These pizza focaccia breadsticks have the most incredible chewy, fluffy texture thanks to a classic focaccia bread dough! Load these breadsticks up with lots of cheese and dip them in warm pizza sauce.
I apologize in advance for you more than likely making an entire meal out of these breadsticks.
We genuinely tried to make an appetizer out of these a few weeks ago but one thing led to another and they ended up being dinner that night. NO REGRETS!
It’s kinda hard to be mad at something boasting the words “pizza”, “focaccia”, “cheese”, and “breadsticks” all in the same title, ya feel?
Focaccia is one of my FAVORITE kinds of bread and I’ve always wanted to try taking this classic dough and making breadsticks out of it.
With lots of cheese + pizza sauce included, duh. Go big on carbs or go home.
So these breadsticks were born and they are EVERY BIT as dreamy as I hoped they’d be.
These Cheesy Pizza Focaccia Breadsticks feature…
- A fluffy, chewy focaccia bread texture
- An incredibly deep flavor in the dough, thanks to the long fermentation
- Mozzarella + Parmesan making up the cheeses
- Fresh basil leaves for an herby kick
- Warm pizza sauce for dipping
Making the Focaccia Breadsticks
(scroll to the bottom of the post for the full recipe!)
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Bread Flour – I strongly recommend weighing your flour in grams to get an accurate amount. You will need 650 grams (4-1/2 cups)
- Instant Yeast – Red Star Platinum Yeast is what I use and 12/10 recommend!
- Salt – kosher salt works best with this recipe.
- Sugar – you could also use 1/2 tablespoon honey in its place.
- Olive Oil – high-quality extra-virgin if you have it!
- Cheese – low-moisture shredded mozzarella and grated Parm.
- Pizza Seasonings – garlic powder and LOTS of fresh basil.
- Pizza Sauce – for dipping the breadsticks!
Proofing the Dough
First and foremost, plan ahead because this focaccia dough requires at least a 24 hour proof time.
Why the long proofing time? Focaccia dough relies heavily on flavor which you can only get from many hours of fermenting.
Best part about this recipe? NO kneading the dough! Just mix it, set it in the fridge, and forget about it for a couple days.
This dough may cold-ferment in the fridge for up to 72 hours and if you have the time, consider letting it sit that long! The longer your dough ferments, the better the flavor + texture will be.
Tips for Shaping Dough
Once your dough has fermented for at least a day, you’ll notice that it’s beautifully stretchy and sticky. This is exactly what you’re looking for in a focaccia dough.
To shape the dough, you’re going to stretch and pat it into an 18×13 sheet pan and then allow it to have a second rise for 45-60 minutes.
This dough can be a bit difficult to work with because of it’s stickiness, but just be patient and make sure your hands are lightly coated in olive oil when shaping it into the pan
Tips for Baking Breadsticks
You’re going to bake these breadsticks at a high temperature of 450F. Make sure your oven is completely preheated for at least 45 minutes prior to baking.
The focaccia should take 20-25 minutes to fully bake. If you find your focaccia is browning too quickly, lay a piece of tin foil lightly over top.
Your focaccia is done when it’s a deep golden brown. Remove it from the oven and sprinkle cheeses over top and stick it under the broiler for a few minutes until the cheese is melted and browned.
Optionally, you can bake the focaccia, let it cool, and then broil the cheese topping whenever you’re ready to serve them!
Hit these breadsticks with LOTS of fresh basil leaves moments after pulling them from the oven. It adds a little herby kick that you just can’t beat.
And obviously make sure your pizza sauce is standing at the ready because it doesn’t know what cheesy goodness is about to hit it.
These breadsticks are literally like the best of ALL bread worlds! Definitely pizza-like from all the cheese + sauce, but the fluffy, chewy focaccia texture is a whole next level.
Just accept your fate that this is dinner. They’re way too good.
Watch these breadsticks made step by step on Google web stories!
More ways to make focaccia that you’ll definitely want to try next!
- Roasted Garlic Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto Focaccia
- Jalapeno Cheddar Focaccia
- No-Knead Overnight Parmesan Herb Focaccia
Cheesy Pizza Focaccia Breadsticks
This recipe may included paid links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn a commission from qualifying purchases.
Ingredients
- 4-1/2 cups (650 grams) bread flour
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon instant dry yeast
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 2 cups (16 oz) room-temperature water
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1-1/2 cups shredded low-moisture mozzarella cheese
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- Fresh whole or minced basil for topping
- Warmed pizza sauce for serving
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine flour, salt, and yeast. Drizzle in honey and water and stir dough with a wooden spoon until a slightly-sticky dough forms. Transfer dough to a separate large greased bowl.
- Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 48 hours or up to 72 (while this long rise time is preferable for the best flavor, you can also get away with letting it rise 24 hours in the fridge if you need it made sooner – just be aware you'll lose a little flavor!)
- When you are ready to bake, preheat oven to 450F. Grease an 18×13 sheet pan well with 1 tablespoon olive oil.
- With greased hands, punch risen dough and stretch and pull dough to pat into prepared sheet pan (dough will be slightly sticky, just be patient and keep stretching and pulling dough to fit into pan) Allow dough to rise at room temperature 45-60 minutes until slightly puffy.
- Drizzle top of focaccia with remaining olive oil and sprinkle with garlic powder. Use your fingers to make several indentions all over dough. Bake focaccia at 450F 20-25 minutes until a deep golden brown.
- Remove focaccia from oven and immediately top with cheeses. Broil under high heat 2-3 minutes until cheese is melted and lightly browned.
- Remove focaccia from oven and top with fresh basil. Let cool several minutes then slice into 16 breadsticks and serve hot with warmed pizza sauce. Enjoy!
Malissa says
Oh my goodness……these look so totally amazing and just delicious!!! I have to make some right now.
Sarah says
Definitely a must make! LMK if you do, Malissa! 🙂