Crispy Sourdough Focaccia Pizza with Freshly Milled Flour

Whole wheat sourdough focaccia pizza features a thick, rectangular crust similar to Sicilian or Chicago-style pies. With a soft, airy interior and a crisp, golden bottom, this sheet-pan focaccia pizza is a reliable favorite for family pizza night. It’s an easy, wholesome recipe made with 100% freshly milled hard wheat that you can bake the same day or refrigerate for later. Simple ingredients and minimal hands-on time make this one of the best pizza crusts you can make at home.

Homemade focaccia pizza comes together quickly and surprisingly easily. When made with freshly milled whole wheat flour, the texture and flavor are full and satisfying—almost indistinguishable from versions made with refined flour, but with more nutrition and depth.

This is my go-to dough for weeknights and weekend gatherings. Start the dough in the afternoon and bake in the evening, or begin in the evening and bake the next day. After an initial room-temperature fermentation, you can refrigerate the dough for a quick lunch the following day. The resulting pizza is family-friendly, gut-healthy thanks to natural fermentation, and endlessly customizable.

The method is essentially no-knead: gluten develops through time, hydration, and a few gentle stretch-and-folds. No mixer, pizza stone, or special equipment is required—just a mixing bowl, an 18×13″ sheet pan, and a little patience.

Spread the dough on a well-oiled sheet pan, top it with a chunky tomato sauce and plenty of cheese, and bake until the cheese is bubbling and the bottom is crisp. This approach yields a high-rising, melty, satisfying focaccia pizza that’s easy to portion into squares for serving a crowd.

Pizza and Focaccia

Focaccia-style pizza dough is more hydrated than typical pizza dough, which makes it closer to a bread dough. That extra hydration creates large, tender pockets in the crumb and a chewy, golden crust. You don’t need to be an experienced baker to make this—it’s the easiest Italian-style sheet-pan pizza to prepare.

If you prefer a very tall, deep-dish result, bake the dough in a round cast-iron pan. For a thinner crust, spread the dough thinner across a large sheet pan; it will still be soft and slightly fluffy but not as high.

My Sourdough Focaccia Pizza Schedule

With a busy household, I rely on a low-effort schedule. Natural sourdough fermentation takes longer than commercial yeast, but the hands-on time is short. I usually feed my starter in the morning and let it become active for several hours. Once it’s bubbly, I mix the dough and let it autolyze for 30 minutes before adding salt. I perform up to four gentle stretch-and-folds every 30 minutes during the early stages, then allow the dough to bulk ferment until it’s smooth, elastic, and slightly risen.

If I’m not ready to bake, I refrigerate the dough in its covered bowl for a slow, cold ferment that develops extra flavor and probiotics. When it’s time to bake, I oil an 18×13″ pan generously, let the dough relax in the pan, then stretch, dimple, top, and bake.

Ingredients for Sourdough Focaccia Pizza

• Active sourdough starter — feed it 4–6 hours before beginning so it’s lively and bubbly (116 g).
• Warm water — about 360 g to hydrate the whole wheat flour.
• Hard white wheat berries — freshly milled to produce 400 g of whole wheat flour (use a grain mill to grind the berries).
• Salt — 12 g, added after the autolyze to avoid interfering with starter hydration.
• Chunky tomato sauce — homemade or store-bought; about 2 cups for the pan.
• Toppings — 14 oz shredded mozzarella and 4 oz pepperoni are classic, but choose cheese and toppings to suit your family.

How to Make Focaccia Pizza

This recipe is designed for an 18×13″ sheet pan and yields squares rather than slices. Keep the dough covered while it rests to prevent drying. The key to a crisp underside is plenty of oil in the pan.

1. Combine the active starter, warm water, and freshly milled whole wheat flour in a mixing bowl. The dough will be wet—cover and rest for 30 minutes to autolyze.
2. Add the salt and work it into the dough with your hands. Cover and rest another 30 minutes.
3. Perform four rounds of stretch-and-folds, spaced about 30 minutes apart, to develop structure.
4. Allow the dough to bulk ferment for 2–3 hours at room temperature, until smooth and slightly risen. Alternatively, refrigerate for a slow cold ferment.
5. Grease an 18×13″ sheet pan with about 1/2 cup oil. Transfer the dough to the pan, let it rest 30 minutes, then gently stretch it toward the edges and dimple the surface with your fingers. Let it rise another 1–2 hours if time allows.
6. Spoon on 2 cups of chunky tomato sauce, sprinkle 14 oz shredded mozzarella, and arrange 4 oz pepperoni or desired toppings.
7. Bake in a preheated oven at 400°F (200°C) for 25–30 minutes, until the cheese is browned and the bottom is golden and crisp.
8. Cut into squares and serve warm.

Shaping tip: Use enough oil to coat the pan so the dough can slide and be stretched easily. If it keeps springing back, let it rest to relax the gluten before stretching again.

More Recipes to Try with Freshly Milled Flour

You can often replace commercial yeast recipes with sourdough by using about 1/2 cup active starter and adjusting hydration as needed. Whole wheat doughs tend to perform better with slightly higher hydration.