Oh My! I could face plant these beauties! My Mozzarella and Garlic Focaccia Muffins are simply Heavenly! They are easy to make, require minimal ingredients and can be served warm or cold, even novice bakers can master these fluffy tear-apart muffins.
What Is Focaccia Bread?
Pronounced fo-kah-cha, Focaccia bread is normally a flat bread that can be sweet or Savoury. It is often described as “flatbread” or “Italian flat bread,” which is unfortunate, because Focaccia is anything but Flat! When done right, Focaccia is thick, fluffy and airy. Truly, a very substantial bread.
The Great Thing about My Focaccia Muffins
I love Focaccia bread, evident by all my Focaccia Recipes. But these Mushroom-like beauties, were made to fit snugly in your hand! Little bread cupcakes that are truly irresistible! My family gobbled them up in record time! I blinked and they were gone.
Soft and pillowy on the inside, crisp and golden on the outside, and bursting with Cheesy Garlic flavour. These Focaccia Muffins are incredibly versatile too...
Focaccia Muffins Serving Suggestions
- Pasta Dishes: Focaccia pairs well with Italian pasta dishes! Try alongside my Spaghetti and Meatballs!
- Cheese Platter: Serve alongside a variety of cheeses such as, Mozzarella, Cheddar, Gouda, provolone or even a warmed Camembert
- Soups and Salads: Focaccia is the perfect accompaniment to soups and salads. Pair it with a warming Tomato soup for a soothing afternoon meal. Or have it on the side of a crisp summer salad.
- Antipasto Platter: Create an antipasto platter with an assortment of Italian treats, like roasted red peppers, olives, chutneys, bruschetta, and a selection of cured meats.
- Pesto: Tear and Spread with homemade pesto
- Grilled Vegetables: Serve alongside Grilled vegetables such as tomatoes, Aubergines, courgettes, peppers, potatoes and onions
- Dips and Spreads: Serve with a selection of dips like hummus, tzatziki, garlic and herb or roasted red pepper
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Focaccia Basics
Making Focaccia Bread is similar to making Bread dough, with the exception of Olive Oil and herbs. A typical Focaccia Bread has Flour, water, oil, herbs and yeast. It is kneaded together, allowed to rise, stretched into a round or Rectangular shaped pan then dimpled and baked.
But in this recipe, instead of stretching out into a flat pan, the Focaccia dough will be balled and stuffed into muffin trays! Here are a few details you’ll need to know, for those perfect muffin top Focaccias….
How to make Mozzarella and Garlic Focaccia muffins
What You’ll Need To Make This Recipe
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- Mixing Bowl
- Proving Bowl (Optional)
- Rubber Spatula
- Digital Kitchen Scales
- Pan
- 6 hole Muffin tray
(As always the full detailed recipe and video can be found at the end of the post on the recipe card)
Ingredients
For the Dough:
- Plain flour
- Quick action yeast
- Warm water
- Honey
- Salt
- Olive oil
Topping:
- Grated Mozzarella Cheese
- Peeled Garlic Cloves
- Olive Oil
- Dried Basil
- Seasalt
- Cracked Black Pepper
Instructions
- Place the Yeast, flour and salt in a large mixing bowl and combine with a wooden spoon.
- Next Add the Honey and Olive oil and stir in
- Make a well in the Centre of the flour and pour in the water. Combine with a Rubber spatula until a dough begins to form
- Turn out the dough onto a floured surface and knead for around 5 minutes until smooth and stretchy. * If it feels too wet, sprinkle some flour on the dough until more workable
- Shape into a ball and place in a lined or oiled bowl or proving bowl and allow to rise for 90 minutes, until doubled in size
- While Proving make the Garlic oil: Place the oil and the garlic cloves into a small pan. Cook over low heat low for around 20 minutes until the garlic is soft and golden brown. Do not allow the garlic to overbrown, it will spoil the oil and make it bitter.
- Allow to cool, then strain or pick out the garlic cloves.
- After proving, divide the dough into 6 equal parts. Roll each piece into a ball.
- Place 1 tbsp of Olive oil in the bottom of each muffin hole or enough to fill the bottom (see pic)
- Place each dough ball into each muffin hole and set aside to puff up while the oven preheats
- Pre-heat the Oven to 200c
- Prod dimples on the top of each dough ball, brush with the garlic oil, sprinkle with Sea salt and season with Pepper, finally sprinkle grated Mozzarella on top
- Bake for 14-16 minutes. *2 minutes before end of baking sprinkle each muffin with a little extra Mozzarella, for an extra cheesy crust.
- When removing Muffins from the tray, allow to cool a little, then use a knife to remove any melted cheese that may have attached to the tray, then use the knife to gently loosen and tease each muffin from the tray.
How Long Will Focaccia Bread Keep?
Want To Hear the great thing about Focaccia Bread ? Unlike regular bread, Focaccia Bread does not turn stale easily! This is due to the preserving nature of the olive oil within the Focaccia. Keep Focaccia wrapped and store at room temperature for up to 4 days.
Looking For Other Focaccia Recipes? Try these…
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Did you make this Recipe ?
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Mozzarella And Garlic Focaccia Muffins
Ingredients
For The Dough
- 320 g Plain Flour
- 1 x 7g sachet of quick action yeast
- 1 tsp Salt
- 180 ml Warm Water (Not hot, hot water will kill the yeast)
- 1 tbsp Honey
- 4 Tbsp Olive oil
For The Garlic Oil
- 100 ml Olive Oil
- 1-2 Peeled Garlic Cloves
For The Topping
- Seasalt
- Black Pepper
- 1 Handful Grated Mozzarella Cheese
- 1/2 tsp Dried basil
For the Muffin Pan
- 6 Tbsp Oilve Oil
Instructions
- Place the Yeast, flour and salt in a large mixing bowl and combine with a wooden spoon.
- Next Add the Honey and Olive oil and stir in
- Make a well in the Centre of the flour and pour in the water. Combine with a Rubber spatula until a dough begins to form
- Turn out the dough onto a floured surface and knead for around 5 minutes until smooth and stretchy. * If it feels too wet, sprinkle some flour on the dough until more workable
- Shape into a ball and place in a lined or oiled bowl or proving bowl and allow to rise for 90 minutes, until doubled in size
While Proving make the Garlic oil:
- Place the oil and the garlic cloves into a small pan. Cook over low heat low for around 5-10 minutes until the garlic is soft and golden brown. Do not allow the garlic to overbrown, it will spoil the oil and make it bitter.
- Allow to cool, then strain or pick out the garlic cloves and set aside
Back to the dough:
- After proving, divide the dough into 6 equal parts. Roll each piece into a ball.
- Place 1 tbsp of Olive oil in the bottom of each muffin hole or enough to cover the bottom (see pic)
- Place each dough ball into each muffin hole and set aside to puff up while the oven preheats…
- Pre-heat the Oven to 200c
- Prod dimples with your fingers on the top of each dough ball, brush with the garlic oil, sprinkle with Sea salt and season with Pepper, finally sprinkle the dried basil and grated Mozzarella on top
- Bake for 14-16 minutes. *2 minutes before end of baking sprinkle each muffin with a little extra Mozzarella, for an extra cheesy crust.
- **When removing Muffins from the tray, allow to cool a little, then use a knife to remove any melted cheese that may have attached to the tray, then use the knife to gently loosen and tease each muffin from the tray.
