The Dish | No-Knead Focaccia

This no-knead focaccia from Bon Appetit is on constant rotation in our house, especially this time of year. I start it in the morning so that it has plenty of time to rise and then bake it right before dinner. It is best served warm. Pair it with a hearty pasta and salad for a family-pleasing meal of comfort food.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 ¼-oz. envelope active dry yeast (about 2¼ tsp.)
• 2 tsp. honey
• 5 cups (625 g) all-purpose flour
• 5 tsp. Diamond Crystal or 1 Tbsp. Morton kosher salt
• 6 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil, divided, plus more for hands
• 4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, plus more for pan
• Flaky sea salt
• 2–4 garlic cloves

DIRECTIONS:

• Whisk one ¼-oz. envelope active dry yeast (about 2¼ tsp.), 2 tsp. honey, and 2½ cups lukewarm water in a medium bowl and let sit for 5 minutes (it should foam or at least get creamy; if it doesn’t your yeast is dead and you should start again).
• Add 5 cups (625 g) all-purpose flour and 5 tsp. Diamond Crystal or 1 Tbsp. Morton kosher salt and mix with a rubber spatula until a shaggy dough forms and no dry streaks remain.
• Pour 4 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil into a big bowl that will fit in your refrigerator (this puppy is going to rise!). Transfer dough to bowl and turn to coat in oil. Cover with a tea towel  and let it rise at room temperature until doubled in size, 3–4 hours. 
• Generously butter a 13×9″ baking pan, for thicker focaccia that’s perfect for sandwiches, or an 18×13″ rimmed baking sheet, for focaccia that’s thinner, crispier, and great for snacking. Pour 1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil into center of pan. Keeping the dough in the bowl and using a fork in each hand, gather up edges of dough farthest from you and lift up and over into center of bowl. Give the bowl a quarter turn and repeat process. Do this 2 more times; you want to deflate dough while you form it into a rough ball. Transfer dough to prepared pan. Pour any oil left in bowl over and turn dough to coat it in oil. Let rise, uncovered, in a dry, warm spot (like near a radiator or on top of the fridge or a preheating oven) until doubled in size, at least 1½ hours and up to 4 hours.
• Place a rack in middle of oven; preheat to 450°.
• Is the dough ready? To see if the dough is ready, poke it with your finger. It should spring back slowly, leaving a small visible indentation. If it springs back quickly, the dough isn’t ready. (If at this point the dough is ready to bake but you aren’t, you can chill it up to 1 hour.)
• Lightly oil your hands. If using a rimmed baking sheet, gently stretch out dough to fill. Dimple focaccia all over with your fingers, like you’re aggressively playing the piano, creating very deep depressions in the dough (reach your fingers all the way to the bottom of the pan). Drizzle with remaining 1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil and sprinkle with flaky sea salt. Bake focaccia until puffed and golden brown all over, 20–30 minutes.
• Hold off on this last step until you’re ready to serve the focaccia: Melt 4 Tbsp. unsalted butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Remove from heat. Peel and grate in 2–4 garlic cloves with a Microplane. Return to medium heat and cook, stirring often, until garlic is just lightly toasted, 30–45 seconds. 
• Brush garlic-butter all over focaccia and slice into squares or rectangles.