Focaccia is a fun and simple alternative to pizza. It’s a moister dough with olive oil inside and out and it does better with drier toppings since the dough has more moisture and is leavened more than pizza.
If you start with the French Bread recipe from the last post, add 2 tbsp of olive oil, and a 1/4 cup of water and follow the “Cool Control” procedure you’ll have the perfect focaccia every time. You can make it thick or thin, round or square and have fun with the toppings. Other seasonal topping include fiddleheads, spinach, spring garlic, fresh herbs or whatever is coming up in your garden or at the markets, and csa shares.
Brush the pan you are baking in with olive oil as well as the top of the dough before adding the toppings. And if you want you can sift the flour for a lighter texture like I did here.
For sifting just use your standard mesh pasta strainer!
I baked these in two cast iron pans but a sheet pan or pie pan work fine too.
Slice your vegetables thin so they cook fast enough or saute them before adding to the pizza and watch out for wet ingredients as they will lead to a soggy bread. Once you roll your dough out into the pans and top it let it rise until puffy…30-60 minutes.
Any cheese will do but of course Italian style cheese is excellent if you can pull that off. Bake at 450 degrees until golden and crispy and enjoy!