Today’s recipe is coming straight from my mom’s kitchen to yours. We grew up eating this and honestly, it’s like pizza on steroids. Think deep-dish but on thick, focaccia bread topped with mounds of feta cheese. I distinctly remember my mom teaching me how to make this and her saying to make sure there is cheese on every bite, because ‘a bite without feta is like a day without sunshine’. Talk about an inspirational quote!
Now my mom didn’t make the focaccia, although she’s an incredible cook and probably could’ve. She would leave the baking up to the Italian professionals. In Pittsburgh, there’s an area of town called the Strip District. It’s lined with restaurants, old-style grocery stores, the fish market, stands selling Pittsburgh t-shirts, and bakeries. When my mom would make focaccia pizza, she would buy the fresh bread and feta from Penn Mac, an Italian grocery store. The recipe I developed is a ‘quick focaccia’, it’s definitely not Penn Mac’s, but pretty dang good if I do say so myself 🙂
For this recipe, you need to plan ahead because it needs about 2 1/2 hours to rise. For those of you intimidated by a homemade dough, this recipe makes it pretty easy! I prefer a traditional white pizza with an olive oil sauce, but you can swap it out for a red or white sauce. I will also make this as a side dish or even as an appetizer to serve to dip in oil. I make the dough as instructed and make the garlic olive oil sauce. Once the focaccia is done baking, I brush the sauce on top and serve!
Focaccia, feta, spinach and tomatoes, what’s not to like? For a recipe that will impress but doesn’t take much effort, this fits the bill 🙂
Focaccia White Pizza
Ingredients
For the dough:
- 1 packet Instant or RapidRise yeast 2 ¼ teaspoons
- 2 ½ cups warm water
- 1 tbsp honey
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- 5 cups all-purpose flour
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 2 ½ tsp kosher salt
- 2 tbsp softened butter
For the sauce:
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tsp oregano
- 2 tbsp fresh basil, chopped Can substitute fresh for 1 tbsp of dried basil
- ½ tsp salt
For the toppings:
- 10 oz frozen spinach, thawed and drained
- 3 heirloom tomatoes
- ½ lb feta cheese
Instructions
- In a medium bowl combine yeast, water and honey. Stir to combine. Using a spatula, stir in flour, 2 teaspoons of salt, 2 tbsp olive oil, and garlic powder. Stir until no dry flour remains.
- In a large bowl drizzle the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil in and along the sides to coat the bowl. Add dough to the bowl and cover with saran wrap sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Turn the oven onto the lowest temperature for 1 minute and then turn off, and place the covered dough there to rise for 1 ½ hours, or until doubled in size.
- Use 2 tablespoons of softened butter to generously coat a 9×13 inch pan. Once the dough has risen, add dough to the prepared pan and gently press down to fill the pan to the corners. Return to the oven, uncovered, to rise for 1 hour. (I like to heat the oven up for 1 minute again and turn it off to help with rising, just don't forget to turn the oven off!) Once risen, remove and preheat the oven to 450°. Drizzle 1 tablespoon of olive oil over the top of the dough and use your fingers poke holes down into it. Your hands will almost look like you're playing the piano! Sprinkle on the remaining ½ teaspoon of salt. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the top is golden brown.
- While the focaccia is baking, make the sauce. In a small pan heat ¼ cup of olive oil over medium-high heat until it's hot, about 2 minutes. Add minced garlic, basil, oregano, and salt and give it a quick stir before removing from heat.
- Once the focaccia is done baking, remove from the oven and spread olive oil sauce on top. Add on thawed and drained spinach and chopped tomatoes. Return to the oven for 5 minutes. Remove and add cheese, and return to the oven for 3 minutes, or until the cheese is just starting to melt. Serve immediately!
Shannon L.
I’ve been on the hunt for a great white pizza recipe and swear that I’ve tried them all. They always left me looking for the next white pizza recipe because none ever seemed to hit the mark with me…enter Emily’s Focaccia White Pizza. The focaccia alone was amazing, soft, crispy a real treat in itself but topping it with the olive oil, basil, garlic mix pushed it over the top. My quest for the best white pizza recipe is over. Thanks Emily!