Hot Honey Pepperoni Pizza Focaccia

The Pizza-Focaccia of Your Dreams

If you live for a thick, pillowy pizza slice with those iconic lacey, crispy edges, then this recipe is about to become your new kitchen obsession. Think of it as the ultimate cross between a classic, olive-oil-soaked focaccia and a Detroit-style deep dish. We’re talking a soft, airy crumb topped with pizza sauce, cheese mozzarella, spicy pepperoni, and a sweet-and-heat finish of hot honey.

One secret to this dough’s incredible flavor? We are using sourdough discard to add a subtle, complex tang that perfectly balances the sweetness of the honey.

If you are a sourdough baker, you know the struggle of the “discard jar” taking up real estate in your fridge. This recipe is a fantastic way to put that sourdough discard to work instead of letting it go to waste!

While the active dry yeast does the heavy lifting for the rise, adding the 80g of sourdough discard into the dough provides a beautiful depth of flavor that you just can’t get from commercial yeast alone. It gives the focaccia a slightly tangy, artisanal profile that pairs perfectly with the sweetness of the honey and the saltiness of the pepperoni. It’s essentially a “zero-waste” way to level up your pizza night!

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Hot Honey Pepperoni Pizza Focaccia

Created by Sue Mun

Makes one, 9×13 inch pan

Ingredients:

For the Focaccia Dough:

• 450g white bread flour (12% protein content or higher)
• 100g sourdough discard
• 370g warm water
• 6g (1.5 teaspoons) active dry yeast
• 5g honey, or sugar
• 15g olive oil
• 10g fine sea salt
• Extra virgin olive oil to line pan and drizzle

For the Pizza Toppings:

• ¾ cup Marinara Sauce, or Pizza Sauce
• 4 oz. Pepperoni slices
• 4 tbsp hot honey
• Fresh Basil, chopped
• Finely shredded asiago or parmesan cheese for finishing
• Drizzle of more hot honey to finish

Instructions:

Make the Focaccia Dough:

1. Mix water and yeast and honey together and let it sit for 5 minutes (only if using active dry yeast)
2. Then mix wet and olive oil, flour and salt together until a shaggy dough forms.
3. Cover and rest the dough for 15 minutes.
4. Using wet hands, stretch and fold the dough over into itself. Keep stretching and folding until the dough is no longer as stretchy. Do about 8 stretch and folds. Cover and rest again for 15 minutes.
5. Stretch and fold again and rest for 15 minutes.
6. Perform the last stretch and fold and cover and proof for 1 hour and 30 minutes.
7. Generously oil up your baking pan with some olive oil. Gently place your dough onto the greased pan.
8. Drizzle 2 tbsp of hot honey on top of the dough as well as some shredded asiago or parmesan cheese. Using wet hands, gently fold the dough into thirds like a book. Then flip it over so the seam is now at the bottom.
9. Cover and proof for 1 hour until the dough rises to about 3/4 cup the side of the pan.
10. Halfway through your proofing, preheat the oven to 425F.

The Assembly:

1. Drizzle with about 3 tbsp of olive oil and 2 tbsp of hot honey on top of the focaccia and dimple the dough using your fingers.
2. Par-bake at 425F for 20-25 minutes until the top if lightly golden brown.
3. Take the focaccia out of the oven and spread about 3/4 cup of pizza or marinara sauce on top. Top with some mozzarella cheese and pepperoni slices. Throw the focaccia back into the oven and bake for another 10-12 minutes until the cheese is melted and the pepperoni is nice and crispy.
4. Immediately remove from the pan using a metal bench scraper to help release from the pan. Drizzle with hot honey on top, fresh basil leaves, and finely shredded asiago or parmesan cheese. Cut and serve warm!

Sue Mun