And then the tomatoes arrived.
Vibrant hues of crimson, gold, and coral take center stage at the market demanding the spotlight this time of year. With such a tempting array I was spoiled for choice. There were all the usual late summer suspects but it was the little red baby tomatoes that came home with me this time. These beauties enticed me with their diminutive size and brilliant color.
Perfect all on their own, the bright acidity of vine ripe tomatoes is perfectly at home with creamy fresh mozzarella, fruity olive oil and a good pinch of sea salt. And that is just how I planned on eating them, but I made sure to save a few for this gluten free and grain free tomato, olive and thyme focaccia.
Pizza’s slightly fluffier sibling, focaccia is a moist and tender vehicle for a variety of flavors. Here juicy little tomatoes meet up with fresh thyme and take a tumble with salty black olives before being spread atop a cushion of cheese stuffed dough.
A little olive oil and heat boosts the sweetness of the red gems, concentrating their flavor and taming their acidity. The focaccia itself is made with copious amounts of cheese held together with just the slightest amount of coconut flour.
Moist and chewy, it’s a cross between soft bread sticks and a deep dish pizza crust. A veil of herbed tomatoes and olives grace the top along with shreds of fresh mozzarella. As it bakes the toppings are pushed deep into the dough, enveloping the wrinkled edges of the roasted tomatoes.
Paired with a fresh and peppery arugula or mixed greens salad, this focaccia makes a wonderful companion to a crisp glass of rosé .
Gluten-Free Cherry Tomato, Olive and Thyme Focaccia Bread
Moist and chewy, this gluten-free foccacia a cross between soft bread sticks and a deep dish pizza crust.
Ingredients
- 4 eggs
- 4 Tablespoons plain yogurt
- ¼ cup/ 30g coconut flour
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/8th teaspoon sea salt
- 1 cup/ 112g grated fontina and parmesan cheese
- 8oz / 228g baby tomatoes, sliced in half
- ½ Tablespoon olive oil
- ¼ cup/60g black olives, pitted and in quarters or halves
- 2 Tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
- 2 oz/ 50g Fresh whole milk mozzarella, cut into chunks
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375.
- Beat the eggs and yogurt in a bowl until well combined.
- Combine the coconut flour, baking soda, salt and cheese in medium sized bowl.
- Combine the tomatoes, olive oil, thyme leaves, olives and mozzarella in another bowl, add a pinch of salt and pepper and set aside.
- Add the beaten eggs and yogurt mixture to the dry ingredients and mix until well combined.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spread the mixture in one large or two smaller oval shapes with the back of a spoon or spatula.
- Top with the tomato, olive and mozzarella mixture and bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until lightly puffed and golden around the edges.
- Remove parchment from baking sheet and let cool on wire rack.
- Enjoy warm or at room temperature.
Notes
Gluten Free, Grain Free, Vegetarian, Primal
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
6Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 155Total Fat: 11gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 115mgSodium: 602mgCarbohydrates: 5gFiber: 1gSugar: 2gProtein: 10g
Nutritional information for recipes contained on this website, such as calories, fat, carbs, etc. are only estimates and are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Sylvie Shirazi is the recipe developer and food photographer behind Gourmande in the Kitchen. For the last 10 years she’s been making eating more healthfully easy and accessible with gluten-free, grain-free, paleo and vegan recipes that are free from processed ingredients.
I made this last night and followed your directions exactly. Taking it out of the oven it looked and smelled like the “real” thing. However, upon the first bite I found that the texture resembled scrambled eggs far more than its description! it was wet and even elicited a gag from my husband! I was so looking forward to eating this as I see you have many postive reviews. Has this texture problem ever happened to you? If so, any suggestions?
It sounds like either you need to increase the bake time a little (every oven is different) or that your tomatoes may have been extra juicy and released some moisture into the bread while cooking (next time try seeding them beforehand). The texture shouldn’t be wet or like scrambled eggs, I’d say it’s more like a soft cheesy breadstick. Hope that helps!
Exquisite site so happy to find you.
Hello, could I use ordinary coconut flour or I have to blend dried coconut flour in a high speed blender or spice until powdered ?
Yes, ordinary store bought coconut flour is what I used.
I’m trying this tonight! Have you tried pre-making the dough, and letting it refrigerate? Just curious, because I could see myself making this in the early afternoon, and then whipping our the dough right and dressing it 15 mins before dinner. Just curious how the coconut flour would behave.
That’s a good question, I would be worried that the dough would be too dry by that point because of the coconut flour and that it may not give you the same results. I would suggest you prepare the wet and dry ingredients seperately ahead of time if you’d like and then just mix them together a few minutes before you are ready to bake instead.
Thank you for your quick response! I ended up mixing the wet and dry ingredients before hand last night and thank God! Our dinner guests’ car ended up breaking down and we had to go get them, leaving everyone really hungry by the time we got back to the house! I was able to throw pizzas together in no time!! Thanks for this delicious recipe. By the way, I just made it plain (without the spice) and with sour cream instead of yogurt (because I had it on hand), and it was a fabulous pizza crust.
So glad to hear that!
This focaccia bread is amazing! I could eat it every day for a while. 🙂 Second time I added some feta to the topping, too and it was even more delicious.
Yum! This turned out beautiful! Although it stuck to the parchment paper. May need a little oil to help with that next time.
Do you think liquid egg substitute such as Egg Beaters type, would work instead of regular eggs?
As long as it’s a whole egg substitute and not just egg whites I think it should work fine.
Hi Sylvie,
Can I substitute more yoghurt for the parmesan/fontina cheese as I don’t have any on hand. All I have is feta!
Thanks,
Sx
No that will make the batter too loose, I’d actually try using the feta instead.