The Best, Easy Homemade Focaccia Pizza Recipe

Thick and Crispy Focaccia Pizza is Easy to Pull Together and Such a Treat!

Focaccia Pizza is a favorite around here. We started making it when we were working on perfecting our focaccia bread recipe for the Flour Barn. Focaccia bread is soft and fluffy with a crisp and flavorful crust and because of this, we love it for our egg sandwiches. Every week I mix, stretch, and fold pans of focaccia dough to prep it for Saturday Morning Breakfast sandwiches, so by this time we feel we have perfect the focaccia base.

The focaccia dough gets made on Wednesday night, and then we let the dough rise slowly. In the fridge it ferments for a couple of days to really build a nice flavor. Every now and then, I pull off a little bit of dough for my own particular use. I bring it into the house and spread it out onto a cookie sheet. Then I cover it and place it safely in the fridge. So, it’s Wednesday evening and I already have dinner ready for Friday night. Finally, just add some tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, maybe green onions, or any of your favorite toppings, and you have a focaccia pizza that your family will celebrate!

Why Focaccia?

Feed a Crew with Focaccia Pizza

Focaccia dough is a close cousin to regular pizza dough. Like many breads, the primary ingredients are flour, salt, and water. However, Focaccia dough and many pizza doughs include a little olive oil to give a little crispness to the crust. This Focaccia Pizza recipe reminds me of recipes I’ve made for a detroit-style pizza, with a thick crust that’s baked in a generous amount of olive oil. A good focaccia should have nice large pockets of air and be light and spongy in texture. Maybe you’re more of a thin crust pizza fan but believe me, focaccia pizza is not your typical bready pizza crust. It’s full of rich flavors and a wonderful texture. No longer is the crust just the vessel for delicious toppings, but really the best part of the pizza.

When I first started making this easy Focaccia Pizza, it was out of convenience. I would have an extra piece of dough left over from baking experiments and wanted to turn it into a good dinner. However, it quickly became a favorite in our house for both the kids and the adults. Because the crust is softer than most homemade pizza crusts, my kids were able to eat it a little more easily. It also goes with a variety of toppings.  In addition, this crust can hold up to the heaviest meat lover’s pizza, but it’s also full of flavor which makes it ideal for a fresh margherita pizza with fresh basil. I’ve made sheet pans of focaccia pizza for birthday parties, and I try to have one ready in the freezer for unexpected company. Each time I’ve served this to guests, whether they be kids or adults, it always gets rave reviews!

Worried you’re not a Bread Baker?

Focaccia is SO EASY! Not a Bread Baker? Or avid cook? Kitchen Lover? This is a great place to start. Everyone loves pizza night and they’re going to love Focaccia Pizza. And this recipe is so simple with minimal hands-on time. The only skill you really need to make focaccia is patience. Now, like any yeast recipe, it takes time to rise and mature, and this particular recipe relies on slow fermentation (meaning a slow, long rise) to develop a beautiful depth of flavor and texture. 

I really want you to try this recipe. Make your family a pizza this Friday night and start a new family tradition. Plan ahead a little.  Start the process on Wednesday or Thursday, and by the end of the week you will be so excited to have all of the work done, a clean kitchen and a delicious and exciting dinner to feed your people!

Mixing Focaccia Pizza Dough

Add the water and Olive oil to a large bowl. Then, add your dry ingredients and mix together with a dough whisk until you no longer see dry flour bits. You’ll notice that this is a very wet dough, and it may not form into a ball but that’s okay. Continue to stir with your dough whisk or your hands for a couple of minutes. Next, allow the dough to rest for fifteen minutes. This period of rest gives the flour time to fully absorb the water before you begin working it. Gluten is only able to form when flour absorbs water. Giving the flour a chance to fully hydrate will allow for better gluten development. After the fifteen minutes is up, you will begin to strengthen the focaccia dough by stretching and folding it.

How to Stretch and Fold Focaccia Pizza Dough

After the dough has rested for a bit, you’ll notice that it has puffed up a little. Focaccia dough is a very wet dough and can be a little tricky to work with. Because of this, we are not going to knead the dough as you might be used to. We are going to develop the gluten through a series of stretch and folds. Stretching and folding bread dough is a gentle way of developing a good gluten structure that doesn’t require any kneading. 

Place your Focaccia Pizza Dough on the pan it will bake in.

Your focaccia pizza recipe is going to bake on either a cookie sheet pan or a 9×13 baking dish. Whichever you use, go ahead and oil your pan with a generous amount of olive oil and dump the dough out onto the oiled surface. Next, Place a little bit of oil on your hands so they won’t stick, and pat your the top of the dough gently into a rough rectangle. Look at your dough and see that it has four sides. Beginning at the side farthest from you, pinch the back two corners and lift the dough up away from the baking pan.

At this point, your dough has very little gluten development and it should be very stretchy. Raise the dough about a foot in the air, the bottom portion of the dough should not lift off the baking pan. Fold the dough over two thirds of itself, as if you were folding a letter, and press the corners down to seal. Now take the bottom two corners of your rectangle and lift up, stretching the dough about a foot.  Fold the dough backwards over two thirds of the dough, sealing the corners by pressing them down into the dough. 

