Focaccia Bread Pizza

Small-Batch Baking has recipe in it for Rosemary Focaccia which the author says makes a delicious pizza crust. We love homemade pizza so I thought I'd give it a go. This recipe makes one 6-inch pizza. I thought it would be too little for the two of us so I made two. Really we could have gotten by with just one because the bread is so filling. This really turned out good & I'll make it again.


1/4 t sugar
1 1/8 t active dry yeast
1 1/4 c bread flour
1 1/2 t kosher salt
3 t minced fresh rosemary
3 T olive oil Plus extra for greasing the pan
2 t cornmeal
2 T grated Parmeasan
1 tomato, thinly sliced
3/4 c grated Italian cheese of your choice

Pour 1/2 cup of very warm water (100 degrees) into a small bowl. Add sugar & yeast & stir until dissolved. Set aside for 5 minutes. It will get foamy.
Place 1 cup of the bread flour, 1 t salt & 1 t rosemary in a medium sized mixing bowl. Pour the yeast mixture and 2 T olive oil into the bowl. Stir with a wooden spoon to make a sticky dough. Spread 1/4 cup of the flour in the center of a cutting board & turn the dough out into the center of the flour. Flour your hands and knead the dough until it is elastic & no longer sticky, about 5 minutes. Add more flour by the tablespoon if needed.
Grease a bowl with a teaspoon or two of olive oil, place the dough in the bowl, and turn it to grease it with the oil. Cover the bowl with a dishcloth & let it rise in a warm area until double in bulk about 45 minutes.
Brush some olive oil over a 6-inch round area on a baking sheet & sprinkle the cornmeal on it. Place the dough on the cornmeal and gently press it to form a 6-inch round. Using your fingertip make 1/2 inch indentations into the dough about 1-inch apart.
Brush 1 T of olive oil over the dough & sprinkle it with 2 t rosemary, 1/2 t salt and the Parmesan. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let the dough rest for 30 minutes.

(I forgot to put the rosemary on top)
Preheat the oven to 400. Bake the focaccia for 10 minutes.
Take it out of the oven and sprinkle with Italian cheese. Add a layer of tomato slices & sprinkle with salt. Bake for 5 more minutes or until cheese is melted & crust is golden.

This dough really puffed up with baking. I actually pressed it down a bit before adding the toppings. I think next time I will try making it into a 10-inch round which should make it about 1/3 thinner. I also though there was a little too much salt so when using this as a pizza crust I won't add the salt before the dough rests. If you want to just make this as bread leave off the tomato & grated Italian cheese & bake for about 15 minutes.