½ cup (70 g) millet flour or sorghum flour
1½ teaspoons (5 g) sugar
3 tablespoons (27 g) psyllium husk powder
2½ teaspoons (10 g) salt
One ¼-ounce packet active dry yeast
1 teaspoon xanthan gum, optional
1 teaspoon probiotics powder, optional
2½ cups (583 g) water
3 tablespoons (42 g) olive oil, plus more for drizzling
40 (100 g) black pitted olives, chopped
10 (25 g) sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
Flaked sea salt, for sprinkling
Dried rosemary or Italian herb blend, for sprinkling
1. In a large bowl, whisk together the cornstarch, potato starch, rice flour millet flour, sugar, psyllium husk powder, salt, yeast, xanthan gum and probiotics, if using. Add the oil, water, olives and sun-dried tomatoes; let sit until thickened, about 8 minutes.
2. Scoop the dough out onto a parchment paper-lined work surface sprinkled lightly with Silvana's Kitchen Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour. Generously coat a baking sheet with olive oil, place the dough on top and flatten the dough to fit the baking sheet. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature until puffy, about 30 minutes.
3. Position a rack in the bottom of the oven, place a baking stone on top and preheat to 425°. Sprinkle the dough with the flaked salt and dried rosemary and drizzle with olive oil. Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 400° and bake on the bottom rack until golden brown, 30 to 35 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack.
13 Comments: Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free, Egg-Free Sun-Dried Tomato and Olive Focaccia
Hi and thanks for writing! I know many fellow gluten-free bakers who use psyllium husk powder and I haven’t heard of this issue. I will definitely ask Isaiah’s doctor and will post Dr. Doni’s comment.
I love flaxseed meal and it’s a great alternative, but it doesn’t have the same gelling properties and strength as psyllium husk powder.
Talk soon,
Silvana
This is amazing. It isn’t ersatz bread, this is real bread. Everyone, gluten-free and wheatables, loved it. Crunchy on the outside and chewy on the inside. It’s wonderful.
Hi Linda, I’m so happy to hear! It was a definitely a bread miracle to me and my family when we tore into it for the first time!
Silvana, glad to see you experimenting with the psyllium husk powder, too. I just made some dinner rolls the other night using psyllium husk and was intrigued by its properties. Keep the bread loving coming. We all learn from each other!
Hi Donna, I’ve been playing around with psyllium husk powder for awhile now and love learning and growing within our community. I’d love to see your rolls! Talk soon, Silvana
Mmm, this looks heavenly….the olives in this bread are making my mouth water! Thanks for sharing for the Gluten Free Ratio Rally! 
Thanks again, Heather, for hosting!
My goodness, this looks like a bangin’ recipe to munch on! I’m curious about the probiotics powder, though… it is solely used for nutritional purposes or does it do something during the baking process?
I can’t speak for Silvana, but I did not add it to my bread and it was fine. The psyllium husks, though, add a little crunch and doughy chewiness.
Hi Morri, the probiotic enzymes help with the texture. You can see the ingredients bubble vigorously when you add the water to the dry ingredients—much more than you’d see with just active dry yeast. Ultimately, this improves the final texture. That said, Linda is right: You can definitely leave the probiotics out and still get great results!
Dough you can shape with your hands? Count me in!
I am still new to this whole bread making thing (in reality, I would prefer to live on cupcakes and cookies) but I keep hearing good things about psyllium husks in GF Bread.
I can’t wait to try this!
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Looks amazing!!! One thing that is really important to leave out is the psyllium husk powder. Psyllium is a plant that is very similar to wheat and causes damage to the walls of the intestines. Usually Flax meal is the substitute. I can’t wait to try this recipe- Thank You!!!