This recipe started with the famous King Arthur Flour Big & Bubbly Focaccia. I fell in love with how simple and forgiving the dough was, but one day I wondered: What if I made a giant batch in my extra-deep half sheet pan instead?
That little experiment became one of my family’s favorite recipes.
At first, I baked it into thick focaccia for sandwiches and meal prep. Then one night I topped it with pizza sauce, cheese, and our favorite toppings—and realized it made an incredible sheet pan pizza. It feeds a crowd, has a crispy bottom with a soft, chewy interior, and is surprisingly hands-off.
The beauty of this recipe is that it works around your day. The traditional version takes about six hours from start to finish, with almost all of that being rise time. If you’re short on time, my quick-rise method cuts about two hours off the process while still giving you a fantastic crust.
Whether you’re feeding a hungry family on a summer evening, serving a crowd, or just looking for leftovers that disappear quickly, this sheet pan pizza has earned a permanent spot in our rotation.
The “Gone from 7 to 4” Focaccia Pizza Method
Want fresh, homemade focaccia pizza after being gone all day? This is my favorite way to make it happen with practically no evening effort!
The night before: Make your dough while you’re already in the kitchen making dinner, or after the kids go to bed. Complete the folds as directed in the recipe, then cover the bowl with a lid and immediately refrigerate overnight.
The next morning (around 7:30 a.m.): Line your half-sheet pan with parchment paper and a generous amount of olive oil. Gently transfer the dough from the bowl to the pan, stretching it slightly into a rough rectangle or oval. Don’t worry about filling the pan yet! Cover and leave it to rise at room temperature throughout the day.
When you get home (around 5 p.m.): Finish stretching, topping, and baking the pizza according to the original recipe.
That’s it! The dough does its thing while you’re out living your life, and you come home to homemade pizza that’s practically ready for the oven.
Is Your Cheese Getting Brown Before the Dough Is Done?
Sometimes your pizza looks perfectly done on top, with beautifully browned, crispy cheese, but then you pull it out of the oven and realize the dough is still a little underbaked. Don’t worry! Here’s what to do.
As soon as the cheese looks as browned and crispy as you like it, grab an instant-read thermometer and insert the probe into the center of the dough. You’re looking for an internal temperature of 190–195°F. If it’s not there yet, keep baking!
Take a large sheet of aluminum foil and loosely drape it over the entire pizza. This will protect the cheese from getting too brown while the dough continues to bake. Set a timer for another 7–10 minutes, then check the dough temperature again.
Ovens vary! Everything from your oven rack position to how thoroughly you preheated can affect how quickly the crust bakes compared to the cheese.
My advice? Always check the dough with a thermometer. A pizza can look completely finished on top and still need a few more minutes underneath. The foil trick lets you finish baking the crust without sacrificing that perfectly crispy cheese!
Half Sheet Pan Focaccia Pizza
Ingredients
Dough
- 6 cups all-purpose flour
- 3 teaspoons salt
- 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons instant yeast
- 2 ½ cups warm water
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
Toppings
- cheese
- pepperoni
- sausage
- olives
- onions
- peppers
- pizza sauce
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine flour, salt, sugar, and yeast. Add water and 3 tablespoons olive oil. Stir until no dry spots remain. Cover and let rest 15 minutes.
- With wet hands, perform 4 sets of stretch-and-folds, spaced 15 minutes apart. Pull up one section of dough, fold it into the center, and repeat around the bowl.
- Cover and let rise for 2 hours, until doubled and puffy.
- Line an extra-deep half sheet pan with a parchment paper sling, leaving overhang on the long sides for easy lifting. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons olive oil.
- Transfer dough to pan and gently turn once to coat in oil. Cover and let rise 2 hours, until very puffy and nearly fills the pan.
- Preheat oven to 475°F. Drizzle dough with 1 tablespoon olive oil and dimple all over. Layer with cheese, pizza sauce, toppings, and more cheese.
- Bake 18–22 minutes on the bottom rack until deeply golden brown. Lift out using the parchment sling, slice, and enjoy!
Did you make this recipe?
Please let me know how it turned out for you! Leave a comment below.
Can this be made gluten free?
I just made this tonight. It is so delicious!! It brought back memories of childhood pizza places. Thank you so much!
WOW! Amazing!!! My whole family LOVED it! I made it in a full size sheet pan because I didn’t have a deep half one and it did not disappoint! This will be my new go to pizza recipe! It was so delicious and so easy! Thank you for an awesome recipe!
In one of your videos you said you can’t do gluten. Can this recipe be made with a gluten free flour blend? If yes, is there one you prefer?
Made this for dinner tonight and will definitely be making it again! It was very simple and absolutely delicious. Because it is so large we were able to make it part Margherita, pepperoni, and sausage – everyone got something they wanted.
To make the 7-4 version, follow the recipe through all four sets of folds, then cover the dough and refrigerate it overnight instead of letting it rise on the counter.
In the morning, transfer the cold dough to your parchment-lined, well-oiled half-sheet pan, flip it to coat both sides in oil, cover, and let it slowly rise on the counter all day. Mine sat from 7:00 AM-4:45 PM. Then just pick back up with the original recipe-dimple, top, and bake!
According to the Instagram post associated with this account. 😉
Easy and truly delicious to feed my family or guests!
I made this in a jelly roll pan (11×17?) with 2/3 proportions and it came out well. It was a little tricky to get the pizza onto the cutting board because it was so soft/floppy, my oven could be to blame, however. I might try a par bake before topping next time. This was a hit with my family!
Made this tonight and it was a hit with the whole family! I cut my dough in half and used two cake pans since I didn’t have a half sheet pan with high sides. This also helped so I could have one dairy and one dairy free. Will.make again! Thanks for sharing this great recipe!