We Tested King Arthur Baking’s 2025 Recipe of the Year

It’s that time of year again, that exciting moment for baking obsessives like me, when King Arthur Baking reveals its eagerly anticipated Recipe of the Year (ROTY). Once this recipe drops, my fellow flour fans and I will be baking, photo-ing, and sharing the results to our Instagram feeds. Last year, it was epic chocolate chip cookies. Other ROTYs have included banana bread, coffee cake, and cinnamon rolls. 

This year, the smart money was on a bread recipe, to tie-in with the Vermont-based company’s beautiful new cookbook, The King Arthur Baking Company Big Book of Bread. Finally, the suspense is over, and yes indeed, the 2025 Recipe of the Year is for bread: Big and Bubbly Focaccia, to be exact.

What Stood Out to Me in the Recipe

My initial reaction to the choice of focaccia was, “Smart!” Yes, it’s a yeasted bread, but this golden Italian specialty is simple and accessible. There’s no kneading, electric mixer, or special flour required. Sarah Jampel, King Arthur’s recipe development and test kitchen manager concurs. “Because focaccia is relatively fast and very easy, it’s a great entry point for people who are intimidated by bread baking.”

As I read through the recipe, a couple of things stood out. First, many of the focaccia recipes I’ve tried, like this delicious Garlic and Rosemary Focaccia, require a refrigerated, overnight rise. But this one, adapted from Martin Philip’s recipe in the new King Arthur cookbook, can be ready in less than four hours, start to finish. (That said, if you want to get a head start, there are instructions for an overnight rise.)

Another thing that’s different about the Big and Bubbly Focaccia is that, you guessed it, it’s big! Most similar recipes are baked on a sheet pan for a thinner bread. This one is baked in a 9-by-9 inch pan, for a taller, fluffier focaccia. “It pushes two inches high where the bubbles are the tallest,” Jampel notes. “But it’s not so tall that it feels burdensome for a family of four to finish in an evening, especially since the texture is so irresistibly light.” 

Finally, there’s something I’ve never seen before in a focaccia recipe: after the bread is mostly finished, you remove it from the pan and place it directly on the oven rack to crisp up on all sides. Interesting!

My Experience Preparing the Focaccia

I was so excited to try the Big and Bubbly Focaccia for myself. I started by mixing the simple dough: all-purpose flour, instant yeast, salt, a touch of sugar, olive oil, and water. Then, instead of kneading, I folded the dough over itself in the bowl, as the recipe instructed. After completing the folding process a few times at 15 minute intervals, I covered the dough and let it rise for an hour. 

Then I transferred the dough to the baking pan and let it rise again. Now came the fun part, the dimpling, pressing into the dough with my fingers to make focaccia’s telltale divots. Then the bread went into the oven, first in the pan and then directly on the rack to finish. After about 23 minutes I was in business, with warm, amazing-smelling focaccia, ready to be devoured. (Well, it was supposed to cool first, but patience is not my strong suit.)

Nothing about preparing this recipe was difficult. It only required one bowl (hooray!), and the initial mixing of the ingredients took all of five minutes. There is that initial babysitting of the dough for the first hour, when you’re doing the folds every 15 minutes, but overall, it’s incredibly low-effort.

The Results

As promised, the bread was lofty, supremely tender on the inside, and crisp and golden on the outside. Unlike some other focaccia recipes, it wasn’t swimming in olive oil, and the amount of salt was ideal for my tastes. 

I knew that Jampel likes the bread for sandwiches. “It’s tall enough to slice easily but also light and compressible enough to accommodate lots of add-ins,” she said. So, I followed her lead, splitting it and layering in pesto, prosciutto, and arugula. Best sandwich ever? Very possibly.

I left the remaining focaccia for my husband when I went out. Unprompted, he texted me, “That focaccia is fantastic.” Sure is. And it’s easy enough that it can be a regular addition to our table. “Our goal with the Big and Bubbly Focaccia recipe was to introduce a modern take on a cult classic that becomes a go-to for beginners and advanced bakers alike,” Jampel said. I’m confident that they succeeded.