Margherita Focaccia Bread is homemade focaccia bread topped and baked with a tomato-based sauce, basil, mozzarella and parmesan cheeses, and cherry tomatoes. Give my Focaccia Pepperoni Pizza a try for another flavorful way to enjoy the Italian bread.
Margherita Focaccia Bread
Pizza Margherita, commonly referred to as Margherita pizza, is a pizza that is made with red sauce, mozzarella cheese, and green basil leaves. The colors of the ingredients represent the red, white, and green of the Italian flag. So, it makes sense to use Italian bread like focaccia bread as the crust in this Margherita focaccia bread recipe.
Margherita Focaccia Bread Ingredients
There are three parts to this recipe–the focaccia bread, sauce, and the toppings.
Focaccia Bread: It all starts with the focaccia bread in this recipe. It provides a soft and thick crust that is topped with the traditional Margherita pizza toppings.
Sauce: This is a tomato-based homemade sauce made with cherry tomatoes. The tomatoes are used both in the sauce and the topping.
Toppings: Make sure to include the red, white, and green colors in this pizza. This includes basil, mozzarella and parmesan cheeses, and more cherry tomatoes.
Focaccia Bread Dough
To make Margherita Focaccia Bread, start by preparing the dough. In a large bowl, combine the yeast, water, and sugar. Stir this together and let it rest for five minutes. While that is resting, in a small bowl, combine the olive oil, Italian seasoning, garlic, and salt.
Pour half of the olive oil mixture into the yeast mixture, setting the other half of the oil mixture aside for later. Stir in the flour and put the dough into a greased bowl. Cover the dough with a tea towel for about an hour, or until the dough has doubled in size.
How to Make the Sauce
As the bread dough is rising, make the sauce. To prepare the sauce, get out a food processor or blender. To the food processor, add garlic, olive oil, cherry tomatoes, sugar, balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper. Pulse until the sauce reaches your desired consistency. Set it aside as the dough continues to rise.
How to Make Margherita Focaccia Bread
Once the bread dough has risen, first, pour the reserved olive oil mixture into the bottom of a 9×11-inch baking dish. (You could use a 9×13-inch baking dish, but the bread will be thinner.) Next, add the dough to the dish and press it out to the edges. Dimple the dough with your fingers. You don’t need to press down hard, just make dents. Bake the bread crust for 12 minutes at 450°F.
After 12 minutes of baking, remove the bread from the oven and add the toppings. Cover the bread with the sauce, followed by the basil leaves, mozzarella, parmesan, and sliced cherry tomatoes. Place the bread back into the oven to bake another 10-12 minutes, or until the cheese is hot and bubbly. Serve hot.
Variations to Baking Margherita Focaccia Bread
If you would rather not bake the pizza in a traditional oven, you can use a convection oven or even an air fryer (if big enough). Follow the instructions as if baking the pizza in the oven. Use the same temperature and baking time for each. This will result in a crispier crust and the focaccia bread will not be as soft and fluffy.
Another fantastic way to cook this Margherita focaccia bread is to use an oven-safe (the best being cast iron) skillet. Use a 12-inch skillet and follow the instructions as written.
More Bread Recipes
Margherita Focaccia Bread
Ingredients
Dough
- 1 cup warm water
- 1 teaspoon active dry yeast
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup olive oil
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 2 teaspoons garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2½ cups (312.5g) all-purpose flour
Sauce
- 2 teaspoons garlic, minced
- 18-20 cherry tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Toppings
- ¼ cup loosely packed fresh basil leaves, sliced into ribbons
- 8 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced and divided
- ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided
- 12 cherry tomatoes, sliced
Instructions
Dough
- In a large bowl, combine yeast, water, and sugar. Stir and let it rest 5 minutes.
- In a small bowl combine olive oil, Italian seasoning, salt, and garlic.
- Pour half of the oil mixture into the yeast mixture. Set the remaining oil aside.
- Add flour and stir to combine.
- Add dough to a greased bowl and cover with a tea towel. Rest for 1 hour or until the dough has doubled in size.
Sauce
- While the dough is rising, prepare the sauce. Add the garlic, tomatoes, olive oil, sugar, vinegar, salt, and pepper to the bowl of a food processor and pulse until it reaches your desired consistency. Set aside.
Assembly
- Preheat oven to 450°F.
- Pour remaining oil mixture into a 9×11-inch baking dish. Use a pastry brush to coat the pan.
- Add the dough to the pan and work the dough to the edges. Use your fingers to create dimples in the dough.
- Set in the oven to bake for 12 minutes or until the top is golden brown.
- Remove from oven, add sauce, basil leaves, mozzarella, parmesan cheese, and sliced tomatoes.
- Bake another 10-12 minutes, or until the cheese is hot and bubbly. Serve hot.
Did you make this recipe?
You can tag me at @iamhomesteader.
I just made this for my husband and I. We both thought it was phenomenal! Will definitely make again.
Are you using Bread Flour or All-Purpose wheat flour, or some other kind of flour???
She states All-purpose (AP) flour in recipe.