Leftover Dough Focaccia with Tomatoes and Oregano

When you’re making pizza for a gathering, we always think it’s a good idea to make more dough than you need. More dough means insurance for any pizza-making gaffes (trust us, we’ve all been there). Or, in the best of cases, you can send your guests home with leftovers. But what happens when you have more leftover dough than you know what to do with? Don’t throw it away, because we’ve got this simple and delicious recipe from chef and food producer, Jordon King (@jordonezraking) who uses cherry tomatoes, oregano, olive oil and a touch of salt for a focaccia that will (almost) rival your pizzas with its crisp exterior and airy interior. 

Traditionally, focaccia is an Italian flatbread made with high-gluten flour, water, yeast, salt, and olive oil. It’s kneaded and left to rise before being stretched out onto a baking sheet or pan. Focaccia bakers make small indentations or dimples on the surface of the dough and fill them with olive oil and salt before baking. 

Feel free to enjoy this focaccia in any way you like: cut it in half for a decadent sandwich, serve it alongside a mezze platter, or simply tear off a piece and dunk it in your favourite sauce or dip!

Difficulty

Servings

Serves 2

Prep Time

45 minutes

Cook Time

14 minutes

By Jordan King

Leftover Dough Focaccia with Tomatoes and Oregano

Note

If you don’t know where to start when it comes to dough, we got you covered: try our Classic Pizza Dough recipe, which freezes well and can last up to 3 months…just in time for the next party.


1: Grab your leftover dough balls and turn them out onto a clean work surface.

Use your dough scraper to bring the 3 balls together, similar to making a ball of pizza dough. (Because we’re working with ‘old’ dough it won’t have the same elasticity as a fresh one but that’s ok.)

2: Grab your baking tray and drizzle generously with 3 grams of olive oil, using your fingers to rub it evenly along the sides and bottom.

Place the dough ball in the middle of the tray and cover with a kitchen or tea towel. 

 Hand holding an Ooni Pizza Bench Scraper with a raw dough ball in a baking tray on a table.

3: Allow the dough to relax for 20 mins.

If you haven’t already, halve your cherry tomatoes.

4: Preheat your Ooni, aiming for 300 °C (570 °F) on the baking stone inside.

Use the infrared thermometer to quickly and accurately check the temperature of the middle of the stone.

5: By now you should be able to use your fingerprints to gently press out and stretch the dough slightly to fill the base of the tray, creating dimples across the surface of the focaccia.

6: Mix 1 teaspoon of salt with 50 millilitres of water in a bowl; pour the salt water over the dough.

7: Squeeze the halved tomatoes over the dough, then press the tomatoes into the dough.

Sprinkle over the oregano and drizzle with the remaining olive oil (about 2 grams).

 Hand placing tomatoes on an uncooked focaccia in a baking tray on a kitchen table.

8: Slide the tray into your Ooni and cook for 2 mins with the door closed; using oven gloves, remove the pan, turn halfway and cook for another 2 minutes with the door closed.

Reduce the heat to about 200 °C (390 °F) and continue to cook for about 10 minutes.

9: Remove from the oven,  allow to cool for 5 minutes, slice, serve and enjoy!

Jordan King

Jordon Ezra King is a chef and food producer for Mob. Having cooked, temped, and staged his way through a host of kitchens around the world, Jordon (@jordonezraking) has picked up more than a few tricks along the way. He now shares that knowledge with the world, using his platform to teach people how to work their way around a kitchen and educate them about the provenance of the dishes he's cooking.
  • 3 leftover pizza dough balls (250 grams each)
  • 100 grams cherry tomatoes, halved
  • ½ teaspoon oregano
  • 5 grams extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 50 milliliters water