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Hi Bold Bakers!
Focaccia is delicious, pizza is delicious, so, naturally, my Focaccia Pizza is downright DELICIOUS!
Focaccia pizza (which is pizza sauce, cheese, and toppings on top of a light, fluffy, and crisp focaccia) is gaining so much popularity that entire restaurants are dedicated to making the pie are popping up in neighborhoods everywhere.
Skip the lines of those trendy restaurants (and the price) by making this incredibly easy homemade focaccia pizza. By following my simple steps (and you should definitely use my incredibly popular 5-Minute Pizza Sauce), you’ll get a great flavor from the dough’s fermenting and the great, big bubbles like classic focaccia straight from Italy. Plus! There’s no need to knead and you don’t need a mixer!
[ Looking to take it up a notch? Try my Sourdough Focaccia recipe! ]
What’s The Difference Between Focaccia And Pizza Dough?
This is all of your favorite pizza toppings on top of focaccia instead of pizza dough. It resembles a deep-dish pie rather than a thin New York slice thanks to one ingredient.
Both focaccia and pizza dough are made with flour, oil, salt, water, and yeast. But pizza dough uses very little yeast — giving you a thin, flat crust. However, focaccia uses more, which makes the dough rise higher and gives it a fluffier texture. Focaccia is also dimpled with fingers, which helps the bread maintain its moisture.
The good news is, too, that this recipe is killer focaccia in general if you don’t want pizza.
What You Need To Make Focaccia Pizza
- Measuring Cups and Spoons
- Mixing bowls
- 9″ x 13″ baking pan
How To Make Focaccia Pizza
The hardest part of this recipe is waiting for the focaccia to ferment for a day! Here’s how you make it (and don’t forget to get the full recipe with measurements, on the page down below):
- The day before, prepare the focaccia dough by combining the flour, yeast, and salt. Add the water and stir until the flour is completely incorporated. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel and let it sit at room temperature for about 18-24 hours. If you don’t want to use plastic wrap, I happen to use a plastic shower cap that I can use over and over.
- The next day, once the dough has doubled in size and is covered in bubbles, pour olive oil into a 9″ x 13″ baking pan. Scrape the dough out of the bowl and into the baking pan, and turn to coat it with oil. Spread the dough to the corners. (Allow the dough to relax in the baking pan for 20 minutes if it springs back when shaping.)
- Cover the baking pan with plastic wrap and towel and let the dough rest for 2-4 hours. Be patient! During this second rise, the dough will develop the big, lovely bubbles.
- When the dough is ready, use your first three fingers and dimple the surface of the dough (see the video for a step by step guide).
- Cover the pizza in pizza sauce, cheese, and pepperonis.
- Bake in a preheated 425°F (210°C) oven for 25-30 minutes, or until the cheese starts to brown.
Gemma’s Pro Chef Tips For Making Focaccia Pizza
- Use my 5-Minute Pizza Sauce!
- You can make the dough up to 3 days in advance — both the flavor and texture will just get better!
- If you prefer regular focaccia, leave off the pizza toppings and add olives, sun-dried tomatoes, and rosemary.
- Double the recipe for a huge pizza party! Or halve the recipe, for a smaller crowd, and bake the dough in a quarter sheet tray for approximately the same time.
- If you don’t want your dough to sop up the pizza sauce, par-bake the dough for 20 minutes without the toppings. It should look blond and feel firm. After adding the toppings, pop it back in the oven for about 5 to 10 minutes.
How Do I Store Focaccia Pizza?
Store any leftover pizza, covered, in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Make More Pizza!
And don’t forget to buy my Bigger Bolder Baking Cookbook!
Full (and printable) recipe below!
Try These Recipes!
Watch The Recipe Video!
Focaccia Pizza Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 cups (15oz/422g) all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon instant yeast
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 ⅓ cups (10 ½oz/282ml) water, room temperature
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- ½ cup (4oz/115g) pizza sauce
- 1 ½ cups (8oz/225g) mozzarella grated
- 10-12 pepperoni (optional)
Instructions
The Day Before:
- In a large bowl combine the flour, yeast, and salt. Add the water and stir with a large spoon (or your hand) until the flour is completely incorporated. This is a sticky dough so don't worry if it is wet.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap (or a shower cap) and a kitchen towel and let it sit at room temperature for roughly 18-24 hours.
The Next Day:
- Once the dough has doubled in size and is covered in bubbles it is ready to work with.
- Pour the olive oil into a 9" x 13" baking pan. Scrape the dough out of the bowl into the baking pan and turn it to coat it with oil. Spread out the dough to the corners. (allow the dough to relax for 20 minutes if it springs backs when shaping)
- Cover the baking pan again with plastic wrap and a towel and let the dough rest for 2-4 hours. During this time the dough will rise and those lovely big bubbles will form so be patient and allow the dough time to develop.
- Preheat the oven to 425°F (210°C).
- When the dough is ready, use only your fingers to dimple the surface of the dough. (see video above for step by step)
- Carefully cover the pizza in the pizza sauce, cheese, and pepperonis.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the cheese starts to brown.
- Enjoy hot from the oven! Store leftovers in the fridge, covered for up to 3 days.
Okayyy, so I tried it out, and it is literally one of the most amazing pizza recipe. Since I don’t have an oven, I made it on stovetop, but the result was truly amazing. Thank you so much for this recipe.
Hi Gemma, I live in a warm climate. Reading the other comments, I’ve let my dough proof at room temp for 5 hours. It has already doubled in size and there are air bubbles. Now I’ve put it into the fridge for overnight to continue the process and will take it out trow morning. Are these steps correct?
Gemma, you weren’t kidding, this recipe is amazing! So incredibly easy and so little effort in comparison to the wow factor. My hubby loved it and practically ate the whole thing. Thank you for another great recipe. ❤️
I made your recipe a month ago. I added sundried tomato and garlic shapes to the dough. I proofed it for 36 hours. Followed your recipe and it came out perfect!!! My husband and daughter loved it so much that they asked me to make it every Friday during maple syrup season. The following week I made the dough, excluding the inclusions to the dough. Again, delicious! Great recipe for anyone at any level of cooking skills. Thanks.
Hi Gemma!
Thank you for all that you do. Every recipe of yours I have ever tried comes out perfect every time. This one is no exception! I top mine with mozzarella, kalamata olives and dried thyme. It’s so delicious 😋
Thank you again. Much love to you, George and Kevin.
Hi Gemma, I’m gonna make this for my birthday party 🥳. I’m gonna double the recipe so that I have enough for everyone. I’m going to let everyone decorate a section of the pizza how they want to. But I was wondering if I could make this on February 17 and proof it until the 19th? Or maybe I could proof for the recommended amount of time and put it It the fridge afterwards? If not it’s ok. I also have a tip that I wanted to share, for those of you who live in a cold place or are… Read more »
Gemma,
I’ve made this in the past with excellent results, but yesterday…
The first 24-hr proofing went well, just as expected. After 3 hours of the 2nd rise (in a glass baking dish), the dough had turned into goo; almost liquid, a sticky & oily mess. All ingredients were fresh from the store. Any idea what migh have gone wrong?
Hi Gemma
Im using fresh yeast for this. If I double the recipe, do I have to double the amount of yeast?
Thanks 🙂
This is absolutely amazing. I just added black olives instead of pepperoni and we dipped it in more marinara as we were eating it. I will make this again for sure.
Halved the recipe for a 20x20cm pan and baked for 20 minutes.
Big fan of this recipe! Do you think it would be possible to turn this into a homemade freezer pizza? If so, should the crust be partially baked before adding toppings? Or would it be better to fully bake it?