Ingredients
For the dough:
- 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons warm (110-115°F) water
- 1 teaspoon instant yeast
- 1 1/2 teaspoons granulated sugar
- 2 1/2 cups (11.3 ounces) all-purpose flour, plus more for kneading
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided
For the toppings:
- 1 (15 ounce) can crushed San Marzano tomatoes
- 1 clove garlic, finely minced
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 4 ounces fresh Mozzarella cheese, sliced
- Fresh basil
- Pizza toppings
Directions
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In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the water, yeast, sugar, and half the flour. Stir to combine. Fit the mixer with the dough hook and on low speed add in the remaining flour, salt, and 1/4 cup olive oil. Once the dough comes together, increase the speed to medium and knead for 5 to 6 minutes, or until smooth and soft. If the dough is really sticky, add in another tablespoon or two of flour.
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Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, at least 1 hour. OR place the dough in a large plastic bag and refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 1 month. If frozen, thaw overnight in the fridge or for a few hours at room temperature. Proceed with the recipe.
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Coat a 9 by 13-inch pan with the remaining 1/4 cup olive oil. Put the dough onto the pan and begin pressing it out with your fingertips to fit the size of the pan. Coax and stretch the dough to fit the entire pan, or just about. Spread your fingers to make little holes all the way through the dough.
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Cover the dough with plastic and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 425°F.
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In a medium bowl combine the tomatoes, garlic, and salt and pepper to taste. Brush the focaccia with the olive oil on the pan. Spread 1/2 cup of the tomato sauce over the dough. Reserve the remaining sauce for another use (it freezes pretty well). Top with the cheese and other desired toppings. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.
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Bake until golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly before cutting and serving.
Recipe Notes
You can use the same amount of active dry yeast in place of the instant yeast. Simply allow the active dry yeast to proof for five minutes with the water before adding in.
Oh thick crust pizza is my fave. I often make focaccia, but I never thought of making it in a pizza form, it looks delicious. Have to try it next time!
Yum!! These photos have me craving pizza already! 🙂
Dani | http://www.styledvariety.com
This looks delish! I personally love thick, fluffy pizza bases so this is ultra tempting 🙂
Thanks Tessa!
I saw your post late this afternoon and said “I have to have that!” It just came out of the oven and, YES, it is wonderful. My husband is in heaven too. The ‘crust’ is oh so light. We topped it with artichoke hearts, sliced olives and shallots (and some red pepper flakes for some heat) I used fire roasted tomato’s also. I’m going to make another tomorrow and take it to a pot luck in the evening. Thanks for another killer recipe!
WOW!! How awesome!! So glad you like the recipe 🙂 🙂
I love the way you make food pizza and biscuits
You gave me the confidence to try working with yeast for the first time! Oh boy am I glad you did — this is delicious!!!
So happy to hear that, Leah!!
Hi,
This looks fantastic! I’m curious…will the “fast rise” trick of turning the oven on for a minute, then off, then rising the dough in there work?
Thanks!
WOW! The flavor was just amazing! I couldn’t stop eating! But, took me three tries to get it right. In the end, I had to use an 8 by 16 inches pan because my dough was getting too much big and as a result was taking 50 minutes to bake, burning the popping a little.
What could possibly be the reason?
I’m brazilian and live in Brazil, by the way.
This was really delicious!! Thanks for the part about freezing the dough for a later time! Very helpful!
Perfect post about focaccia pizza this. We all need a good hearty bread recipe to warm and fill our tummy’s. Great recipe and thanks for sharing it.
I love having mushrooms on my pizza. Can I put raw mushrooms on this pizza and will they be cooked?
Thank you.
I’m midway through but making this recipe and I’m excited to try it but your page has so so so many ads it’s a nightmare to scroll back and forth on my phone (I’d rather keep myself laptop far from flour). I almost feel like I’d rather skip your page in the future just on principle. I guess you’re probably making a pretty good living. Unfortunately my frustration with your page is making me lose my appetite.
Have you ever tried pizza rosa at Palermo’s in LA? I was looking for a similar pizza recipe to it since I was craving it and don’t live in LA anymore and this looks like it could be it. My question is that the restaurant menu says that they use fresh tomatoes – do you know if there is a huge difference in using crushed canned tomatoes and fresh tomatoes?
https://slice.seriouseats.com/2012/05/daily-slice-pizza-rosa-los-angeles.html