Fresh Tomato Focaccia Pizza & Pups New Cut

These next two pics are from the web but they look just like Teddy Bear & Bodie's normal look.

But since they always look shaggy and dirty, we decided to cut their face closer and this is them now.

We have been cutting Romeo's face the same way.  

We continue to get plenty of tomatoes so recipes that use them are high on our list.  When I saw a recipe recently from one of my blogger buddies for focaccia, I thought it would fit the bill and work for our Friday card group but we decided to use Ann Burrell’s recipe with some herb and spice additions and some toppings to make it more pizza like.  We ended up with the recipe below after adapting Ann’s.

Fresh Tomato Focaccia Pizza – Adapted from Ann Burrell

Ingredients:

1¾ cups warm water

1 package active dry yeast

1 tablespoon sugar

5 cups all-purpose flour, plus additional for kneading

1 tablespoon kosher salt, plus coarse sea salt, for sprinkling

1 cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided

1½ teaspoon granulated garlic powder

1½ tsp ea. dried rosemary, oregano, thyme

Directions:

1. Combine the warm water, yeast and sugar in a small bowl. Put the bowl in a warm, not hot or cool, place until the yeast is bubbling and aromatic, at least 15 minutes.

2. In the bowl of a mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine the flour, 1 tablespoon of kosher salt, the garlic powder, herbs,1/2 cup olive oil and the yeast mixture on low speed.

3. Once the dough has come together, continue to knead for 5 to 6 minutes on a medium speed until it becomes smooth and soft. Give it a sprinkle of flour if the dough is really sticky and tacky.

4. Transfer the dough to a clean, lightly floured surface, then knead it by hand 1 or 2 times. Again, give it another sprinkle of flour if the dough is really sticky and tacky.

5. Coat the inside of the mixer bowl lightly with olive oil and return the dough to the bowl. Cover it with plastic wrap and put it in a warm place until the dough has doubled in size, at least 1 hour.

6. Coat a jelly roll pan with the remaining 1/2 cup olive oil. (Chef's Note: This may seem excessive, but focaccia is an oily crusted bread. This is why it is soooooooooo delicious!).

7. Put the dough onto the jelly roll pan and begin pressing it out to fit the size of the pan. Turn the dough over to coat the other side with the olive oil. Continue to stretch the dough to fit the pan. As you are doing so, spread your fingers out and make finger holes all the way through the dough. (Chef's Note: Yes, this is strange. But when the dough rises again it will create the characteristic craggy looking focaccia. If you do not make the actual holes in the dough, the finished product will be very smooth.)

8. Put the dough in the warm place until it has doubled in size, about 1 hour.

9. While the dough is rising a second time, preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

10. Drizzle a little oil on top.

11. Bake the dough until top is LIGHT golden brown about 20-25 minutes. 

12. Remove the focaccia from the oven, top with cheese and tomato, and return to oven for five more minutes.

13. Remove it from the oven, sprinkle with the fresh herbs, slide it on to a cutting board and cut into squares. 

We served it with a simple salad.

I also tried it with some leftover panzanella (without the bread).

The Verdict:

The focaccia was totally delicious and we will soon make it again but with more tomatoes next time.  It was good with the panzanella but I preferred it the original way.

And what could I possible do with that last piece of focaccia - you guessed it.

The focaccia was delicious topped with the eggs.

Photos can be slightly enlarged by clicking on them and the blue words are links.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

Larry

8/15/25 event date