Homemade Focaccia (& Roasted Tofu Sandwich)

This homemade focaccia sandwich with roasted tofu, pesto, tomatoes, and more, is the PERFECT summer sandwich (and the focaccia can be made in a few hours, no overnight waiting needed!). Load the sandwich with all of your favourite toppings (I love tomatoes, some greens, a homemade pesto, vegan mayo, sundried tomatoes, sauteed onions and zucchini, and pickles or pickled onions!). Get the recipe below, and enjoy!

Focaccia prep time: 3-4 hours

Focaccia bake time: 25 minutes

Sandwich prep time: 10-15 minutes

Sandwich cook time: 25 minutes

Servings: 1 square 8×8″ focaccia, toppings for 2 small-medium sandwiches

Ingredients

Focaccia

• 300g warm water (approx 110F)
• 5g agave or maple syrup (1/2 tsp)
• 6g yeast (1 1/2 tsp)
• 370g all-purpose or bread flour (up to 10g extra if needed)
• 10g salt (1 1/2 tsp)
• 20g olive oil (1 1/2 tbsp, plus more to drizzle in the pan and on top)
• Toppings: flaky salt, fresh herbs, olives, sundried tomatoes

Sandwich Filling

• 2 1/2 tbsp olive oil, divided
• 250-300g extra-firm tofu
• 1 1/2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1/2 tbsp maple syrup
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1 small or 1/2 large onion
• 1 zucchini
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 1 tomato
• Balsamic glaze (optional)
• Pinch of salt
• 1/2 cup chopped sundried tomatoes
• Greens of your choice (lettuce, arugula, spinach…)
• Pickles or pickled onions
• Hummus and/or vegan mayo
• Homemade pesto (see notes)

Equipment

• Scale
• Mixing bowl
• 8″ square baking pan
• Lined baking sheet or air fryer
• Frying pan

Instructions

Focaccia (see below for sandwich)

1. In your mixing bowl, measure out the warm water and agave/maple syrup, then sprinkle the yeast on top. Give it a little mix then let it rest for 5-10 minutes to activate the yeast (it will get bubbly).
2. Once the yeast is bubbly, add flour, olive oil and salt and mix together with a spoon first, then your hands. The dough should be a little sticky but not too much (if it’s really sticking to your hands, add 5-10g more flour). Shape it into a nice ball, then cover with a tea towel and let rest for an hour.
3. The dough should have risen a decent amount after an hour. Now, stretch and fold it into itself (pulling the dough at 12 o’clock, 3 o’clock, 6 o’clock and 9 o’clock) and shaping it back into a ball each time. Cover again with the tea towel and repeat this every 30-60 mins two more times after.
4. After you’ve done about three stretch and folds, prep your square baking pan by drizzling a generous amount of olive oil into the bottom and spreading it with your fingers, then gently placing the dough in the pan and stretching it a bit into the square. Cover with a tea towel and let rise for an hour.
5. After the hour is up, start preheating your oven to 450F. Drizzle a generous amount of olive oil onto the top of the dough, then go in with your fingers and press dimples into the top of the focaccia. Add your toppings now: flaky sea salt, fresh herbs like thyme and rosemary, sliced olives, sundried tomatoes, sliced red onion…
6. Bake for at least 24 minutes, checking after that how golden the top of the dough is. I like to pull it out once it’s a nice golden brown, so I keep the oven light on until it has reached the perfect golden colour (up to 30-32 ish minutes).
7. Let cool for at least 20-30 minutes before removing from the pan and slicing.

Sandwich

1. Preheat oven to 400F.
2. Thinly slice tofu into strips, then add to a mixing bowl with 1 tbsp olive oil, the soy sauce, maple syrup, paprika, garlic powder and a small pinch of salt. Mix well (the strips will break into smaller pieces, and that’s okay!) then add to a lined baking sheet. Roast for 20-25 mins (or if air frying, 15-18 mins at 400F), tossing with tongs halfway through.
3. Thinly slice onion and zucchini, and peel and mince garlic cloves.
4. To a frying pan or pot on medium heat, add 1 tbsp olive oil, leeks and zucchini. Cover, stirring every couple of minutes, until softened. After about 10-15 minutes, once they’ve softened down, add the minced garlic and stir. Remove from heat after a couple more minutes.
5. Thinly slice tomatoes, then I like to “marinate” them with a 1/2 tbsp of olive oil, a drizzle of balsamic glaze, and a pinch of salt.
6. If prepping a homemade pesto, see notes for a quick and tasty pesto recipe.
7. Once the tofu and sauteed zucchini are done, start prepping the sandwich. Add your homemade pesto/hummus/vegan mayo to the bread, then greens, roasted tofu, sauteed onion and zucchini, marinated tomatoes and sundried tomatoes, then close up and enjoy!

Notes

*For homemade pesto, you’ll need a good blender as well as lots of fresh basil (I use a nutribullet and fill it halfway), 5 tbsp olive oil, 1 tbsp water, 1/2 juiced lemon, 1/4-1/2 tsp salt, 2 garlic cloves, and 1 tbsp nutritional yeast (optional). Blend and add more basil if too liquid or more olive oil if not liquid enough!