Stretching and folding is SO much easier than kneading!

Repeat this process from left to right, starting with the two left corners and stretching and folding to the right. After finishing with the right side, you should have a nice, smaller, chubbier rectangle. Lift the dough and flip it over so that all seams are on the bottom. Spread some more olive oil on the surface of the dough and cover the pan with plastic wrap. Let the dough rest for 30 minutes. 

After thirty minutes, repeat the stretch and fold process. The dough will have puffed up and spread out a bit as it begins to rise and form air bubbles. The great thing about stretching and folding the dough is that you are developing the gluten without getting rid of those nice air bubble you’re creating. As you perform the second round of stretching and folding, you’ll notice the dough is a little tighter. It does not stretch as far, and the dough is a little smoother. Finally, place the dough with the seams down, cover with plastic wrap, and allow to rest for one hour. 

Dimpling the Focaccia Pizza Dough

The trademark of Focaccia is the dimpled surface of the dough. This dimpling creates a light and airy bread and a perfect foundation for simple toppings! After allowing it to rest for one hour, your dough will have risen and puffed up nicely. Next, remove the plastic wrap and oil your fingers so they do not stick to your dough. Working from the center out, begin pressing all fingers into the dough, pressing down and out to spread the dough out towards the four corners of the pan. Your fingers should press down towards the bottom of the pan but should not break through the dough. Then, continue dimpling until the dough covers at least three quarters of the sheet pan.

Overnight Fermentation

Time is critical to good focaccia pizza. Overnight fermentation is the best way to develop a full flavored, perfectly textured focaccia. After dimpling the focaccia pizza dough, cover the pan with plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator overnight. It can stay in the fridge for up to three days. While the waiting may seem like an inconvenience, once you embrace the slow process of this recipe, it can actually become a wonderful way to have an amazing weekend dinner made ahead and ready to go! When Friday comes around, I pull my focaccia dough out of the fridge about three hours before I want to bake it. Now I have a quick meal that everyone loves!

Adding toppings to your Focaccia Pizza

You can top a focaccia pizza recipe just as you would any pizza. The dough is sturdy and can hold a lot of toppings. Sometimes we go classic with marinara, mozzarella, and slices of pepperoni. If I have peppers, I love to throw those on, of course, sausage is definitely a favorite at my house. Another option is to use pesto or olive oil in place of traditional pizza sauce and top with fresh mozzarella cheese, tomatoes, and herbs. It is also delicous with just italian seasoning and kosher salt.

The Best, Easy Homemade Focaccia Pizza Recipe

Thick and Crispy Focaccia Pizza is Easy to Pull Together and Such a Treat!

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 30 minutes mins

2 days d

Course Main Course

Cuisine Italian

Servings 8 people

Ingredients

  

• 5 cups bread flour or all purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons instant yeast
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 cups water

Instructions

 

• Place your water and olive oil in a large boil. Add the flour, salt, and yeast and stir together with a Dutch Whisk or use a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment. Stir about three minutes or until all of the flour is hydrated and the dough is very smooth. This is a very wet dough and may not pull away from the sides of the bowl. Allow the dough to rest for 20 minutes.
• Coat a cookie sheet with olive oil. Next, transfer the dough to the dish and pat it into a rectangle of sorts. Working on each side, pull the dough up and away from the sheet pan to stretch it about a foot. Then fold it back over about two thirds of the dough, as if you were folding a letter, and press it together. Repeat this process with each side of the dough, 4 times. Then flip the dough so that the seams are facing down, coat the top with olive oil, and cover it with plastic wrap. Allow to rest for 30 minutes.
• After thirty minutes you will notice that the dough has puffed up and spread on the sheet pan. Uncover it and perform another series of stretch and folds. The dough should be smoother and have a little less give than last time. Once again, flip the dough seam side down, oil the top, and cover with plastic wrap. Allow to rest for one hour.
• At the end of the hour the dough should be ready to be dimpled. Using all of your fingers, begin pressing the dough from the center out towards the edges of the pan. Press your fingers all the way towards the bottom of the pan without breaking through the dough. When you’ve covered 3/4’s of the pan, you are ready to cover it with plastic wrap and stick it in the refrigerator overnight or up to three days.
• Take the focaccia pizza dough out of the refrigerator about 2 hours before you want to bake it. Preheat the oven to 475 degrees. You’ll notice that it has risen in the refrigerator, and it will continue to puff up as it comes to room temperature. Prior to topping, repeat the dimpling process, using your fingers to gently deflate the focaccia dough and spread it from the center out towards the edges of the pan.
• Finally, top your pizza as desired. Bake on 475 degrees for 12-15 minutes. The crust should be golden brown, and an instant read thermometer should read 200 degrees.
• Once the pizza is out of the oven, let it rest five minutes before slicing. This will be your new favorite way to have pizza night:)

Keyword focaccia, homestead dinners