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Focaccia Pizza Bread Closeup

Focaccia Bread Pizza Style

A classic focaccia bread serves as a base for a few pizza-style ingredients for a delicious change of pace.
Prep Time 2 hours
Cook Time 20 minutes
Course Appetizer, Dinner, Lunch
Cuisine American, Italian
Servings 4
Calories 400 kcal

Equipment

  • Glass Mixing Bowl
  • Rolling Pin (or flat-sided bottle, like a wine bottle)

Ingredients
  

  • 1⅓ cups Warm milk
  • 2 tsp Sugar
  • cups Flour - all purpose
  • 1 pkg Dry Active Yeast
  • ½ cup Olive oil
  • 1 tsp Dry rubbed thyme You can use a tablespoon or more of fresh if you have it
  • 2-3 cloves Garlic, minced
  • ½ tsp Black pepper, ground
  • 1 tsp Salt Use less if you are watching your sodium intake
  • 10-12 slices pepperoni, quartered
  • 4 oz Mozzarella, fresh (the watery kind)
  • 4 oz Mushrooms, sliced

Instructions
 

Create Infused Olive Oil

  • In a medium saucepan over low heat, add ⅓ cup olive oil, minced garlic, tyme, and black pepper. Heat and stir occasionally about 5-10 minutes. Don't let garlic burn. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.

Create dough

  • In large mixing bowl, stir sugar into warm milk then sir in yeast and let the yeast bloom for about 10 minutes. Bubbles and froth should form on the surface of the milk.
  • In the same bowl, add half the flour, salt, and infused olive oil and stir or mix to combine until the dough is completely wet. Then add the rest of the flour and stir to combine for about 3-5 minutes until all the flour is incorporated and the dough has formed.
  • Turn out dough mixture onto a flat, floured surface and knead about 10-15 times until the dough is smooth. Don't over-knead it or you will create too much gluten in the dough and ruin the texture.
  • Form the dough into a ball and place it into a mixing bowl that is large enough to let it expand to at least double its size. Cover with plastic wrap or with a slightly damp towel and place it in a warm spot in your kitchen. Let it rest (prove) for an hour.
  • After an hour, turn the dough back out onto a large, flat floured surface and roll out until the dough is about ½ inch thick. Then place dough on an oiled sheet pan (or one covered with a layer of parchment paper) and cover with a slightly damp towel and let it rest another 20 minutes.
  • Pre-heat oven to 450°
  • After resting for 20 minutes, poke your pizza ingredients into the dough. I used quartered pepperoni slices, quartered mozzarella pieces and sliced mushrooms. I tried to get them into the dough enough where they would stick, about halfway through.
  • Once the ingredients are added to the dough, find open spots and poke your finger to the bottom of the dough so you dimple it throughout. I could get about 20 finger holes in mine between all the ingredients. After that, drizzle with olive oil and salt and pepper to your liking.
  • Place the pan with the dough on the center rack of the 450° oven for 20 minutes, or until the crust on top is golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool for 5-10 minutes. Slice into 1 inch slices and dip in a nice olive oil for a wonderful and filling treat!
Keyword bread, focaccia, mozzarella cheese, mushrooms, pepperoni, pizza