Usually, we use day old or stale bread chopped into cubes to make dressing. We mix the bread with veggies, herbs and stock and bake it up. It is delicious and definitely one of my favorite things about holiday dinners, but that doesn’t mean we can’t have a little fun with it, right?
Well today, we are reversing the typical dressing making process. Instead of everything starting with old bread, we are ending up with freshly baked bread and this loaf has everything you love about dressing baked right into it.
This buttery, crisp focaccia is baked with sweet onions, celery, garlic, sage and parsley inside the dough and then the entire loaf is topped with crumbled Italian sausage and flaky salt. It’s incredible and perfect for dunking into a big bowl of turkey gravy. Thanksgiving may never be the same.
Let’s get started…
First, let’s talk about your options. This bread can be made and baked all in the same day or you can make the dough and “cold proof” it in your refrigerator for 12-72 hours giving you more flexibility on when you bake it up. I prefer using the cold proofing method for a few reasons… I have less work to do the day of and cold proofing focaccia creates a more chewy, flavorful finished product, but feel free to use whichever method works best for your situation.
Begin by gathering your ingredients. To make 12-14 servings, you will need some butter, a large yellow onion, 2 celery ribs, 4 cloves of garlic, fresh sage leaves, fresh parsley and 16 ounces of Italian sausage for the filling and 6 cups of bread flour flour, a tablespoon of salt, a tablespoon of instant yeast, 3 cups of chicken stock and 1/2 cup of extra virgin olive oil for the bread dough.
You have a few baking dish size options here….
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- You can use an extra large 13″x18″x2″ deep baking dish, which keeps everything together in 1 dish. Less cleaning later.
- The dough can be divided between a 13″x9″ and an 8″ square giving you a dish for the adults table and a dish for the kids table.
- Or it can be baked in three 8″ square baking dishes, which may sound like too much, BUT this method is easiest to fit in the oven and gives you the most of that buttery crust surface.
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You can also cut the recipe in half, if you are feeding a smaller crowd. Think about the options and decide later…
The first step is to cook the onions, celery and garlic down in a little butter for about 10 minutes to soften everything up.
Add about 2 tablespoons of finely chopped fresh sage leaves and a generous pinch of salt and black pepper into the softened vegetables and cook for a minute or so just to let everything come together.
Transfer the skillet off of the heat to cool while you prepare the dough…
Whisk 750 grams of bread flour flour (or about 6 cups, spooned and leveled) with a tablespoon of salt and a tablespoon of instant yeast.
Before you add the chicken stock, transfer the softened vegetables and sage into the flour mixture along with 1/2 cup of finely chopped fresh parsley and mix until everything is evenly distributed. Not only is the filling easier to add at this point, but allowing the vegetables to be lightly coated in the flour before adding the liquid will help them remain evenly distributed throughout the dough as it rises and bakes and will help prevent the vegetables from sinking to the bottom of the loaf.
Now add 3 cups of warm chicken stock (about 100F degrees) and mix until you no longer see dry flour remaining. This is easiest done with a silicone spatula. As you mix, be sure to scrape the bottom of the bowl and cut through any dense feeling parts to help ensure that no dry clumps are left in the dough.
If you brought everything together in a large enough bowl, drizzle the top of the dough generously with olive oil. If you need to transfer the dough into a larger container, drizzle that bowl with olive oil and flip the dough around a few times to ensure that it is coated generously in oil.
Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and transfer it into the refrigerator to chill for 12-72 hours.
Note: If you prefer to bake this bread up same day, allow the dough to sit in a warm place until doubled in volume. This should take 60-90 minutes and then move onto the next step.
When you are ready to move onto the next step, transfer the dough out of the refrigerator and into generously greased baking dishes. If you are dividing the dough between several baking dishes, just do you best to divide equally.
Drizzle the dough with olive oil and flip it over several times to ensure the entire surface is coated. Lightly cover the baking dish with non-stick plastic wrap and let the dough sit at room temperature for about 90 minutes.
While the dough is proofing, brown up 16 ounces of Italian sausage.
Once the dough is super puffy and has double in size again, it is time to add the sausage…
Crumble the browned sausage over the entire surface of the dough and then drizzle everything with olive oil. Use your fingers to dimple the surface and work the sausage slightly into the dough…
Sprinkle the loaf with a little flaky sea salt or flaky garlic salt, which is my favorite, and then bake in a 425 degree oven until the underside of the loaf is crisp and golden brown. This should take 30-35 minutes for the 13″x18″ and about 25 minutes for smaller dishes. Keep an eye on the color of the bread. It should be deeply golden, but not dark brown. Use a thin spatula to carefully lift one side of the loaf and if the bottom looks crisp and golden brown, pull it out of the oven.
