Easy & Yummy Focaccia

This is a shortcut focaccia for nights when you want bakery bread without the day-long fermentation. Store-bought pizza dough gets a quick kneading with chopped onion, diced tomatoes, and herbs, then rolled flat and baked on an oiled sheet. The onion releases moisture as it bakes and the tomatoes blister into sweet pockets, which is exactly what gives this faux focaccia its character.

The butter brush at the end is the trick that takes this from decent flatbread to something worth pulling apart at the table. Brushing during the final few minutes of baking lets the butter soak into the warm crust without burning, leaving a glossy top that catches light and tastes like real Italian bakery focaccia. Skip this step and you’ll have a perfectly fine bread, not a memorable one.

Pro Tips

• Let the dough come to room temperature before kneading. Cold dough tears and resists the mix-ins.
• Dimple the surface with your fingertips before baking. Those wells catch the butter and create the classic focaccia crater texture.
• Use a flavorful fresh herb like rosemary or thyme. Generic dried mixed herbs taste flat against the bread’s other flavors.
• Oil the baking sheet generously. The oil crisps the bottom into the golden brown crust that defines a good focaccia.

Variations

• Top with thin slices of garlic and a sprinkle of flaky sea salt before baking for the classic Ligurian version.
• Press halved olives into the dimples for a richer, more savory bread.
• Swap the butter brush for garlic-infused olive oil for a more traditional Italian finish.