Do you love deep dish pizza? Make this delicious Focaccia Pizza for dinner tonight. All you need is a cast iron skillet or… 10″ round cake pan. The crust is light but has crunchy sides with light tomato sauce, sausage, mushrooms, and black olives. However, you can add any toppings your family loves. Maybe it’s pineapple and cheese, meat or all veggies. Focaccia deep dish pizza will be your new go to one dish dinner.
What is Focaccia?
It is an Italian bread made with unbleached all purpose, yeast, tiny bit of sugar, hot water and olive oil. Once baked, the bread can be cut into a variety of shapes, including squares, long skinny rectangles, triangles, rounds even pizza slices.
Focaccia is a great bread to serve as a side for soups and salads; makes great bread for hearty sandwiches. Really it is a multi purpose stout bread. Stout meaning the longer you bake it the crustier it becomes. Various toppings such as Gorgonzola Pine Nut, Feta Pesto with Tomato and Garlic Rosemary are all delicious variations to add to this special bread in addition to pizza toppings.
How to Make Pizza using Focaccia?
In a large bowl, combine yeast, flour, sugar and salt. Meanwhile, heat water to 120-130 degrees Using rapid rise yeast requires higher heat of water. Slowly add heated water and olive oil to the flour yeast mixture.
No Mixer Needed
You don’t need a mixer to mix up this bread. After combining the flour with the wet ingredients, the dough easily stirs together. Dough will be sticky! Turn dough onto lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic. If you need to add additional flour you can but a tablespoon at a time. Be careful not to add to much though for your dough should be somewhat sticky. I used my stand mixer to help knead the dough, however it isn’t necessary but it sure does help with kneading.
Shaping Dough
Shape into a small round and place in a lightly greased mixing bowl. Cover bowl with tea towel and let rise about 40 minutes or until double. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 10″ round cake pan or 12″ cast iron skillet. Punch down risen dough in bowl and let rest 5 minutes. On a floured surface, turn dough out onto the floured surface. Using a floured rolling pin. roll dough into a 9″ round for cake pan or 11″ for skillet. Place dough inside the prepared baking pan/skillet. Build up the edges of the dough to help form a deep dish crust.. Cover and let rise 15- 25 minutes.
Now for the fun part. Poke indentations over the surface of the dough with fingers or end of wooden spoon. Drizzle dough with pizza sauce and add cooked sausage, cheese, olives, onions, mushrooms or your favorite toppings. Drizzle with olive oil before baking.
To help speed up the process, if you want to place the skillet filled pizza on the stove top to brown the bottom of the crust, place on medium heat and cook 5 -7 minutes. Then continue baking in oven. Do not do this if baking in a 9″ cake pan.
Bake 30- 35 minutes or until lightly browned on top and sides. Baking in a cast iron skillet will produce a crustier crust if you prefer this kind of crust. Remove from oven and cool about 5 minutes before slicing.
Depending on how you slice it, the recipe will serve 2-4. Recipe can be doubled for larger pan and servings.
Deep Dish Focaccia Pizza Recipe
Easy pizza dough recipe, baked in cast iron skillet or 9″ round cake pan. Make your favorite sauce and add toppings for a great focaccia style deep dish pizza.
To speed up baking, briefly cook the skillet pizza over medium heat on stove top to help crust up or brown the bottom crust however, do not do this process with a 9″ cake pan.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes + 40 rise time
- Total Time: 60 minutes
- Yield: 4-6 small servings 1x
- Category: Bread-Main Course
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients
Focaccia Bread- Pizza Crust
1–3/4 cup unbleached flour
3 teaspoons rapid rise yeast or 1 package-(1/4 ounce)
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup hot water ( 120-130 degrees)
2– 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
Pizza Sauce
1–14 ounce can basil, garlic, oregano diced tomatoes, tested Hunts-undrained
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon sugar
3/4 teaspoon sea salt
Pizza Toppings or Variations
Pizza Sauce, cooked ground sausage, mushrooms, onions, peppers, olives, shredded cheese. Additional oregano, garlic powder, pepper, or spices of your choice.
Focaccia Topping Variations:
Gorgonzola Pine Nut: 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1/2 cup gorgonzola cheese crumbled, 2 tablespoons pine nuts
Feta Pesto: 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1/2 cup prepared pesto, 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese, 4-6 chopped dried tomatoes or chopped cherry tomatoes.
Garlic Rosemary: 3 tablespoons olive oil, 1 teaspoon minced garlic, 2 tablespoons fresh rosemary.
Instructions
- In large mixing bowl, combine flour, yeast, sugar and salt. In small measuring cup heat water in microwave for 45 seconds or until water temperature is 120-130 degrees.
- Add olive oil to hot water, then add to dry ingredients. Stir with large wooden spoon or dough hook to combine. Shape into a small ball, dough will be sticky. Turn dough onto floured surface, knead until smooth and elastic. Add additional flour if necessary a tablespoon at a time. Dough should be sticky enough to shape into a round ball but not a stiff dough.
- Place dough in oiled bowl, cover with tea towel and let rise about 40 minutes or until double.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease 10″ round cake pan or 12″ cast iron skillet. Punch down dough and let rest 5 minutes before rolling out. Roll dough on lightly floured surface with floured rolling pin. Roll dough into 9″ circle for cake pan or 11″ round for skillet.
- Place dough in prepared pan building edges of dough up the sides of the pan. Cover and let rise with tea towel about 15-30 minutes.
- Using end of wooden spoon or fingers poke indentations on the surface of risen dough.
- Make home made pizza sauce or use purchased. See recipe below for home made sauce.
- Add pizza sauce and toppings. Drizzle with olive oil.
- Bake 30 minutes or until lightly browned on top and sides. Cast iron skillet will give you a darker and crispier crust vs light cake pan. Remove from oven and cool 5 minutes before slicing. Drizzle with olive oil if desired.
Home made Pizza Sauce
In blender or food processor with steel blade, add all ingredients for the sauce, pulse or blend until smooth and somewhat thick. If needed add additional dried oregano and basil or spice of choice.
Notes
- If you want to bake this crust in a casserole, you can use a 9″ x 13″ with sides. The dough needs a pan with sides for the deep dish crust.
- Cast iron skillet will give you a crisper and deeper brown crust.
- This recipe will make great focaccia bread by using the main recipe and adding variations instead of pizza toppings..
Other Ideas you might like to try:
Super Hero Sandwich for Dinner