Transfer the baking dish onto a cooing rack and let it cool for 5 or 10 minutes before transferring the loaf out of the dish and directly onto the cooling rack to continue cooling.
Let me start by saying that I was already pretty obsessed with focaccia and stuffing/dressing. Bread and bready dishes are my thing, so I was not too surprised when I almost immediately became territorial over this loaf.
As I sliced into it, I began worrying that I would not have enough to feed everyone after setting enough slices aside to properly do my taste testing (one slice is never enough)…. and although it was close, thankfully everyone was able to have some of this fantastic bread…
The outside of this loaf is crisp with a beautifully buttery flavor.
The inside of the loaf is incredibly moist from the softened garlic, celery and onions with herby notes from the sage and parsley, but the top of this loaf is my favorite part….
The crumbled Italian sausage baked into the crispy, buttery, salty crust of this focaccia is amazing. The pieces that were mostly submerged remain tender and juicy and the pieces that were not quite pushed in all the way get dark and crunchy as the bread bakes and I cannot decide which version I love more. They help to complete the classic sausage dressing feel, but also make this bread feel like a meal in itself. Bread… meat… vegetables… what more do you need?
If you are looking for a unique twist on traditional dressing then I would highly suggest giving this sausage and herby focaccia a try. The first time you dip one of those slices into a bit of turkey gravy or cranberry sauce… you may never do dressing the same again…
Italian Sausage & Herb Dressing Focaccia
Ingredients
The filling...
- 2 tablespoons of butter
- 1 large yellow onions, diced
- 2 celery ribs, diced
- 4 cloves of garlic, finely minced
- 2 tablespoons of fresh sage, finely chopped
- 1/2 cup of fresh parsley, finely chopped
- 16 ounces of ground Italian sausage
- salt and black pepper
The focaccia...
- 6 cups of bread flour (750 grams)
- 1 tablespoon of salt
- 1 tablespoon of instant yeast (10 grams)
- 3 cups of chicken stock, warm (about 100 degrees)
- 1/2 cup of extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
Cook the filling...
- Place a large skillet over medium heat and add 2 tablespoons of butter
- Once the butter has melted, add the diced yellow onion, diced celery ribs and minced garlic, season generously with salt and black pepper and cook for about 10 minutes
- Add 2 tablespoons of finely chopped fresh sage leaves and cook for another 60 seconds or until the sage leaves have softened and then set aside to cool for a few minutes
Make the dough...
- In a large bowl, combine 6 cups of bread flour with a tablespoon of salt and a tablespoon of instant yeast
- Add the slightly cooled garlic, celery, onions and sage along with 1/2 cup of finely chopped fresh parsley and toss until everything is evenly distributed and coated in flour
- Add 3 cups of slightly warmed chicken stock and mix until you no long see dry ingredients and a sticky dough has formed
- Drizzle the top of the dough with olive oil and use your hands to ensure the entire top surface is coated in olive oil
- Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and transfer the dough into the refrigerator to chill for 12-48 hours
Finish the focaccia...
- Grease your baking dish/dishes and then add a tablespoon or so of olive oil into the bottom of each baking dish
- Remove the dough from your refrigerator and use a silicone spatula or fork to pull the dough from the sides of the bowl
- Divide the dough if baking in multiple dishes and transfer the dough into the prepared dishes
- Flip the dough over several times to coat it in the olive oil and let the dough rest at room temperature until fully doubled in volume (this will take between 2-4 hours)
- Place a large skillet over medium heat and cook 16 ounces of Italian sausage until browned and broken into small pieces. Set aside to cool.
- Preheat your oven to 425 degrees
- When the dough is fully rested, drizzle the top of the dough with olive oil and crumble the browned Italian sausage evenly over the top
- Use your fingers to spread the dough out, gently press the sausage into the dough and leave dimples all over the dough (see photos above)
- Sprinkle the top of the dough with flaky sea salt
- Bake in a 425 degree oven for 25-35 minutes depending on the size of baking dish you are using (smaller dishes will be ready quicker than the larger one)
- Once the bottom of the focaccia is golden brown and crispy, transfer the baking dish onto a cooling rack for 5 minutes and then transfer the focaccia directly onto a cooling rack to cool fully before slicing
