With no kneading required and ready to eat in one hour, these quick and easy herb focaccia rolls are a great addition to any meal, or to enjoy with wine and cheese.
I love traditional focaccia, but when time is tight, I will often turn to these quick and easy focaccia rolls. Ready to eat in just about an hour, these focaccia rolls are a great side for any meal or for dipping with wine and cheese, this is a handy recipe to have on hand.
Now I’m not going to lie. Quick and easy does come at a very small cost to the flavour or the bread, but the texture is lovely and focaccia-like and the addition of lots of olive oil and lots of fresh herbs ensures a nice flavour hit nonetheless.
So if you’re short on time (or energy :), give these easy focaccia rolls a try!
Ingredient Notes
Yeast – Note that this recipe calls for quick/rapid-rise instant yeast. If you can’t or don’t want to use rapid rise yeast, you can do these as two-rise rolls with standard dry active yeast. Simply do a first rise in the mixing bowl of about 30-45 minutes, before filling your muffin cups and doing a second rise. Obviously, this will double the time for the recipe though.
Herbs – Fresh herbs are always nice, but if you don’t have any on hand, you can substitute dried herbs as specified in the recipe card.
Cook’s Notes
Feeling garlic? Add a bit of garlic powder to your oil/herb mixture. I don’t recommend fresh minced garlic, as it will burn and introduce a bitter flavour. You could add fresh garlic to the dough however, if you like.
As noted in the recipe notes, you can make this as a more standard focaccia by spooning the dough into a greased 8×8-inch baking pan instead. Increase the baking time by about 5 minutes for the larger shape.
If you are using a 12-cup muffin tin, fill the 3 empty muffin cups 1/2 full with water before putting in the oven, to ensure even baking.
Get the Recipe: Quick and Easy Herb Focaccia Rolls
Ingredients
Rolls:
- 1 1/2 cups (185 g) all purpose flour
- 2 1/2 teaspoons quick-rise instant yeast, also know as rapid rise yeast
- 1 1/2 teaspoons fresh thyme, finely chopped or 1/2 tsp dried thyme leaves
- 1 1/2 teaspoons fresh rosemary, finely chopped or 1/2 tsp dried rosemary
- 1 1/2 teaspoon white sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, or less if using fine salt
- 3/4 cup (170 ml) warm water, about 120°F
- 1 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
Topping:
- 2 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 1/2 teaspoons fresh thyme, finely chopped or 1/2 tsp dried thyme leaves
- 1 1/2 teaspoons fresh rosemary, finely chopped or 1/2 tsp dried rosemary
- Additional sprinkling of kosher salt, or fine salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375F. Grease 9 muffin cups with olive oil. Set on a baking sheet and set aside.
- In a stand mixer fitter with the paddle attachment (or a large bowl with a spoon), stir together flour, yeast, thyme, rosemary, sugar and salt. Add water and olive oil. Beat 1 minute. Dough will be very batter-like.
- Divide dough among 9 greased muffin cups. Let rise, uncovered, in a warm place until doubled, about 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, in a small saucepan over medium-low heat, stir together remaining oil and herbs just until herbs are fragrant and oil is hot, about 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool.
- When rolls have doubled, gently spoon cooled herb mixture over each roll. Sprinkle with a bit more salt. Bake until golden brown, about 20-25 minutes.
Notes
Adapted from a Taste of Home recipe
There are delicious! Â Very close to our families old recipe.
Mine stuck to pan but next time use my stoneware pan.
Definitely a keeper!
So glad you enjoyed them, Chris :) Thanks!
I am really happy with this focaccia bread. My previous recipe requires 18 hours of rise and is delicious, but this was ready in 30 minutes and I can’t taste the difference. So good!!!!!
So glad you enjoyed it and yes, it’s great for such a quick and easy recipe! Thanks :)
Easy and taste great but they stuck in what seemed to be a well oiled pan.Â
Can you make these low carb, like with almond flour?
I have no idea Maria. I’m all about the carbs, so I have no experience in the low carb world :)
I’m a Caterer. I love this new take on focaccia bread. Can this recipe be tripled?
Hi Cherie, I have never tried it myself, but generally you can double or triple without much issue except when it comes to dealing with all the dough. Unless you can bake them all off at once, you run the risk of the later batches over-rising. I generally prefer to make 2 or 3 separate batches myself.
Does the sheet pan under muffin pan stay in place while cooking in oven? some extra protection from underneath??? Thank you!
