Low Sodium Focaccia Bread
This low sodium focaccia bread recipe is light, fluffy, and SO delicious – bakers of any skill level can make this easy homemade bread by following our step-by-step photos and directions. No fancy baking equipment needed: just a bowl and a baking dish!
This focaccia bread has some great low sodium additions like lemon zest, garlic, and rosemary to give it a wonderful flavor with much less salt than traditional focaccia. Serve this up with your next pasta night for a wonderful addition to the table!
Want more low sodium bread recipes? Try our low sodium brioche bread, low sodium cornbread, and our favorite 4-ingredient low sodium no knead bread.
We’ve made this focaccia bread a few times lately – and WOW is it good! It has a fraction of the salt that traditional focaccia has, but still has the same wonderfully light texture and crisp outside crust.
This recipe requires a little time (as the bread has to rise twice) but it’s a relatively easy recipe and you don’t need much equipment to make it. This tasty low salt focaccia bread is great for holidays, Sunday suppers (with our favorite low sodium spaghetti sauce and low sodium meatballs) or just to enjoy on the weekend if you have some extra time to bake.
Before You Dig In:
- This low sodium bread is light, soft on the inside, and crisp on the outside.
- It has a wonderful flavor from the lemon zest, garlic, rosemary, and olive oil.
- A great low sodium bread you can make at home – even if you’re not an expert baker!
- No stand mixer or rolling pin required – just a little hand kneading in a bowl, and you’re all set.
- Our step-by-step photos and directions below in the post are great to following along with if this is your first time making this recipe!
Ingredients You’ll Need
See the recipe card below for a full list of instructions and ingredient amounts!
The base of this bread is all-purpose flour. I find that regular A-P flour has a nice texture and crumb. And I used instant yeast, which gave the bread a really nice rise.
In the dough I also use a little bit of salt (just 1/4 teaspoon for the whole loaf) but you could also use a salt substitute if desired. I found that a little bit of salt really improved the flavor of the bread. I did try making it salt-free, and preferred adding the 1/4 teaspoon.
I also added fresh garlic to the dough, as well as lemon juice and lemon zest. Both of those helped add a nice zing to the focaccia.
This recipe uses a lot of olive oil, so use the best olive oil you can find! And I used both dried rosemary in the dough, as well as some fresh rosemary to garnish. Optional, but the fresh rosemary makes the bread look nice.
Additions and Substitutions
To make a whole wheat variety, try this recipe with half all-purpose flour, and half whole wheat flour. That way, you still get a nice fluffy texture from the all-purpose flour, but with some added flavor from the wheat flour too.
If you don’t want to use a salt substitute in the dough, you could always sprinkle it on top of the bread after baking.
Add toppings! I’ve seen beautiful focaccia breads online with tomatoes, onions, and fresh herbs. You can customize the top if your focaccia and make any design you like.
How To Make This Recipe
Step 1: In a large bowl, add the all purpose flour, salt (if using), and the instant yeast. Mix well to combine.
Step 2: Add 4 tablespoons of the olive oil (save the remaining 3 tbsp for later), minced garlic, the zest and juice of one lemon, and the dried rosemary.
Step 3: Add the warm water and mix well to combine. Knead the dough for about 2 minutes until just well combine.
Step 4: Place the dough back into the mixing bowl and add 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Let the dough rise for 2 hours.
Step 5: Place the dough into a 13 x 9 inch baking dish and knead the dough until the bread reaches the edges of the pan (so the dough stretches to the sides). Let the dough rise for another hour.
Step 6: Press your fingers into the dough. Mix 1 tablespoon of olive oil with 1 tablespoon of water, and brush this over the top of the dough.
Step 7: Preheat the oven to 475 degrees Fahrenheit and place the bread into the oven. Once the bread is in, reduce the heat to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Bake for 20 minutes until golden brown.
Step 8: Remove the bread from the oven, and brush with the remaining tablespoon of olive oil and garnish with rosemary. Slice when focaccia is still warm, and enjoy.
Recipe FAQs
While a slice of commercially prepared focaccia can vary, our low sodium focaccia recipe has 51mg sodium per slice, as it uses less salt and other low sodium ingredients like garlic, lemon zest, and rosemary.
Before baking, you could add sliced tomatoes, bell peppers, red onion, parsley, green onions, or fresh mozzarella balls. Or use any no-salt spice blend on top.
I found that storing leftover slices in a plastic bag worked well, but you could also store them in the refrigerator. Air-frying refrigerated slices for 1-2 minutes before serving makes them warm and crisp 🙂
Expert Tips
- This bread needs about 3 hours of rise time, so be sure to plan ahead!
- For a sweeter focaccia, drizzle a little honey right before serving.
- This focaccia bread is a great appetizer or side dish. It pairs nicely alongside low sodium pot roast, with pasta and low sodium bolognese sauce, or dip it into low sodium hot Caprese dip!
- Use this focaccia as a pizza crust! Add your favorite pizza sauce and low salt cheese on top.
More Easy Low Sodium Bread Recipes
- Low Sodium Dinner Rolls Recipe
- Low Salt Wheat Bread Recipe
- The best Low Sodium Naan Flatbread Recipe
- Low Sodium Garlic Bread Recipe
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Low Sodium Focaccia Bread
Equipment
- 1 13 x 9 inch baking dish or sheet pan of the same size
Ingredients
- 4 cups all purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon salt or salt substitute
- 1.5 teaspoons instant yeast
- 7 tablespoons olive oil divided
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 lemon zested and juiced
- 1 teaspoon rosemary plus extra for garnish
- 1.5 cups warm water
Instructions
- In a large bowl, add the all purpose flour, salt (if using), and the instant yeast. Mix well to combine.
- Add 4 tablespoons of the olive oil (save the remaining 3 tbsp for later), minced garlic, the zest and juice of one lemon, and the dried rosemary.
- Add the warm water and mix well to combine. Knead the dough for about 2 minutes until just well combine.
- Place the dough back into the mixing bowl and add 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Let the dough rise for 2 hours.
- Place the dough into a 13 x 9 inch baking dish and knead the dough until the bread reaches the edges of the pan (so the dough stretches to the sides). Let the dough rise for another hour.
- Press your fingers into the dough. Mix 1 tablespoon of olive oil with 1 tablespoon of water, and brush this over the top of the dough.
- Preheat the oven to 475 degrees Fahrenheit and place the bread into the oven. Once the bread is in, reduce the heat to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Bake for 20 minutes until golden brown.
- Remove the bread from the oven, and brush with the remaining tablespoon of olive oil and garnish with rosemary. Slice into 12 slices when focaccia is still warm, and enjoy.
Notes
- This bread needs about 3 hours of rise time, so be sure to plan ahead!
- For a sweeter focaccia, drizzle a little honey right before serving.
- This focaccia bread is a great appetizer or side dish. It pairs nicely alongside low sodium pot roast, with pasta and low sodium bolognese sauce, or dip it into low sodium hot Caprese dip!
Nutrition estimate (for 1 serving)
*Please note, all nutrition content is estimated based on the ingredients we used in our kitchen. It will vary based on your ingredients. Always check your nutrition labels to verify your nutrition content and sodium amounts.
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I love developing this low sodium bread recipe for you. If you make it, please leave a comment below and let us know how it went!
This is a great bread for dipping and sauces. Delicious!