Delicious and Easy Mini Gluten Free Focaccias for Any Occasion

Recipe Video

These Mini Gluten Free Focaccias are winners in every way. Soft, bouncy gluten free bread with a crisp crust that you can with just about anything you want! This will become your favourite recipe for a weekend lunch or a laid-back dinner!

These Mini Gluten Free Focaccias have been on my to-do list for ages, and they came about through a craving for those focaccia-style buns you can get stuffed with sandwich fillings at your quintessential Aussie bakery. And these are just like that bread. Soft, open crumb inside, crispy, olive oil crust outside, and the perfect vessel for whatever fillings or toppings take your fancy! Plus, they're dairy free and vegan too - just make sure you use appropriate toppings.

How to Make Mini Gluten Free Focaccias

These Mini Gluten Free Focaccias are so much fun to make, and pretty beginner-friendly too! Here's what's involved:

Prepare the Yeast and Psyllium

The first step to make these Mini Gluten Free Focaccia is to prepare the yeast and psyllium. Both get mixed with some of the warm water (and sugar, for the yeast) and then set aside. The yeast mixture with froth up as the yeast comes to life, and the psyllium will form a gel. It should only take a few minutes or so.

Measure and Mix the Dry Ingredients

Next up, all the flours and starches get mixed with the salt. I use a whisk to make sure it's really thoroughly mixed, otherwise you can end up with spots of starch that clump together.

Bring the Dough Together

Now we add in all the wet ingredients; the olive oil, apple cider vinegar and the yeast and psyllium mixtures that we put together. If you have a stand mixer keep it on low speed so the flours don't fly everywhere, and make sure to scrape the bowl down halfway through mixing in case there's some dry flour stuck at the bottom.

If you're mixing by hand, start it off with a large spoon or rubber spatula. Once it starts to come together, get in there with your hands and squeeze and knead it until it's nice and smooth. Keep an eye out for any lumps of dry flour or psyllium gel - if you can see lumps mix for a bit longer!

However you mix your dough, you're aiming for quite a wet dough that will be pretty sticky. Don't panic, the moisture in the dough is how focaccia get's it's amazing open texture!

First Proof

The dough now needs to be drizzled with oil and covered up for it's first proof - both of these things are to stop it from drying out and going crusty on top. It will need anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour or so or until it's doubled in size, and that will depend on how warm it is at your place. In the Sydney summer I generally find that my bread is done at around the 45 minute mark, but if it's chilly I'll give it a bit longer. This proof has a bit of wiggle room, so if you think it looks doubled in size you're ready to go!

Shaping the Mini Gluten Free Focaccias

This is where you'll start to feel like you're a kid again! Because this focaccia dough is quite wet, the best way to knead and shape it is on an oiled surface. I drizzle mine with olive oil and then use a bowl or bench scraper to help me knead the dough until smooth - you could also use a rubber spatula. The dough doesn't require a lot of kneading, we're just aiming to knock the air out of it so we can shape it easily.

To shape the mini focaccias, separate the dough into six equal portions - I use a scale to make sure mine are all the same size and that they'll cook evenly. Take one portion of dough and, with oiled hands (this stuff is sticky!), form it into a rough round shape with a reasonably smooth top. Then, press it onto your oiled surface into a round about 10cm across. Use your bench scraper or rubber spatula to help you pick it up and transfer it to a lined baking tray. Repeat with the remaining portions of dough, trying to leave about 5cm in between each focaccia. Done!

Second Proof

The second proof for these mini focaccias is relatively quick, just 25 minutes or until you can see that they've puffed up a bit. They won't double in size in that amount of time, so just keep an eye on what they look like.

Topping the Mini Gluten Free Focaccias

Once the focaccias are ready to bake drizzle each one with a few teaspoons more oil and press your fingertips into the dough, all the way through, so you have dimples all over each focaccia. When it comes to toppings the world is your oyster! I've used anything from dried mixed herbs through to whole olives with great success - have fun with it! Whatever you choose, press them into the dimples so they become slightly embedded into the dough. I love to top mine off with a sprinkle of sea salt flakes to finish - yum!

Baking the Mini Focaccias

For batch baking like this I like to preheat my oven to a higher temperature than I need to bake at. This accounts for the heat lost when you open the oven door and helps to get a nice browning on each focaccia. In this case, I preheat really high to 250ºC fan. If your oven doesn't go that high just whack it up to it's maximum temperature. Then once the focaccias go in I reduce the temperature to 230ºC fan, or again, to the maximum on your oven.

Cooling

Unfortunately, as is the case with most baked goods, it's important to give these little guys a while to cool down. Transfer them to a wire cooling rack straight out of the oven and they shouldn't take too long. You can eat them when they're still slightly warm, though!

Watch How to Make Mini Gluten Free Focaccias

Storing these Mini Gluten Free Focaccias

You have two options for storing these focaccias: If you're planning to eat them within a few days they keep well in an airtight container at room temperature. They'll be best eaten toasted after day 2, though. To freeze the focaccias, cool them completely and then place in a freezer safe bag.