One of my favorite appetizers from Italian culinary school was these little focaccia appetizer bites made with tomato focaccia and topped with fresh mozzarella and basil. Simple, so flavorful, and completely made from scratch!
Quick Look: Focaccia Appetizer Bites
- Servings: 24 bites
- Kitchen Timing: 4 hours, 30 minutes
- Flavor Profile: Fresh and delicious - basically a mini pizza bite on focaccia bread
- Leftover Tips: Reheat any leftovers in an oven until warmed through and crispy.
- Skill Level: Intermediate
- What You'll Learn: How to make focaccia bread completely from scratch.
- Why You'll Love This Recipe: Homemade bread can seem scary, but I'll walk you through all the insider tips I learned in culinary school.
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All you need to know about this mozzarella and tomato appetizer is that these were one of my favorite bites from culinary school in Italy.
And that's really saying something after eating the most amazing handmade pasta, Neapolitan pizza, and gelato for 3 months straight.
The key to authentic Italian food is simplicity. And that's exactly what these appetizer bites embody! They're made with a homemade tomato focaccia bread, then topped with fresh mozzarella, basil, and garlic infused olive oil.
Serve them warm, and I promise the whole tray will be gone in minutes!
Ingredients You Need
- Bread flour: Always use bread flour, not all purpose flour. It has a higher protein content, which gives the focaccia good texture.
- Instant dry yeast: If needed, substitute with active dry yeast.
- Granulated sugar: Just a little sugar helps give the bread a golden color.
- Canned whole peeled tomatoes: You can also blanch and peel fresh tomatoes to use for the topping instead of a canned option.
- Extra virgin olive oil: Focaccia bread is filled with lots of oil, so make sure you choose a good bottle of extra virgin olive oil. You'll also need garlic flavored olive oil for the topping.
- Mozzarella cheese: Fresh mozzarella is best. I like purchasing the already sliced mozzarella for ease of assembly.
- Basil leaves: Pick the prettiest basil leaves you can find since they'll be the garnish to the appetizer bites.
Scroll down to the recipe card for a full list of ingredients and exact measurements.
How to Make Mozzarella & Tomato Focaccia Appetizer Bites
Step 1: To make the focaccia dough, add flour and yeast into a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment. Add water slowly while the mixer is running on a low speed. Then, pour in the sugar.
Step 2: Next, it's time to incorporate the olive oil. Do this step slowly to avoid large pools of olive oil at the bottom of the dough. It takes time for the oil to hydrate the flour.
Step 3: Add the salt, then continue mixing until all the oil has been incorporated. Bump the mixer up to high and allow the dough to knead until the dough strengthens enough to wrap around the dough hook.
Step 4: The dough will be smooth but still sticky once done. Place it in a bowl to rise until it's tripled in size.
Step 5: The time it takes to rise depends on your environment. A colder kitchen or colder ingredients will need more time to rise. Don't rush this process, as you want the dough to triple in size during this bulk fermentation stage.
Step 6: Oil the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch (23 x 33 cm) pan, then stretch the dough to fit.
Step 7: Use your fingertips to make indentations on top of the dough. Then crush the tomatoes on top, pour the olive oil for topping, and sprinkle on flaky salt. The water in the tomatoes (a secret trick from culinary school) will help the bread to become super crispy and crunchy. Next, cover and allow the focaccia to proof until tripled in size.
Step 8: Meanwhile, heat the oven to 430°F (220°C). Once the focaccia is ready, remove the cover and bake for 25 - 30 minutes.
Step 9: Once the focaccia has cooled, slice it into bite-sized pieces. When you're ready to serve, bake the focaccia again until crunchy and warmed through, about 18 - 20 minutes at 350°F (180°C).
Step 10: Finally, top the warmed focaccia with a slice of mozzarella, basil leaf, a drizzle of garlic olive oil, and more Maldon sea salt flakes.
Jessica'a Expert Tips
- Make Ahead: You can prep the focaccia up to 3 months ahead of time and store it in the freezer. Simply bake the focaccia, cool, then slice into bite-sized pieces. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and freeze just until it's firm. Place it in an airtight bag or container and store in the freezer until ready to serve. Then, reheat the bread as listed on the recipe card.
- I always suggest baking on light colored pans. They absorb less heat and will more evenly bake your focaccia.
- For the best rise, proof the dough in a warm (75°F - 80°F or 24°C - 27°C), steamy environment. You can use your oven's proof setting, or place a pan of boiling water on the bottom rack of the oven. The steam keeps the dough from drying out, so there's no need to cover it while it rises.
