Sourdough Focaccia Pizza

Level up your pizza night with this easy Sourdough Focaccia Pizza recipe! A delicious twist on the classic pizza! Crispy edges with a soft and fluffy interior, full of tangy sourdough flavor. It is the perfect Friday night dinner or appetizer. Everyone loves pizza, but they’re really going to love Sourdough Focaccia Pizza!

When I first started making Sourdough Focaccia Pizza, honestly it was out of convenience. I had extra dough left over from baking experiments, I didn’t want it to go to waste and figured I’d turn it into a good dinner.

However, it quickly became a favorite in our house for both the kids and the adults. Because the crust is softer than most homemade pizza crusts, my kids were able to eat it a little more easily.

It also goes with a variety of toppings. In addition, this crust can hold up to the heaviest meat lover’s pizza, but it’s also full of flavor which makes it ideal for a fresh margherita pizza.

When I plan ahead for it, the dough gets made on let’s say a Wednesday night, and then ferments in the fridge for a couple of days to really build a nice flavor. So, it’s mid-week and I basically already have dinner ready for Friday night!

Finally, just add some marinara, cheese, veggies and pepperoni, and you have a sourdough focaccia pizza for your family!

A good focaccia should have nice large pockets of air and be light and spongy in texture. I’m definitely more of a pan style pizza person, and maybe you’re more of a thin crust pizza fan but believe me, focaccia pizza is not your typical bready pizza crust.

It’s full of rich flavors and a wonderful texture. No longer is the crust just the baseline for delicious toppings, but really the best part of the pizza.

Make the Sourdough Focaccia Pizza Dough

Combine Ingredients:

Add the water, sourdough starter, and olive oil to the bowl of a stand mixer- or a large bowl.

Then, add your dry ingredients and mix together with a KitchenAid stand mixer dough hook attachment, or a dough whisk, until you no longer see dry flour bits. You’ll notice that this is a very wet dough, and it may not form into a ball but that’s okay.

Continue to stir for a couple of minutes. Next, allow the dough to rest for about fifteen minutes. This period of rest gives the flour time to fully absorb the water before you begin working it.

Gluten is only able to form when flour absorbs water. Giving the flour a chance to fully hydrate will allow for better gluten development.

After the fifteen minutes is up, you will begin to strengthen the focaccia dough by stretching and folding it.

Stretch and Fold Sourdough Focaccia Pizza Dough

After the dough has rested for a bit, you’ll notice that it has puffed up a little.

Focaccia dough is a very wet dough and can be a little tricky to work with. Because of this, we are not going to knead the dough as you might be used to.

We are going to develop the gluten through a series of stretch and folds, just as you would if you were to make sourdough artisan bread. Stretching and folding bread dough is a gentle way of developing a good gluten structure that doesn’t require any kneading.

How to Stretch and Fold Sourdough Focaccia Pizza Dough:

You can perform the stretch and folds in your bowl that you already have the dough in, I actually prefer it:

Lift the backside of the dough up, over, and press down. Repeat all the way around each part of the dough. Cover and let rest. Repeat 4 times.

But I will say, moving the dough to a sheet pan or baking dish is more spacious.

Or move to a sheet pan or baking dish:

Your focaccia pizza is going to bake on either a cookie sheet pan or a 9×13 baking dish. Whichever you use, go ahead and generously oil your pan with olive oil and dump the dough out onto the oiled surface.

At first, your dough has very little gluten development and it should be very stretchy.

Place a little bit of oil on your hands so they won’t stick and begin your first set of stretch and folds. Then, cover and allow it to rest for 30 minutes. And repeat.

As you perform the second round of stretching and folding, you’ll notice the dough is a little tighter. It does not stretch as far, and the dough is a little smoother.

After thirty minutes, repeat the stretch and fold process a third time. The dough will have puffed up and spread out a bit as it begins to rise and form air bubbles.

The great thing about stretching and folding the dough is that you are developing the gluten but without getting rid of those nice air bubbles!

By the fourth time, you should have a nice uniformed, chubbier ball of dough.

Finally, lift the dough and flip it over so that all seams are on the bottom. Spread some more olive oil on the surface of the dough and cover the pan with plastic wrap. Allow the dough to rest for one hour.

Dimple the Sourdough Focaccia Pizza Dough

The trademark of Focaccia is the dimpled surface of the dough. This dimpling creates a light and airy bread and a perfect foundation for pizza toppings!

After allowing it to rest for one hour, your dough will have risen and puffed up nicely.

Next, remove the plastic wrap and oil your fingers so they do not stick to your dough. Working from the center out, begin pressing all fingers into the dough, pressing down and out to spread the dough out towards the four corners of the pan.

Your fingers should press down towards the bottom of the pan but should not break through the dough. Continue dimpling until the dough covers at least three quarters of the pan.

I always put my dough in the oven to rest, in between the stretch and folds, oven off and light on. We keep our home rather cold, which slows down the process of the dough. The oven seems to hold a warmer temperature and keeps things moving along a bit quicker.

