Achari Focaccia

A fusion of traditional Focaccia with the flavors of Indian pickles; this Achari Focaccia is soft, flavorful and works perfectly as an appetizer or side.

A quick version, this focaccia needs only one rise and comes together with only a few minutes of active time! Pair it with your favorite dip for a lovely party recipe!

Bread baking is always super therapeutic. Once you fall in love with homemade breads, not many store bought commercial breads come close. The smell that fills the kitchen and home while the bread bakes and the flavors of the baked breads are unmatched.

I love making breads at home and my family loves them all too. From this no-knead Pumpkin Bread and Chutney bread to this delicious Whole wheat sandwich bread and Purple Potato Bread; we make these all the time.

A lot of folks want to make their own bread but are not sure where to begin. There are so many techniques, methods and ingredients to make home-made breads. It is best to start with a simple bread and I would strongly recommend a focaccia. This bread is pretty difficult to mess up and tastes great with so many toppings.

Jump to:

• What is Focaccia
• What does Achari mean
• Why this recipe works
• Ingredients and Substitutions
• How to make this recipe
• Expert Tips and Notes
• Using an Instant Pot for the dough
• Serving
• Recipe FAQs
• More Delicious Bread Recipes
• Achari Focaccia

What is Focaccia

Focaccia is a popular oven baked Italian flat bread. It is perfect to enjoy as an appetizer or use to prepare a sandwich. It has a signature top and texture through it's body. Additionally, the dimpled top is wonderful as a carrier for olive oil or other dips.

This bread is generally served with a dip. Seasoned olive oil, dressings or balsamic vinegar make a great dip for the bread. However, we can swap this for a dip that works well with the flavors of the focaccia.

I love making all kinds of focaccia recipes. From the loaded focaccia with onions, peppers and tomatoes as toppings to more unique ones like sourdough focaccia, stone fruit focaccia and pav bhaji focaccia. And after these recipes, this Achari focaccia is a latest favorite!

What does Achari mean

The word achari comes from the Indian word 'achar'; which means pickle. This pickle is quite different from the American pickles made from cucumbers.

Indian achar or pickle is generally made with a lot of spices and oil combined with the vegetable that we are pickling. It all starts with a mix called pickling masala or koro sambhar. The resultant pickle is tasty, spicy, tangy and often has a little extra oil than regular food.

Over the years this flavor from the pickle has been incorporated in so many recipes. From flatbreads like achari parathas and naans to achari vegetables like mixed vegetable, cauliflower, potatoes and so on.

These achari dishes have become popular and are loved by everyone for their tangy, spicy and wholesome flavors. So I decided to add in these flavors to the popular Italian bread Focaccia.

The base of a focaccia, combined with the toppings that are completely achari makes a flavorful spicy and super amazing bread.

Why this recipe works

• This achari focaccia has all the Indian pickle flavors in a whole new version.
• The recipe is perfect for beginners!
• We only need a handful of ingredients to make this.
• This almost instant focaccia needs only one proofing.
• The resultant bread is full of achari flavors.
• It makes a great appetizer or side.
• We can top this up with chopped vegetables or leave it as is.
• It is a fun fusion dish.
• We can easily make this recipe Vegan.
• It is a flavor packed recipe for any party.
• We can easily scale the recipe up or down.

Ingredients and Substitutions

• All purpose flour: I like to make this achari focaccia with all purpose flour. However, wheat flour and gluten works well together too. Or use a combination of all purpose flour or wheat flour. Plus, the same bread recipe works with bread flour as well.

• Yeast: Use either instant yeast or active dry yeast in the recipe. While the end result is equally good when using both, the method to activate the yeast varies.

• Unsalted Butter and olive oil: The fat we use in this recipe is unsalted butter. We can also use olive oil for the recipe. I like to use unsalted butter in the bread and olive oil after preparing the dough.

• Salt and Sugar: A combination of salt and sugar works to activate and feed the yeast. Moreover, more salt is added to make the bread to make it flavorful. Along with this, we also add water to activate the yeast.

• Koro Sambhar: As we are making an achari bread, I like to add some homemade koro sambhar as a topping for the focaccia. Mix this instantly or use the one that you have prepared before hand. Plus, store bought sambhar works too.

