Wood-Fired Rosemary Focaccia in the Buschbeck

There's a particular kind of joy that happens when a simple dough meets live fire, and this rosemary focaccia on the Buschbeck is exactly that. It's one of the easiest wins in the whole book - no shaping skill required, just stretch, dimple and let the fire do the work.

I make this one whenever we've got people coming over. It bakes while we're having a drink by the fire, and then everyone just tears it apart straight from the tin. Crunchy underneath, soft and pillowy inside, with little pools of olive oil and rosemary catching the smoke - that's wood-fired bread at its best.

What makes focaccia so forgiving on the Buschbeck is the tin itself. It shields the dough from direct flame while the pizza stone underneath gives you that proper baker's base. You get all the flavour of a wood fire without the stress of a delicate pizza base sliding about.

Serves 8 · Fire: medium-hot, steady · Cook: 25 min + rising

Ingredients

• 500 g (3⅓ cups) plain flour
• 7 g (2 tsp) dried yeast
• 2 tsp sea salt, plus flakes to finish
• 400 ml (1⅔ cups) lukewarm water
• 100 ml (⅓ cup + 1 tbsp) olive oil
• 2 sprigs rosemary, leaves picked

Method

1. Mix the flour, yeast, salt and water into a sticky dough. Cover and leave for 1–2 hrs, until doubled.
2. Pour half the oil into a 20 x 30 cm (8 x 12 in) tin or cast iron skillet. Tip in the dough and gently stretch it to the edges. Rest for 30 min.
3. Dimple all over with oily fingers. Drizzle with the rest of the oil, then scatter with rosemary and salt flakes.
4. Bake in the fire at about 220°C (425°F) for 20–25 min, until deep golden. Cool for 10 min before cutting.

Fire note: Bake on the pizza stone with the fire pushed to one side, and turn the tin every 5–10 min. Check the stone with the infrared thermometer so it is hot but not scorching.

Buschbeck kit: Pizza Oven Insert · Wood Pizza Paddle · Infrared Thermometer

How to bake focaccia on a Buschbeck

Get your Buschbeck pizza oven insert set up with the fire pushed to one side, not directly under the stone. You want steady, even heat radiating across the whole chamber rather than a blast from one spot - that's what gives focaccia its slow, even rise and bake.

Load your tin or cast iron skillet onto the pizza stone once it's hot but not scorching. This is where the infrared thermometer earns its keep - check the stone is sitting around that 220°C mark before you commit the dough. Too hot and the base will catch before the middle is cooked through.

Turn the tin every 5 to 10 minutes using your wood pizza paddle. Wood fires are never perfectly even, and the side closest to the flames will always want to colour faster. Rotating keeps the crust an even deep gold rather than dark on one edge and pale on the other.

• Watch for the dough rising and setting around the edges first - that's your cue to check underneath.
• Lift a corner with the paddle to peek at the base colour before you trust your eyes on top.
• If the top is colouring fast but the base is still pale, nudge the tin further from the fire side.

Once it's deep golden and the edges have pulled slightly from the tin, pull it and let it rest. Resting matters more than people think - it lets the olive oil settle back into the crumb instead of pooling on your board.

What to serve with Rosemary Focaccia

This focaccia is made for sharing alongside other things that have been near the fire. Try it with Fire-Blistered Tomatoes with Burrata for a proper spread, or tear it up to mop up juices from a steak cooked on the Buschbeck. It also holds its own simply dunked in good olive oil with a glass of something cold.

FAQs

Can I bake focaccia directly on the Buschbeck grill instead of the pizza stone?

You can, but the tin needs a stable, even surface underneath, so the pizza stone in the oven insert works much better than open grill bars. The stone also holds consistent heat, which focaccia needs for a good rise.

What fire setup works best for focaccia on a Buschbeck?

A medium-hot, steady fire pushed to one side of the Buschbeck pizza oven insert is ideal. This gives you even ambient heat around the tin rather than a direct blast that would burn the base before the middle cooks.

How do I know when my Buschbeck pizza stone is the right temperature?

Use an infrared thermometer pointed at the stone surface - you're after around 220°C. Any hotter and the base of your focaccia will scorch before the dough has had a chance to rise properly.

Why does my focaccia cook unevenly in the Buschbeck?

Wood fires naturally run hotter on one side, so the side of the tin nearest the flames will colour faster. Turn the tin every 5 to 10 minutes with a wood pizza paddle to even things out.

Get all 89 recipes in The Wood Fire Kitchen

Rosemary Focaccia is one of 89 recipes in my cookbook, The Wood Fire Kitchen: Recipes for your Buschbeck outdoor fireplace. It covers everything from lighting and reading the fire to pizza, grilling, the rotisserie, camp-oven dinners and desserts baked in the embers, with a Buschbeck kit note on every recipe so you know exactly which accessory to reach for.

Get the paperback ($49 USD)

Want a look inside first? Grab the free sample on the book page, or browse more Buschbeck recipes.