Overnight Fermentation

Time is critical to good sourdough focaccia pizza. Overnight fermentation is the best way to develop a full flavored, perfectly textured focaccia.

After dimpling the focaccia pizza dough, cover the pan with plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator overnight. It can stay in the fridge for up to three days.

While the wait may seem like an inconvenience, once you embrace the slow process of this recipe, it can actually become a wonderful way to have an amazing weekend dinner made ahead and ready to go!

When Friday comes around, I pull my focaccia dough out of the fridge about three hours before I want to bake it. Add the toppings. Now I have a quick meal that everyone loves, and I don’t have to spend my Friday evening putting it together!

Adding the Toppings to your Sourdough Focaccia Pizza

You can top a focaccia pizza just as you would any pizza. The dough is sturdy, and it can hold a lot of toppings.

My kids always appreciate a classic with marinara, mozzarella, and pepperoni. And I can’t complain, you know, just three toppings and bake.

But I do occasionally go with more of a supreme style and toss on some onions and peppers, of course, sausage and bacon are definitely a favorite, too! Mushrooms, black olives, banana peppers, whatever I have that sounds appetizing.

Another option is to use pesto or olive oil in place of traditional pizza sauce and top with fresh mozzarella, tomatoes, seasonings, and herbs.

Equipment

No fancy tools needed; you likely already have these laying around your kitchen:

Stand mixer with dough hook attachment- I prefer to just let the stand mixer do all the work for me, but if you don’t have one, this recipe is still totally doable! A large bowl and a dough whisk will work perfectly- you could even just use your hands.

Sheet pan- mine is a 12.9-inch W x 17.8-inch D (32.7 cm x 45.3 cm), you could also use a casserole/baking dish if you don’t have a sheet pan on hand.

Sourdough Focaccia Pizza Ingredients

• 6 Cups All-purpose Flour
• 1 Cup Sourdough Starter
• 2 Tsp Salt
• 2 Cups Water
• 4 Tbsp Olive Oil – or more.
• Instant yeast – optional.

In the event that I have not planned ahead and want to make this Sourdough Focaccia Pizza recipe on a whim:

Then, I would also add about 2 tsp of instant yeast. It really speeds up the process. I can have a pizza ready same day, within about 6-ish hours, just by adding instant yeast. Follow the same directions, but at step #4 instead of storing in the fridge, you’ll prepare to bake.

The dough will rise much faster this way, so the times you’re allowing it to rest: subtract. I honestly just watch and check it often. Perform stretch and folds 4 times, about every 15 minutes rather than 30.

Once I am able to spread and dimple the dough completely on my sheet pan, I cover and let it rest in my oven (turned off, but with the oven light on) until I’m ready to bake it.

So, we will come home from sports, usually about two hours later, and all I do is dimple one last time. Then, add my toppings and drizzle with olive oil. Pop it in the oven to bake and done! Dinner is served.

Step by Step Directions

1. Place your water and olive oil in the bowl of stand mixer- or a large bowl. Add the flour, salt, and sourdough starter and stir together with the dough hook attachment or a Dutch Whisk or use a stand mixer. Stir about three minutes or until all of the flour is hydrated and the dough is very smooth. This is a very wet dough and may not pull away from the sides of the bowl. Allow the dough to rest for 20 minutes.
2. Generously coat a cookie sheet with olive oil. Then, transfer the dough to the pan and pat it into a rectangle of sorts. Perform the stretch and fold every 30 or so mins, 4 times. Then, coat the top with olive oil, and cover it with plastic wrap. Allow to rest for 30 minutes.
3. After thirty minutes you will notice that the dough has puffed up and spread on the sheet pan. Uncover it and perform another series of stretch and folds. The dough should be smoother and have a little less give than last time. Once again, flip the dough seam side down, oil the top, and cover with plastic wrap. Allow to rest for one hour.
4. At the end of the hour the dough should be ready to be dimpled. Using all of your fingers, begin pressing the dough from the center out towards the edges of the pan. Press your fingers all the way towards the bottom of the pan without breaking through the dough. When you’ve covered 3/4’s of the pan, you are ready to cover it with plastic wrap again and stick it in the refrigerator overnight or up to three days.
5. Take the focaccia pizza dough out of the refrigerator about 3 hours before you want to bake it. Preheat the oven to 475 degrees. You’ll notice that it has risen in the refrigerator, and it will continue to puff up as it comes to room temperature. Prior to topping, repeat the dimpling process, using your fingers to gently deflate the focaccia dough and spread it from the center out towards the edges of the pan.
6. Finally, top your pizza as desired. Bake on 475 degrees for 12-15 minutes. The crust should be golden brown.
7. Once the pizza is out of the oven, let it rest five minutes before slicing. And there you have it, the perfect Friday night Sourdough Focaccia Pizza your family will look forward to many more weekends to come!