• Garlic Pickle: A perfect topping for the bread is dollops of garlic pickle. Drop some dollops or increase the amount for a more spicy and flavorful version. Substitute with any other pickle of your choice if desired.

See the recipe card for detailed ingredient information, measurements and nutrition.

How to make this recipe

1- In the base of the stand mixture add 3 cups all purpose flour, 2 ¼ teaspoon (1 packet) instant yeast, 1 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon sugar.

2- Next add 1¼ cup warm water and 3 tablespoon unsalted butter (at room temperature).

3- Mix everything using the dough hook till the dough comes together.

4- Knead for another 5 minutes so the dough is soft and supple.

5- Place the dough ball in the bowl lined with oil and rest covered in a warm place.

6- The dough will double in about an hour.

7- Line a 9*9 baking tray with oil or cooking spray.

8- Transfer the risen dough to a lined baking tray.

9- Spread out the dough evenly in the baking tray. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil and dimple the dough thoroughly.

10- Add 2 teaspoon koro sambhar and 2-3 tablespoons of garlic pickle.

11- Lightly spread the toppings over the dough and add some finely chopped cilantro.

12- Bake in the oven preheated to 450 degrees F for 18-20 minutes.

13- Remove from the oven and add some more olive oil on top. Let the bread cool a little before slicing into squares or triangles.

14- Serve with some garlic pickle, chutney or just some salted butter.

Expert Tips and Notes

• Measure the ingredients correctly: It is important to measure the ingredients correctly. Excessive flour will result in a drier bread and so will less fat or water. More water will make a sticky dough that is difficult to work with.

• Activate the yeast right: If using active dry yeast in the recipe add warm water, salt and sugar to the yeast to activate; then mix in all the dry ingredients. When using instant yeast, add that with the other ingredients. Then add warm water and make the bread dough. We do not need to activate instant yeast separately.

• Using wheat flour: To do so, simply swap all or half of the all purpose flour with whole wheat flour. Remember to add one tablespoon of essential gluten for every cup of wheat flour used.

• Adjust the toppings: This achari focaccia is great to top with some koro sambhar and garlic pickle. However, use another flavor of pickle if you like. Moreover, add some thinly sliced vegetables if you like. Plus, sliced jalapeños work well to top this bread.

• To make the focaccia ahead of time: Make the focaccia from end to end before hand. Cool completely and transfer to a foil or parchment paper. Loosely wrap it and store at room temperature. Heat or enjoy directly at room temperature.

• To make it spicy: Adding the pickle and koro sambhar as a topping keeps the bread medium spicy. However, to make it more spicy, add some of these in the bread dough itself. Also add some chopped jalapeños to the dough and bake. That way the bread will be spicy throughout the layers.

• Making a thin focaccia: To make a super thin focaccia, use a larger square or rectangle baking pan. The thinner the dough is spread, the crunchier the outside.

Using an Instant Pot for the dough

Using the Instant Pot to proof the dough is a great option. The dough may not rise well on the kitchen counter on cold days. Instead we use the instant pot to make sure the dough rises irrespective of temperatures outside. This timed method helps estimate the correct time for making the bread and works year round.

To do so; grease the instant pot with non-stick spray and place the dough ball in it. Set mode to yogurt and normal for 60 minutes. Open the Instant Pot after 60 minutes. The dough would have doubled by now. Use it to make the achari focaccia.

However, if you like or are in a warmer place, simply place the dough on the counter and rest covered for an hour to 1.5 hours to rise. Then follow the remaining steps.

Serving

Focaccia is a great appetizer and side recipe. Given how we make this complete with achari flavors, it is perfect to serve this with an achari side. To make this, mix together olive oil and koro sambhar. Add in some chopped onions also if you like. Serve this as a dip with the achari focaccia. Or stick to serving it with some ready achar or pickle.

Moreover, we can serve this as a side with tomato soup, samosa soup, minestrone soup or butternut squash soup.

Plus, it is easy to make this a side for this creamy red sauce pasta, red lentil pasta or jumbo stuffed shells.

Serve this cut into small pieces with cheese fondue or use it to make an achari paneer or tofu sandwich. The bread is super versatile and works well in so many ways!

Recipe FAQs

More Delicious Bread Recipes