Tuesday: Overnight Focaccia Experiment, Final Chick-fil-A Lunch & Grilled Chicken Prep

Vacation is officially over because I had to make bacon again.

The enormous stash I made before our trip finally ran out, so this morning I made a fresh batch and served it with some of the Costco bagels from the freezer. We’re down to just a couple of those now too. My teen made herself a smoothie, and then we got to work on school.

But the thing I was most excited about today actually started last night.

Can You Make Focaccia Pizza If You’re Gone All Day?

I’ve had several people ask me some version of this question since I shared my half-sheet-pan focaccia pizza:

This looks great, but can I make it if I have a job and I’m not home all day?

And I thought that was such a good point.

The original method works really well when I’m home because I can make the dough, do the folds, let it rise, transfer it to the half-sheet pan and let it rise again.

But what if you’re leaving for work in the morning? Or you’re just going to be out of the house all day?

So I experimented.

Last night, I made the focaccia dough as usual. I mixed the shaggy dough and worked my way through all four sets of folds. But instead of letting it do that first long rise on the counter, I covered the bowl and put the dough straight into the refrigerator overnight.

That’s it. Kitchen closed.

The Morning Transfer

This morning, before I even called the kids down for breakfast, I pulled the dough out of the refrigerator.

I lined my half-sheet pan with a parchment-paper sling, added plenty of olive oil and transferred the cold dough to the pan.

Then I covered it and left it sitting on the counter in my dining room.

And I walked away.

It stayed there ALL DAY.

Which was especially perfect today because we had schoolwork to do, and then I spent a good portion of my afternoon driving one of my kids to and from a playdate.

But no spoilers. We’ll come back to that dough.

One Last Tuesday Chick-fil-A Lunch

Today was also our final morning violin lesson of the summer.

My mom has been so sweet about taking my 11-year-old to violin, and because it’s right across the street from Chick-fil-A, she’s often picked up lunch for the kids on her way home.

So today was our last easy Tuesday Chick-fil-A lunch before violin moves to the afternoon.

Thank you, Mom.

I finished off some leftover steak for my own lunch, and then we headed into our afternoon. I also ate the last chocolate cupcake from Sunday night dinner….and shockingly I didn’t need a huge dinner plate (inside joke with my husband!)

Meanwhile, I Prepped the Chicken

I also had chicken breasts from Costco that needed to be dealt with, so earlier in the day I got those into my current favorite chicken marinade.

Dijon Chicken Marinade

I don’t really measure this one, but I use:

• Dijon mustard
• Olive oil
• Salt
• Pepper
• Garlic powder
• Smoked paprika
• Italian seasoning
• A splash of red wine vinegar

The Dijon is the key for me. It helps emulsify the marinade so it really clings to the chicken instead of leaving half your seasoning behind in the bowl or bag.

I also try to get my chicken breasts roughly the same thickness before grilling. I cut off the thinner portion and butterfly the thicker pieces rather than pounding them flat.

Then the chicken went into the refrigerator to marinate until dinner.

And Then I Came Home to THIS Dough

I walked back into the house around 4:45 after picking up my daughter, looked at that half-sheet pan and thought:

Oh. This absolutely worked.

The dough had started the morning really cold from the refrigerator, so it had spent the entire day slowly warming and rising.

By late afternoon it was big and bubbly and looked exactly like I wanted it to look.

And I hadn’t touched it all day.

This might actually be my new favorite way to make it.

Finish It Just Like the Original

From there, I followed my normal focaccia pizza method.

I preheated the oven to 475°F, dimpled the dough, added the toppings and baked it.

The actual hands-on work at dinnertime took me maybe three minutes.

And here’s one tip I really want to emphasize with this pizza.

Check the Temperature of Your Dough

Because this is a thick, focaccia-style pizza, don’t necessarily trust the way the top looks.

Your cheese can be beautifully browned while the very center of that thick dough still needs more time.

I like to stick an instant-read thermometer right into the center of the crust. I’m looking for about 190–195°F.

If the top looks perfect but the center isn’t there yet, don’t keep browning your cheese into oblivion. Loosely cover the whole thing with a big sheet of foil, give it another 10 minutes and check the temperature again.

No one wants doughy pizza.

And Since the Grill Was Going…

I grilled all of that marinated chicken too.

The pizza required so little work at dinnertime that it was easy to get the chicken onto the grill while everything else was happening.

I made some side salads, put the pizza on the table, and dinner was done.

But more importantly, I finished dinner with MORE food ready for the next few days than I started with.

Right now we have leftover focaccia pizza, a whole bunch of grilled chicken, some leftover steak from my parents’ house and just a tiny bit of last night’s pork tenderloin.

That’s exactly where I want to be because the next few days are busy. Tomorrow we have school, orthodontist appointments and a sewing lesson. Then Thursday I’ll be at our new co-op location getting things set up before we officially start next week.

So tonight wasn’t just pizza night.

It was dinner tonight AND a stocked refrigerator for the next several days.

And this overnight focaccia experiment? Absolutely a success.