This same-day focaccia pizza bakes up crispy, bubbly and cheesy in a cast-iron skillet. Topped with lots of cheese and pepperoni.
This focaccia pizza comes together in about 4 hours start to finish, so no need to wait overnight or plan ahead! With a light and airy focaccia bread base and lots of toppings, this is great to enjoy as a pizza or a great football-watching snack.
Ingredients and substitutions
A few notes about the key ingredients …
Bread flour – Focaccia benefits from the higher protein content of bread flour, so it is recommended if possible. If you only have all-purpose flour, it will work, but you will notice a bit of a change in the texture of the focaccia.
Shredded Italian Cheese Blend – I love the variety of flavours in the pre-shredded Italian cheese blend. You could also use plain mozzarella if you prefer, either pre-shredded or shred it yourself.
Pizza Sauce – I’m a big fan of Mutti pizza sauce, but any pizza sauce you have or enjoy is fine.
Pepperoni – Look for the small pepperoni that cups as it cooks. Here in Canada Marc Angelo pepperoni is a good option and easily available.
How to make focaccia pizza
- Start by mixing together the dough in a stand mixer or a large bowl.
- The finished dough will be very sticky!
- Rest and stretch the dough a couple of times.
- Add a generous amount of olive oil to the skillet.
- Add the dough and stretch and roughly shape it in the skillet.
- Cover the skillet with a large, upside-down baking sheet and allow to rise in the skillet.
- The dough after rising should fill the skillet well.
- Drizzle the focaccia dough with olive oil.
- Spoon the pizza sauce overtop of the dough.
- Oil your fingers and dimple the dough with your fingertips.
- Add some torn basil to the top of the focaccia.
- Top generously with cheese and pepperoni, then bake. (You probably want to add more pepperoni than I’ve done here. It seemed like enough at the time, but it shrinks and I was left wishing I added more :) It’s ok to overlap a bit.)
Recipe tips!
- My cast iron skillet is 10-inches top diameter. A 12-inch top diameter cast iron skillet will also work, but will produce a thinner focaccia pizza.
- Load up on the toppings to keep a nice topping to focaccia balance. Add more pepperoni than I did here. It shrinks.
- Tuck some extra cheese around the edge of the pan to get some delicious crispy-cheese-crusted crust.
- Though this isn’t a huge pizza the focaccia is filling. You’ll get 6 good sized pieces from this focaccia pizza.
- Need more? Double the recipe and bake in a 9×13-inch metal baking pan. If using a metal pan, place the pan on top of a pizza stone or baking steel if possible to ensure a crispy bottom crust.
Making ahead, storing and freezing
This focaccia pizza is best enjoyed freshly baked. Reheat on a baking sheet in a 350F oven loosely covered with foil until warmed through, about 10-15 minutes.
Store leftover pizza in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Baked focaccia pizza can be frozen for up to 3 months.
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Get the Recipe: Focaccia Pizza
Ingredients
For the focaccia dough:
- 2 cups (250 g) bread flour, spooned and levelled
- 7/8 cup (201 g) lukewarm water, about 105F
- 1 teaspoon (3.5 g) Instant yeast , *see Note 1 below for using Active dry yeast
- 1/2 Tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon honey , or white sugar
- 3/4 teaspoon fine table salt
For the pan:
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
For topping before baking:
- 13 oz (398 ml) pizza sauce, (about 1 1/2 cups) *see Note 2 below
- 6-8 torn fresh basil leaves, or 1 tsp dried basil leaves
- 2 – 2 1/2 cups (160-200 g) shredded Italian cheese blend, well-packed, *see Note 3 below
- 20-25 slices pepperoni
For garnish:
- Additional chopped fresh basil
- Freshly grated Parmesan
- Pinch of red pepper flakes
Instructions
- Tip! Use a kitchen scale and weigh the ingredients with the weight measurements for best results.
- In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the kneading hook, mix together the lukewarm water, instant yeast, olive oil, honey and salt. Add the flour and stir together until well combined. The dough will be very sticky! Cover the bowl with a tea towel and let rest for 15 minutes.
- Stretch and fold the dough (*see the Notes section below for how to stretch and fold the dough). Cover the bowl again and rest for another 15 minutes. Do another series of stretches and folds. Cover with the towel again and let rise for one hour.
- Add the oil to the bottom of a 9-inch round or square metal baking pan or a 10-inch top-diameter cast iron skillet. Use a brush to spread the oil evenly over the bottom and sides of the pan. Scrape the dough into the greased pan, then stretch and fold the dough in the pan, top over bottom, bottom over top, then flip it over so that the smooth side is up. Roughly shape the dough into a round, but don't stretch the dough to fill the pan. It will spread on its own as it rises. (**See the step-by-step photos to see how much of the pan it should fill before it rises.) Use a large baking sheet upside down and placed on top of the baking pan as a cover and let the dough rise for 1 1/2 hours. (Alternatively, cover the baking pan with plastic wrap.)
- Place a pizza stone, baking steel or heavy metal baking sheet into the oven on the middle rack of the oven. (This will catch any bubble-overs and will also add additional heat to the bottom of the pizza to cook the bottom crust nicely.) Preheat the oven to 430F (non-convection/not fan-assisted), allowing the stone, steel or metal pan to heat in the oven.
- After the dough has risen, drizzle the top of the focaccia with a bit of olive oil, then spoon the pizza sauce over the top of the dough. Oil your hands and use your fingertips to make lots of dimples in the dough. Scatter the torn basil leaves over the sauce. Add the shredded cheese, scattering evenly over the top, then tucking a bit extra around the outside edges of the pan. Add the pepperoni, overlapping slightly as needed. (Keep in mind that the pepperoni will shrink, so add a bit more than you think you need :) Drizzle the top with a bit more olive oil.
- Place into the oven on top of the stone, steel or baking sheet and bake for 25-30 minutes or until puffy and bubbly. Remove from the oven and let stand for 5 minutes. Run a knife around the edge and use a flexible spatula to slide underneath the focaccia and slide it out onto a cutting board. Garnish with additional chopped basil, some freshly grated Parmesan and a pinch of red pepper flakes. Cut into wedges or squares and serve warm.
- Store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. Reheat in the microwave or place on a baking sheet and put into a 350F oven loosely covered with foil until warmed about 10 minutes. Leftovers can also be frozen. Wrap well and freeze for up to 3 months.
Notes
More cast-iron skillet pizza recipes to love!
Hi! I’m Jennifer, a home cook schooled by trial and error and almost 40 years of getting dinner on the table! I love to share my favourite recipes, both old and new, together with lots of tips and tricks to hopefully help make your home cooking enjoyable, stress free, rewarding and of course, delicious!
Can I use gluten free flour to make this gluten free?
Hi Mike, I don’t have any experience with gluten-free focaccia, so I’m afraid I don’t have any guidance for you. My best advice would be to seek out a gluten-free focaccia recipe developed and tested to be gluten-free and then use it as a base for this focaccia pizza.