Hi Sandra, yes, the sheet pan is just to protect your oven in case the oil bubbles over a bit. Enjoy :)
Can you omit the white sugar completely or use coconut sugar as that’s all i have right now? I can’t wait to try it
Hi Monique, the small bit of sugar is mainly there to feed the yeast, so yes, coconut sugar should work fine (or honey).
Can I use regular yeast instead of rapid rise?
Hi Carolyn, you can, but you’d have to play it by ear a bit in terms of the rising time, as it will be slower out of the gate.
Thank you so much for this recipe – it’s great!
I don’t have a food processor so I used a spoon and then when you stated to “beat” for 1 minute. I used the spoon as best as I could to beat, I then used a whisk and it was a bit messy and sticky. I was actually surprised the focaccia turned out but I believe they could be better and less of a messy experience. What tool do you use for beating?
Thanks!
Hi Anna and so glad you enjoyed them, despite the extra work for you. I use my stand mixer to mix the dough. Thanks so much!
I have a hand mixer so I will use that next time. It was worth the work and a nice learning experience. This was my first time making any kind of bread. It’s like learning a new language but so much fun. Great recipe to break me into baking bread.
hmmm how about adding cheese in center :)
will be trying on weekend to take away for beach !
Oh do let me know how it works out!
I used Bread Flour because that’s all I had. I added about 3 more tablespoons of water to get the right doughy consistency. These are definitely a keeper and will be on the next dinner party menu. I love how the rise time is only 30 minutes so it can be made even for a mid-week meal. I may add some fresh garlic next time. Thank you!
So glad you enjoyed them, Carolyne :) And you can never go wrong adding garlic. Thanks!
These were amazing!! I’ll definitely be making these rolls again! I used Italian seasoning since that’s what I had. I need to give these away before I eat them all!
So glad you enjoyed them, Murphy :) Thanks so much!
Update: just wanted you to know that I made this recipe again but this time as bread and not as rolls. This recipe is so easy and delicious! For anyone reading these reviews-you can’t go wrong with this recipe!
Nice! I haven’t tried that, but I will now :) Thanks!
These are awesome. They are so quick and easy. My family loves them.
So glad you are all enjoying them, Alison :) Thanks so much!
Excellent and quick recipe. Turned out crispy and crunchy, I am in love.
Made some Beer Cheese dip to go with the marinara for dipping.
So glad you enjoyed them! Love the sound of the beer cheese dip. Thanks so much :)
This is very good and easy !! I was making for dinner with Italian meatball with Large shell pasta tonight.
I was using with 8×8 pan instead muffin pan.
Thank you for your recipe !
Mmmmmmm, love this easy rolls, and love the baking tip, I never knew that!
Thanks Sue :) I remember my Mom doing that when I was young, though I didn’t know why until I got much older.
Love the idea of making rolls instead of traditional focaccia. Thanks for the recipe.
Thanks Karen :)
Focaccia rolls are the best and I love all the fresh herbs you added!
Thanks Laura :)
I’m imagining the wonderful aroma as they beauties bake. They look fabulous and it’s a double bonus that they’re quick and easy!
Thanks Chris!
These look and sound fabulous Jennifer! I love the combo of rosemary and thyme! Happy weekend.
Thanks Mary Ann :)
These rolls sound delicious. Lovely for easy outdoor entertaining. Have a great long weekend!
Thanks Shauna! You, too :)
These are lovely rolls, Jennifer! With all the herbs they are just the thing I would pair with a simple tomato and onions salad. Yum!
Thanks Milena and that sounds perfect! I keep a batch of these in the freezer. So handy :)
These were a big hit with my boys! They are always great as my test subjects of new recipes. Thanks!
I am having a large dinner gathering and would like to make these rolls but would need to freeze them. Can you share how you freeze them and how you warm them up (ie temp and time).
So glad you enjoyed them, Rose :) As for freezing, I always thaw in the original container (or bag), either in the fridge or on the counter. To re-heat, either a quick shot in the microwave or wrap in foil and pop into a 350F oven until warmed (should only take 10 minutes or so).
Thanks so much. They are a perfect addition to the menu.
I recently found your site and looking forward to trying your other recipes.
Thanks again and Happy Thanksgiving!
We’re big fans of anything focaccia and these are calling my name! How smart to turn them into muffins. I need a bowl of marinara and a few of these gems – I’d be a happy camper dipping and chomping!
Thanks Tricia and yes, perfect with marinara!