This no-knead focaccia bread art recipe is all about being easy – there’s no need to break a sweat with homemade dough! We’ve got you covered with a super-simple hack: just snag some store-bought frozen Rhodes dinner rolls, and and upgrade your focaccia game in the easiest way. Who says fabulous has to be complicated?

no knead focaccia bread topped with halved tomatoes and olives on a platter

What is Focaccia Bread

Focaccia (pronounced fo-kah-cha) is a flatbread similar to a pizza dough that you can make either sweet or savory. It originates in the providence of Liguria in Italy. Liguria is the best-known region for its classic focaccia, which is called “classica” in Genoa. Typically it is flattened to about 1/2 to 1 inch thick, with indentations throughout the whole surface. Focaccia bread has a lot of herbs and olive oil with cheese and other toppings as a garnish.

How To Make Focaccia

Like any other bread, focaccia is simply made with water, flour, yeast, and oil.  First, you let the dough rise for several hours, and sometimes overnight. Second, stretch the dough into a large rectangular shape in a greased baking dish with olive oil. The last step is the fun part of making focaccia: drizzling olive oil on top of the dough and creating indentations with your fingers. Sprinkle the top with your favorite herbs and salt.

How to Keep Focaccia Fresh

Since this bread has tomatoes, olives, and cheese, we recommend consuming it on the same day. If you end up having leftovers (if that’s possible!) store them in an airtight container or bag in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. We like to reheat in the oven or air fryer.

unbaked no knead focaccia bread topped with tomatoes, olives, fresh herbs, and mozzarella

Why We LOVE this Focaccia Hack

As you read, focaccia definitely requires a few steps. Since we’re not all about making things complex in the kitchen, we love using frozen dinner rolls. Start off by thawing the bread in a greased 13×9 baking dish, once the bread rises (about 4-5 hours), comes the fun part! Add olive oil, make the indentations, and top with tomatoes, olives, herbs, fresh basil, and fresh mozzarella cheese. The beauty of this recipe is not having to wait overnight for this bread — there’s no kneading, and no need to keep using multiple dishes. Moreover, it’s made in one baking dish — you can’t beat that!

baked no knead focaccia bread with tomatoes, olives, fresh herbs, mozzarella, and herbs

Sliced no knead focaccia bread art on a plate

No Knead Focaccia Bread Art

4.58 from 14 votes
Author: Food Dolls
Servings: 8
Prep: 20 minutes
Cook: 20 minutes
Frozen dinner rolls turned into a fancy roasted tomato and olive focaccia bread.

Ingredients  

  • 14-16 frozen Rhodes dinner rolls
  • 8 oz cherry tomatoes quartered
  • 4 oz pitted and sliced kalamata olives
  • 4 oz fresh mozzarella cheese pearls/balls
  • 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 tbsp Italian seasoning
  • 2 tsp oregano
  • 1 tbsp black sesame seeds
  • salt and pepper to taste

Instructions 

  • In a large buttered 13×9 baking dish arrange 14-16 frozen dinner rolls, leaving approximately 1/2 inch space between each roll. Lightly brush each frozen roll with a little bit of olive oil. Cover with saran wrap and light rise for 4-6 hours.
    14-16 frozen Rhodes dinner rolls
  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  • Once the bread has risen to double remove the saran wrap.
  • Now comes the fun part of making focaccia, drizzle with olive oil on top of the dough and creating indentations with your fingers.
    1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • Top the bread with tomatoes, olives, fresh basil, and herbs. Give it a little sprinkle of salt and pepper to the top. Get creative and make a pretty design with the toppings!
    8 oz cherry tomatoes, 4 oz pitted and sliced kalamata olives, 4 oz fresh mozzarella cheese pearls/balls, 1 tbsp Italian seasoning, 2 tsp oregano, 1 tbsp black sesame seeds, salt and pepper
  • Bake for 20-25 minutes or until bread is golden brown. Careful not to overbake! Serve warm.

Video

Notes

*Note. If you are finding that the inside is a little doughy. Cover and continue to cook for an additional 5-8 minutes!

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Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Like this recipe?Please leave a comment!
close up image of a slice of no knead focaccia bread art

Other recipes using Rhodes Frozen Dinner Rolls

Spinach and Artichoke Bread Ring

Spinach and Artichoke Bread Boats

If you love this baking dish, find it here.

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Meet Alia & Radwa

Welcome to Food Dolls! Weโ€™re so glad you found us. We are Alia and Radwa, sisters who want to share simple and easy recipes with you. We hope you find recipes here that you enjoy making as much as we do! Learn more about us!

4.58 from 14 votes (3 ratings without comment)

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32 Comments

  1. 1 star
    Waded through ads and pops looking for a recipe for focaccia. Found only the bread art instruction using store bought frozen rolls. Disappointed.

  2. This was so easy and absolutely delicious..loved digging my fingers in it ๐Ÿ˜‰
    Thanks for the recipe

    1. Plastic wrap is the best as it really traps the moisture but if you don’t have any on hand we recommend a towel vs. the foil! Hope this helps!

  3. 5 stars
    Can you tell me where to purchase that beautiful white ceramic bakeware that the focaccia is baked in? I can’t find it anywhere!

  4. 5 stars
    Itโ€™s so good๐Ÿ˜ I literally ate the whole tray. I did have to copy it a bit longer, with some foil on top.

  5. The Rhodes frozen dinner rolls Iโ€™m recipe are they the regular frosted dinner rolls or the Rhodes yeast frozen dinner rolls

  6. 4 stars
    I think the problem people are having with it taking longer to cook is that a casserole type baking dish is not the best choice. A baking dish will overcook the top, and leave the middle/bottom doughy. You really should use a rimmed baking sheet, so the bottom can cook quicker… Like traditional focaccia bread. You can also bake the crust for 5 minutes before adding more olive oil and the toppings.

  7. I’ve made this a few times and its so delicious! I always need to bake it longer otherwise the middle is really doughy. Do you know why this is happening? Should I raise the temp?

  8. 5 stars
    I made this to go with an Italian-themed Christmas Eve dinner and it turned out so well! I made a holly design with tomatoes and basil leaves and added the dried oregano, mozzarella pearls and black sesame seeds per your example. Such a great idea and there are endless possibilities with this one! Thank you!

  9. Mine is in the oven now to go with leftovers- canโ€™t wait to try it and Iโ€™ll let you know how it goes!

  10. 5 stars
    Super easy and very tasty! It was a big hit. I did have too cook it a bit longer than instructed in the recipe but I may have just added too many toppings. Either way will definitely be making this again!

  11. Cannot wait to try this – you need to make a correction, howeverโ€ฆLiguria is a province in Italy, not a city. There is no such thing as the city of Liguria

  12. 5 stars
    So easy and beyond delicious . Itโ€™s was gone in 5 min. Everyone came back for more. Should have made 2 or 3 pans.