Love Focaccia? Try This Easy FAUX-caccia Bread!

Who doesn’t love warm bread, fresh from the oven? And focaccia bread is so tasty and versatile. It can be dressed up or made very simple to accompany just about any meal. Fresh focaccia and homemade chowder or a hearty salad make a great family dinner.  But who has time to bake on a Tuesday?

You do if you use a magic ingredient that does most of the work for you. I’m talking about store-bought, canned pizza dough. No, you won’t be making authentic Italian focaccia. But this faux-caccia bread is pretty darn close, and it’s weeknight fast!

In some parts of Italy, they call focaccia bread “Pizza Bianca.” That got me thinking about focaccia and pizza dough. I asked myself: could one of my favorite weeknight shortcut ingredients, canned pizza dough, be used to make a fresh, delicious flatbread? The answer is a resounding yes! I’ve come to believe premade dough, whether frozen or refrigerated, is one of the most magical shortcut ingredients available.

Canned pizza dough is already proofed, so no need to let it rise. Pan pizza doughs are pretty much ready to go. If the dough you’re using is for thinner crust pizzas, fold it in half and pinch the edges together to make it about a half-inch thick.

It doesn’t matter what shape your dough is. Mine is rectangular because the canned dough I used here happened to be rectangular. A round dough works fine too. Don’t get too hung up on the shape. Focaccia bread is often rustic looking. Uneven sides and oblong shapes are okay.

I line my baking sheet with parchment paper. It ensures the dough doesn’t stick and makes for easy cleanup. Once the dough is laid out on the baking sheet, I like to poke it with a fork to ensure even baking and keep bubbles from forming while it bakes. Remember, we’re making flatbread, not pizza.

Although the dough is already oiled, you will want to add a little something for flavor and to ensure your toppings stick. Here, I’m using a good-tasting extra virgin olive oil, like I would use to make salad dressing. But you can get more creative. I also like to use my Two-Minute Honey Lemon Dressing to top my faux-caccia bread. It goes especially well with a few sprigs of fresh rosemary or thyme, a little lemon zest, sea salt, and calamata olives!

I’m taking this faux-caccia in a different direction, so I opted for simple olive oil. You could use any good-tasting oil you like, or even melted butter.

After brushing on a thin coating of oil, I seasoned the dough with garlic powder and pink Himalayan sea salt. I opted for the dried garlic product because fresh garlic burns so easily. Since I’m not using a sauce or cheese, which would both help insulate the garlic, I opted for garlic powder, which holds up a little better against the heat. You will still need to be careful not to overbake it because you don’t want your beautiful bread to taste like burnt garlic.

From here, you can simply bake the faux-caccia as-is or have some fun and decorate it with whatever you like. This is an excellent opportunity to get your kids involved in helping you make the meal. Hand them some toppings and let them create their own faux-caccia masterpiece. No aspiring artists in your home? That’s okay. Your bread toppings don’t have look like anything. Just add the toppings you like in nice neat rows if that’s your thing or haphazardly. It’s up to you how fancy you get.

Like its cousin, pizza, flatbreads can be a great way to use up a few leftovers. Here, I used some leftover chianti sausage, red onion, some grape tomatoes that were starting to wither, and a few sprigs of fresh flat-leaf parsley.

I seeded the tomatoes because I didn’t want them to be too wet. I also separated the flat-leafed parsley into smaller pieces so it would lay flat on my bread. (If the herbs stick up too much, they may blacken in the oven.) You can use almost anything you like to top your faux-caccia (just like regular focaccia). Just be sure to press your toppings lightly into the dough, so they stick. I also like to dab a little extra oil on heartier vegetables like tomatoes. But it’s optional.

I particularly like to use onion on my faux-caccia because I love the way onion tastes when it’s baked in the oven. I used some red onion this time, but you can use whatever onion you have on hand. Shallots and leeks also work well. The onion was delicious alongside the sausage, tomatoes, and parsley here.

Other good options include sliced or halved olives (any kind you like), chopped artichoke hearts (especially marinated artichoke hearts!), roasted red peppers, fresh herbs like rosemary, thyme, parsley, sage, and even cilantro! For a southwestern spin, try seasoning with a dash of chili powder and garlic, then topping with fresh cilantro, roasted bell peppers, roasted corn, and sweet onions (like Vidalias).

This faux-caccia smells so good baking! I do want to take this moment to point out the way the garlic baked here. If you look at the parchment paper, you will see bits of very dark dust. That is the garlic powder that didn’t make it onto the dough. It burned in the oven, whereas the garlic on the dough only browned slightly. That’s because the dough’s moisture insulated the garlic from the full force of the heat of a 425°F oven.

However you top your faux-caccia, be sure to bake it at the temperature recommended on the dough can. Since you are not rolling it into a thin crust, you may need to bake it a little longer than you would a simple thin-crust pizza. Just set it for the minimum time and check it. Your faux-caccia should be golden brown, and toppings like tomatoes should begin to wrinkle up. If it’s not ready, bake longer, checking about every two to three minutes. This beautiful bread is delicious served warm from the oven or at room temperature.

Love Focaccia? Try This Easy FAUX-caccia Bread!

Course: Basics, Dinner, Entertaining, WeeknightCuisine: Italian, AmericanDifficulty: Easy

Servings

12

servings

Prep time

10

minutes

Cooking time

12

minutes

Total time

22

minutes

Warm, fresh bread goes with just about everything. Dress it up or keep it simple. Either way, this faux-caccia is weeknight fast and delicious!

Ingredients

• 1 can prepared pizza dough

• 1-2 teaspoons olive oil

• ½ teaspoon garlic powder (or granules)

• ½ teaspoon sea salt

• 2-3 sprigs fresh herbs

• 2 tablespoons onion (sliced or chopped)

• 4 grape tomatoes (or more), halved and seeded

• 1 ounce Italian-style dry or hard salami (or more), sliced thin

Directions

• Preheat oven to baking temperature indicated on pizza dough can (about 425°F).
• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Press dough onto the parchment-lined pan, so it is about ½ in thick. Fold dough in half if necessary to achieve the desired thickness.
• Poke dough all over with a fork to ensure even baking.
• Brush dough lightly with olive oil.
• Season with salt, garlic, and any dried herbs you are using.
• Arrange other toppings in a pleasing pattern, pressing down lightly, so they stick.
• Bake for the time indicated on your dough can (usually about 10 minutes). The bread is done when the dough is golden and the tomatoes have puckered. If it’s not done, bake longer, checking it every two to three minutes.
• Remove from oven when done. Let it rest for a few minutes. It may be served warm or at room temperature.

Notes

• The topping quantities listed reflect what I used on the faux-caccia bread pictured. How much you use is up to you.