Rosemary Parmesan Focaccia Bread
On May 24, 2022 (Updated May 07, 2024)
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For a delicious bread that tastes as good as it looks, this Rosemary Parmesan Focaccia Bread is the perfect addition to your BBQ. It’s easy to make and baked on your favorite grill for a comforting side that pairs with all your BBQ.
Focaccia Bread on the Grill
I’ve made this rosemary Parmesan focaccia bread so many times, and it comes out perfect every single time. The rosemary and red pepper flakes add dimension while the Parmesan cheese and olive oil make it taste rich and hearty. The crust is crisp and the inside is perfectly moist and chewy. It is everything I could ever want in a loaf of bread.
This bread pairs perfectly with warm fall foods like my brisket chili, or as sandwich bread for a pulled pork or beef brisket. Plus it is beautiful and sounds fancy, so you can pretty up your dinner table in style.
I bake this in my pellet grill, but if you’ve got a different grill, you can still bake this bread.
Ingredients for Focaccia Bread
Here are the ingredients you’ll need to assemble to make this focaccia bread.
- 1 cup warm water
- 2 1/4 ounce packet of active dry yeast
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 2 1/2 cups bread flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 2 Tablespoons fresh rosemary leaves
- 2 Tablespoons shredded Parmesan cheese
- coarse sea salt
See? Simple, pretty basic, and not at all intimidating. You really can bake this bread on a grill! Let’s chat about how you’re going to turn your favorite grill into an oven (check out the next section!).
How to Bake on a Grill
Wondering how you can bake on a charcoal, gas, or pellet grill? It’s actually not very hard! It just requires a little bit of prep work. Here’s how to transform your grill into an oven.
- Set up your grill for two-zone cooking. To do this, create one indirect heat side of the grill and one direct heat side of the grill. For charcoal, the coals are stacked on one side of the grill and for gas, only half of your propane burners are turned on on one side. Next, close the lid and pre-heat to your desired temperature.
- Create an oven rack. Turn a metal rectangular baking pan (9×13, not a cookie sheet) upside down and place it on the side of the grill with no burners on. If you have a baking stone, set that on top of the inverted baking pan. This acts as your “oven rack” allowing the heat to circulate around the food.
- Bake! Bake as instructed in the recipe card below. Enjoy!
Baking on a grill requires no specialized equipment or skills, but it may take a try or two to totally nail. This is why I recommend starting with a simple, inexpensive recipe like this focaccia bread.
After you blow this one out of the park, you can try more things (pies, crumbles, breakfast casseroles, etc. You may never turn the oven on again once you know how to bake on the grill.
More Baking on the BBQ Recipes
Now that you know the ins and out of turning your grill into an oven, you’re ready to try out these other recipes that are baked on the BBQ! Check out a few of our most popular recipes from Hey Grill Hey below.
Focaccia Bread Recipe
Follow the recipe, and I’ll teach you the simple steps to making your own focaccia bread at home. If you’re looking for the ultimate way to help you make better BBQ, feed the people you love, and become a backyard BBQ hero, join my members-only group The Grill Squad for full access to all my meat, rubs, sauces, and meat buying masterclasses, podcasts, and so much more.
This post was originally published in November 2015. We recently updated it with more information and helpful tips. The recipe remains the same.
Rosemary Parmesan Focaccia Bread
Ingredients
- 1 cup warm water 100-110 degrees F
- 2 ¼ oz packet active dry yeast
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 2 ½ cups bread flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup olive oil plus additional to oil the pan
- ⅛ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 2 Tablespoons fresh rosemary leaves
- 2 Tablespoons shredded Parmesan cheese
- coarse sea salt to taste
Instructions
- Activate the yeast. Measure water in a glass measuring cup. Stir in the yeast and sugar. Let rest for 5 minutes in a warm place. The mixture should be foamy, indicating that the yeast is activated. If it doesn't foam, discard it and start again.
- Make the dough. Pour the water/yeast mixture into the bowl of a food processor. Add 1 cup of the flour as well as the salt and 1/4 cup of olive oil. Pulse several times to blend. Add the remaining flour, rosemary, and red pepper flakes. Process the dough until it is smooth and elastic and pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Add in a teaspoon of flour or water at a time as needed to achieve the right consistency.
- Rise. Let the dough rise in the covered food processor bowl in a warm place until the dough has doubled in size (about 1 hour.)
- Form and add cheese. Remove the dough from the food processor and turn it onto a lightly floured surface. Drizzle an 8x11 inch pan with olive oil and distribute evenly across the pan. Flatten the dough into the pan using your hands. Lightly coat the top of the dough with olive oil and use your fingers to create dimples in the dough. Sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese and coarse sea salt, if desired.
- Rise again. Cover the pan with plastic wrap and let the dough rise in a warm place for another hour. While the dough is rising, start your grill (or oven) and allow it to preheat to 400 degrees F.
- Bake. Remove the plastic wrap from the pan and place it in the center of your pellet grill or on the indirect side of your grill on top of an inverted metal baking dish. Bake for 15-20 minutes until the dough is golden in color and cooked through.
- Enjoy. Let the bread cool slightly before removing it from the pan and slicing it into wedges for serving.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
