Wholemeal Olive Focaccia

There’s something so comforting about bread straight from the oven – especially when it’s wholemeal, olive-strewn and generously seasoned. This wholemeal olive focaccia pairs the earthy depth of wholegrain with the rich, salty tang of black olives and fragrant rosemary, making every slice a little celebration of simple, delicious ingredients.

Background

Last weekend I wanted to make some homemade bread to enjoy for lunch. Luckily my children so kindly woke me up early enough on Sunday morning that I had this bread ready even before midday. So while I spent my morning sipping a LOT of coffee, I had something good to show for it!

I’ve made focaccia before in my slow cooker, but this time made it the conventional way. In the past I’ve also made a focaccia with a sweet topping, which was also delicious and rather like a fruit pizza.

For this wholemeal olive focaccia I used the same recipe I used for my slow cooker focaccia recipe, replacing part of the flour with wholemeal. Again the bread recipe is based on Paul Hollywood’s focaccia recipe, with the quantities halved.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

This wholemeal olive focaccia stands out for its beautifully balanced texture and depth of flavour.

The addition of wholemeal flour gives the loaf a gentle nuttiness and a slightly heartier crumb, while still keeping that signature focaccia softness in the centre. It’s wholesome without feeling heavy – light enough to tear and share, yet satisfying with every bite.

Studded generously with briny black olives and finished with fragrant rosemary, each slice delivers pockets of savoury intensity against the golden crust, which is brushed with olive oil. The dimples catch little pools of oil as it bakes, creating crisp edges and a tender interior that’s irresistibly moreish.

It’s that contrast – soft and crisp, nutty and salty, rustic yet comforting – that makes this wholemeal olive focaccia so special.

Perfect for serving alongside soups and salads, adding to an antipasti board, or simply enjoying warm from the oven with nothing more than a drizzle of good olive oil.

Ingredients

You will need the following ingredients to make this recipe. All the measurements are in the recipe card at the end of the post.

• flour – in this recipe I use a mixture of strong white flour and strong wholemeal seeded flour. Make sure you use strong flour/bread flour.
• salt – a little salt enhances the flavour of the bread. Don’t skip it or it will taste bland.
• yeast – fast bake or instant yeast is really useful as you can add it with the dry ingredients and it acts faster than standard dry yeast.
• olive oil – this enriches the dough and helps the crust to bake.
• black olives – pitted black olives in brine work really well in this recipe.
• rosemary – I tend to use fresh rosemary from my garden. Strip the leaves off the woody stem then sprinkle over the dough.

Method

1. Place the two flours, salt, yeast, olive oil and three quarters of the water in a large bowl and use a spoon to mix it together into a sticky dough.
2. Knead it in the bowl for five minutes and add the remaining water slowly.
3. Stretch the dough out in the bowl and then fold in into the centre, keep turning the bowl little by little and continue stretching and folding for five minutes. It will gradually become less sticky and more elastic.
4. Turn the dough out onto an oiled surface and knead it for another ten minutes until smooth and elastic.
5. Place the dough in an oiled bowl, cover it with clingfilm, and allow it to double in size, which should take around an hour to an hour and a half.
6. Oil a baking sheet. Press out the dough into a rough rectangle on the baking sheet. Leave it to rest for ten minutes.
7. Drizzle over the olive oil, add the black olives, and scatter over the rosemary leaves.
8. Allow to rise for half an hour. Drizzle on a little more olive oil before baking if needed.
9. Preheat your oven to 200℃ /390℉. Bake for 30 mins until golden brown and crisp on top. Allow to cool then enjoy.

Here’s the dough before baking, with the olives and some rosemary leaves.

After baking, the bread is golden and is delicious served with dips and salads.

Related

For more focaccia recipes, why not try one of these:

• Garlic and rosemary focaccia with smoked sea salt in a bread machine from Elizabeth’s Kitchen Diary
• Blackcurrant Focaccia
• Slow Cooker Spinach and Feta Focaccia

Recipe

Wholemeal Olive Focaccia

By Lucy Allen | BakingQueen74

A rustic wholemeal focaccia topped with black olives and rosemary

5 from 4 votes

Prep Time: 2 hours hours

Cook Time: 30 minutes minutes

Total Time: 2 hours hours 30 minutes minutes

Servings: 4

Course: Baking, Side Dish

Cuisine: British

Calories: 327kcal

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Ingredients

• 140 g strong white bread flour
• 110 g strong wholemeal seeded bread flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp fast bake yeast
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 200 ml cold water
• 200 g black olives
• Olive oil to drizzle
• Small bunch of rosemary leaves stripped from the woody stem

Instructions

 

• Place the two flours, salt, yeast, olive oil and three quarters of the water in a large bowl and use a spoon to mix it together into a sticky dough.
  140 g strong white bread flour, 110 g strong wholemeal seeded bread flour, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp fast bake yeast, 1 tbsp olive oil, 200 ml cold water
• Knead it in the bowl for five minutes and add the remaining water slowly.
• Stretch the dough out in the bowl and then fold in into the centre, keep turning the bowl little by little and continue stretching and folding for five minutes. It will gradually become less sticky and more elastic.
• Turn the dough out onto an oiled surface and knead it for another ten minutes until smooth and elastic.
• Place the dough in an oiled bowl, cover it with clingfilm, and allow it to double in size, which should take around an hour to an hour and a half.
• Oil a baking sheet. Press out the dough into a rough rectangle on the baking sheet. Leave it to rest for ten minutes.
• Drizzle over the olive oil, add the black olives (I used Fragata), and scatter over the rosemary leaves.
  200 g black olives, Olive oil to drizzle, Small bunch of rosemary leaves
• Allow to rise for half an hour. Drizzle on a little more olive oil before baking if needed.
• Preheat your oven to 200℃ /390℉. Bake for 30 mins until golden brown and crisp on top. Allow to cool then enjoy.

Have you made this recipe?Please leave a star rating and comment below to let me know how you got on!

I’m also joining in with Credit Crunch Munch with Fuss Free Flavours and Fab Food 4 All, as I finished two packets of strong bread flour with this recipe, and making your own bread is much cheaper than buying it.