Focaccia Pizza

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is a hybrid meal which takes elements from two dishes, the humble focaccia bread and pizza, and merges them into one amazing dish. The result is a delicious fluffy bread with toppings of your choice. it makes an amazing appetizer. Like pizza, the beautiful thing about focaccia pizza is that there really is no recipe for making it. All you need is some focaccia bread dough and toppings of your choice. This is one of those clear-out-your-fridge recipes where almost anything goes. Below, I will be sharing my take on this dish and making some suggestions on toppings.

 

 

 

 

 

 

INGREDIENTS:

(1) Focaccia Dough (See Note 1)

(2) 3 Tablespoons Olive Oil

(3) Toppings (See Note 2)

(4) 1/2 Cup Cheese (See Note 3)

(5) Fresh Herbs (Rosemary, Thyme, Bay Leaf, or Oregano)

(6) Salt and pepper to taste

(7) Semolina (If using Pizza Peel and Pizza Stone)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NOTES:

(1) You can use any focaccia bread dough of your choice. I have a focaccia bread recipe on the website which can be found here. If using this recipe, allow the dough to have gone through its 3rd rise before using it for this recipe.

(2) Like I mentioned earlier, you can use any toppings of your choice. These include roasted peppers, roasted tomatoes, roasted garlic, leftover roasted chicken, meats, fish, cooked veggies, et cetera. Whatever you choose to use, make sure it has been pre-cooked as the bread only bakes for 15 minutes. My favorite toppings are roasted tomatoes, roasted garlic and leftover roasted chicken.

(4) For cheese, again, you can use any type of cheese you like. Basically, any cheese that works with pizza can be used in this recipe. I tend to prefer using grated Gruyere, Asiago or Mozzarella. You can use a combination of various cheeses.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PROCEDURE:

(1) Make your focaccia dough and proof it 3 times as stated in my recipe.

 

 

 

 

 

 

(2) After the third rise, deflate the dough and flatten it into a disk about 9 – 10 inches wide.

(a) If you have a pizza stone for baking pizza, spread some semolina on a pizza peel and flatten the dough on the pizza peel. The back of a baking tray or any other surface from which you can transfer the dough to the pizza stone can also be used in place of a peel.

 

 

 

 

 

 

(b) If you do not have a pizza stone, flatten the dough in a large oven safe frying pan as you would when making focaccia bread.

 

 

 

 

 

 

(3) Apply all the toppings to the dough. Try to distribute them as evenly as possible over the top of the dough. Start with the olive oil and finish with the cheeses. Something I love doing is using roasted garlic infused olive oil with the roasted garlic. Its so good! If using roasted tomatoes, crush them with your fingers as you apply them and try to spread the juices evenly over the dough. Do not forget to season it with salt and pepper.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(4) Cover the dough lightly with cling film and allow it to proof one more time for 45 minutes. 30 minutes to the end of this proof period, preheat the oven to 500 degrees. If using a pizza stone, place the pizza stone in the oven while preheating it. You can also use an inverted baking tray in place of pizza stone.

 

 

 

 

 

 

(5) After 45 minutes:

(a) If using a pizza stone, transfer the dough from the peel to the hot pizza stone and bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes.

(b) If using a frying pan, simply transfer the pan to the oven and bake for 15 minutes.

(6) Once the bread is out of the oven, use a pizza wheel to divide it into segments and serve hot.