We borrowed from a dessert classic to give focaccia a fun reveal when you flip it out of a sheet pan—a super crispy pepperoni bottom-slash-top. The focaccia also has a secret cheesy center that you make by sprinkling mozzarella between the layers of dough before baking.
| Level: | Intermediate |
| Total: | 3 hr |
| Active: | 30 min |
| Yield: | serves 10-12 |
Ingredients
- 6 cups all-purpose flour (see Cook’s Note), plus more for dusting (optional)
- 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
- 3 teaspoons kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons active dry yeast
- 2 1/2 cups warm water (about 100 degrees F)
- 1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for baking sheet, bowl, hands and dough
- 5 ounces pepperoni (about 65 thin slices)
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 16 ounces grated mozzarella
- Favorite marinara sauce, warmed, for serving
Instructions
- Place the flour, sugar, salt and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook. Combine the warm water and 3 tablespoons of the olive oil in a liquid measuring cup. Turn the mixer to low and add the warm-water mixture to the dry ingredients, mixing until a loose ball forms, 1 to 2 minutes. (Alternately, do this by hand: Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Make a well in the center, then add the warm water and oil and stir with a wooden spoon.)
- Increase the speed to medium-high and knead the dough until smooth and slightly tacky but not sticky, about 7 minutes. (If using your hands, gather the dough into a ball, turn it out onto a floured surface and knead, dusting your hands and the surface as needed with flour, about 5 minutes.)
- Pour 2 tablespoons of the olive oil into a large bowl, using your hands to coat the inside completely. Pour the remaining 1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon olive oil into an 11-by-17-inch rimmed baking sheet, tilting and swirling to coat it with oil. Cover the bottom of the oiled pan with a single layer of the pepperoni, then crush and sprinkle the dried oregano evenly over the pepperoni. Using oiled hands, divide the dough in half, placing half into the oiled bowl, turning once to coat. Place the other half into the prepared pan, spreading gently with your hands. (Dough will not completely cover the pepperoni at the point; you will stretch it further later.) Dip a pastry brush in the oil on the baking sheet and brush oil over surface of dough. Cover both the baking sheet and bowl of dough loosely with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until the dough fills about two-thirds of the baking sheet and the dough in the bowl doubles in volume, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
- Remove plastic wrap from the baking sheet and bowl. Gently using your hands, press and stretch the dough to completely cover the bottom of the pan evenly, doing your best to keep the pepperoni in a single layer. Sprinkle mozzarella in an even layer over the dough. Using oiled hands, remove the dough from the bowl and stretch and gently press into an even layer over top of the mozzarella. Pour any remaining oil from the bowl over top of the dough and use a pastry brush to brush evenly over the surface. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume and extremely puffy, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
- Meanwhile, position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 500 degrees F.
- Bake until the top is deep golden brown, bread has pulled away from sides of baking sheet and oil is sizzling around the edges, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from the oven. Let cool for a few minutes before inverting onto a cutting board. Cut into squares with a pizza cutter and serve with warm marinara sauce for dipping.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 12 servings |
| Calories | 846 |
| Total Fat | 57 g |
| Saturated Fat | 21 g |
| Carbohydrates | 52 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 2 g |
| Sugar | 2 g |
| Protein | 30 g |
| Cholesterol | 104 mg |
| Sodium | 1434 mg |
Reviews
Very tasty but too much bread not enough ‘stuff’ for me. Next time I’m gonna try just pepperoni on the bottom, one layer of focaccia and cheese on top.
Lookn so yummy can’t wait to make it! By watching the video i think it’s best to stretch the dough on a separate pan and then place it on top of pepperoni…im drooling
So good. It’s definitely worth the time investment to make!
The bread turned out great pepperoni burnt we’ll try again with the pepperoni in the middle with the cheese
Made this and added a bit more pepperoni. I lightly floured my counter and rolled out the dough to the approximate size and did not disturb the pepperoni. I did this again for the 2nd layer and it worked great. Surprisingly, it was not overly greasy! Next time, I will use more of an Italian seasoning on the pepperoni and between the layers. I will also had more cheese – thinking fresh Mozzarella slices. It is VERY filling!
This appeared to be a fun challenge. I made the dough in my bread machine ignoring this recipe. It is pretty tricky stretching the dough over the pepperoni, dough keeps going back as I attempt to stretch it. Most recipes tell you to oil your fingers when working with dough. Wrong! Keep a bowl of warm water nearby and keep wetting your fingers as you work the dough. After distributing the cheese, the problem worsens. Covering pepperoni with dough is a snap compared to spreading the dough over the cheese layer. I baked at 450 25 mins. I warmed up a jar of store bought pizza sauce for dipping. It was delicious. Be warned, it is not easy.
great idea, but sounds a little too greasy – I think I would use sliced tomatoes and maybe only one layer.