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Pillowy, golden focaccia topped with thin-sliced potatoes, crispy pancetta, and creamy blue cheese — this is an appetizer that disappears fast. This homemade focaccia bakes into a bread with a crisp crust and tender crumb, covered in layers savory flavors. I love serving it warm with a glass of fruity red wine or rosé for an easy snack or simple supper.

A close-up of potato focaccia bread topped with crumbled blue cheese, bacon, sliced potatoes, herbs, and garnished with fresh thyme on a white cutting board.

You could call this focaccia the cousin of Italian potato pizza, and what could be better than that? Two of our favorite carbs in one is a win-win, for sure.

Plus, the combo of potato and blue cheese is a match made in food heaven, because the neutral flavor of potatoes is perfect contrasted with the blast of flavor from blue cheese.

But…is focaccia a pizza?

While very similar, there are a few differences between pizza and focaccia. They’re both a type of yeasted flatbread, usually topped with combinations of cheese, meats and vegetables.

But focaccia is typically a softer, thicker bread compared to chewy pizza crusts, and it’s baked at lower temperature. If you’ve never tried making homemade focaccia, this recipe is a really good one to start with.

It’s easy to make without much fuss, and turns out tender and tasty, with a nice airy texture and beautiful golden color.

A baking sheet with uncooked potato focaccia dough topped with thin potato slices, red onion, bacon pieces, fresh thyme, and seasoning. A blue and white striped cloth and a small bowl of red pepper flakes sit nearby.

I’ve made quite a few versions of homemade focaccia dough over the years, like this one topped with caramelized onions and a kale-mushroom-ricotta version.

I love to make slow-rise bread and pizza doughs, but they do take longer to develop and build flavor because they ferment at cooler temperatures (like in your refrigerator).

Because this dough only needs about 2 hours to rise at warm room temperature you can make this fit into a same-day situation. Each slice is yeasty soft, with puffy texture and nice big air holes.

Rectangular slices of potato focaccia topped with cheese, thinly sliced potatoes, herbs, and small pieces of bacon are arranged on a white cutting board, with a small plate of crumbled cheese and a glass of water nearby.

Easy focaccia dough

The dough is a simple mixture of all-purpose flour, yeast, salt and honey mixed with olive oil and water. I recommend using a stand mixer to make the dough in literally minutes.

But, of course you can totally go old-school and use your hands to make it. Just be sure to knead the dough on a floured surface, because it’s a bit stickier than a standard bread dough.