FAQs for Focaccia Appetizer Bites
Be patient! Focaccia dough takes several hours to rise, and if your kitchen is on the cooler side, it can take even longer.
If you've waited 5–8 hours and the dough still hasn't doubled in size, there's a good chance your yeast is no longer active. In that case, I'd recommend picking up new yeast and starting the recipe over.
Focaccia should be light and airy. The key is handling the dough as gently as possible so you don't knock out all of the air you've worked so hard to build.
Once the dough has finished its final proof, avoid re-dimpling it or pressing on it again before baking. This can deflate the dough and leave you with dense bread.
If your focaccia still turns out dense, double check that your yeast is fresh. Expired yeast won't give the dough the lift it needs to rise properly.
You can reheat the focaccia bites in an air fryer or an oven at 350°F (180°C) until crispy and warmed through. That said, leftovers never taste quite as good as the ones made fresh.
More Italian Appetizer Recipes
Love this recipe? Please leave a 5-star ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating in the recipe card below. Have questions as you're cooking? Leave a comment below, and I'll help!
Mozzarella & Tomato Focaccia Appetizer Bites
Equipment
- light colored 9 x 13 inch (22 x 23 cm) pan
Ingredients
Focaccia Dough
- 3 ⅛ cup bread flour
- 1 teaspoon instant dry yeast
- 1 cup warm water (105°F - 115°F or 40°C - 46°C)
- ½ tablespoon granulated sugar
- 5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 teaspoon fine sea salt
Focaccia Topping
- 1 cup canned whole peeled tomatoes
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil plus more for greasing the sheet pan
- 1 teaspon Maldon sea salt flakes plus more for garnish
- 24 slices fresh mozzarella cheese (about 13 ounces)
- 24 basil leaves
- garlic infused olive oil for garnish
Instructions
For Focaccia Dough
- Mix bread flour and instant dry yeast in a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment on medium low speed. With the mixer running, slowly add water in three batches. Allow the flour to completely absorb the water before adding the next batch.
- Combine sugar; mix thoroughly.
- Slowly, pour extra virgin olive oil in the center of the dough in four batches. Mix on medium low speed, and allow the flour to absorb the oil before adding the next batch. The extra virgin olive oil takes a while to incorporate. Use a silicone spatula to flip the dough over periodically to help the dough hook catch and knead in the oil. Once you’ve added in your last batch of olive oil, add fine sea salt, and mix thoroughly until all the oil has absorbed.
- Bump the mixer speed up to high, and mix until you hear a popping sound and the dough wraps around the dough hook, about 1 - 2 minutes. The dough will be smooth but very sticky.
- Roll the dough into a tight ball, then place in an oiled bowl roughly three times the size of the dough. Cover with plastic wrap, and allow to rise in a warm, draft-free place until tripled in size. Rise time will vary depending on the temperature of your environment.
For Focaccia Topping
- Generously oil the bottom and sides of a 9 x 13 inch (23 x 33 cm) pan with extra virgin olive oil. Use gravity to allow the dough to naturally stretch until it reaches the edge of the pan. If you notice the dough pulling back to center, allow it to rest in the sheet pan for an additional 10 minutes, then continue stretching.
- Use your fingertips to make indentations on top of the focaccia dough. Crush whole peeled tomatoes in your hands over the focaccia dough. Allow the juice and tomatoes to spread across the dough. If there is any leftover tomato juice, pour it over the focaccia dough. Evenly pour the olive oil on top of the dimpled focaccia. Sprinkle Maldon sea salt flakes on top.
- Cover the pan with plastic wrap, and allow to proof in a warm (75°F - 80°F or 24°C - 27°C), draft-free place until tripled in size, about 60 minutes.
- Place oven rack in an upper middle slot. Heat oven to 430°F (220°C).
- Carefully remove plastic wrap from pan without knocking any air out of the bread dough. Bake for 25 - 30 minutes until golden brown and crispy on the top. Place focaccia on a cooling rack, and cover with a tea towel. Allow focaccia to cool to room temperature before removing from the pan and slicing into 24 individual pieces.
- To serve, heat oven to 350°F (180°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and place focaccia slices on top. Bake for 18 -20 minutes until warmed through and crunchy on the outside. Top each slice of focaccia with a slice of mozzarella, basil leaf, a drizzle of garlic olive oil, and more Maldon sea salt flakes.
Tyler
Really enjoyed these as an appetizer for me and my wife.
Jessica Mode
Yay, so glad you guys enjoyed, Tyler! 🙂