Souplantation Focaccia Pizza Recipe: Soft Sheet-Pan Copycat With Tomato and Mozzarella

This Souplantation focaccia pizza recipe recreates the soft, square slices that sat in the bakery section of the Souplantation and Sweet Tomatoes buffets: a thick, airy, olive-oil focaccia baked in a sheet pan, spread with a thin layer of tomato sauce and finished with melted mozzarella, Parmesan and dried oregano. You make the dough by hand, with no mixer, let it rise twice, and bake it in a 9×13-inch pan. Hands-on time is about 20 minutes; the rest is waiting for the dough.

A Buffet Bakery Favorite, Remembered

Souplantation opened its first restaurant in San Diego in 1978 and grew into a salad-and-soup buffet chain, known as Sweet Tomatoes outside California. Alongside the long salad bar and the soups, there was a small bakery section with muffins, cornbread and focaccia, including a pizza-style focaccia and a cheesy garlic version that regulars still talk about.

All of the restaurants closed in spring 2020, and the closure was made permanent that May, as reported by the Tampa Bay Times. Since then, a few Sweet Tomatoes locations have reopened, including Tucson, Arizona, according to the chain’s Wikipedia entry. But for most former regulars, the only way to have that focaccia pizza again is to bake it at home.

The chain never released its bakery recipes, so this is a copycat built from how the slices looked and tasted: a tall, tender, slightly chewy bread rather than a crisp pizza crust, with sauce and cheese on top rather than a pile of toppings. It’s closer to a Sicilian-style sheet pan pizza than a classic round pie.

What Sets Focaccia Pizza Apart From Regular Pizza

	Focaccia pizza	Classic round pizza
Crust thickness	About 1 inch, soft and airy	Thin to medium, crisp
Dough	Wet, high-hydration, lots of olive oil	Firmer, kneaded or stretched
Pan	Oiled sheet pan or 9×13 pan	Pizza stone, steel or round pan
Toppings	Light: sauce, cheese, herbs	Can be heavy
Shape	Cut into squares	Cut into wedges
Bake	Two stages: bread first, then toppings	One bake

The two-stage bake is the key. A thick focaccia needs time to cook through, and if the sauce and cheese go on from the start, the middle can stay gummy while the cheese overbrowns. Baking the bread first, then adding the toppings, gives you a fully cooked crumb and cheese that’s just melted and spotty.

Ingredients for Souplantation Focaccia Pizza

Exact measurements are in the recipe card. Here’s what each ingredient does.

For the focaccia dough

• Flour: All-purpose flour gives the soft, tender crumb this copycat is after. Bread flour works too and makes it a little chewier.
• Warm water: Around 100 to 110°F, warm to the touch but not hot. It’s a wet dough on purpose; that moisture is what creates the big, open holes.
• Instant yeast: One standard packet. Active dry yeast also works; dissolve it in the warm water with the sugar for 5 minutes first.
• Sugar: Just a teaspoon to help the yeast get started and the crust brown.
• Salt: Fine sea salt or table salt for the dough.
• Olive oil: Used in the dough, in the pan and on top. It’s what makes focaccia focaccia: a crisp, almost fried bottom and a rich flavor.

For the topping

• Pizza sauce: A smooth, lightly seasoned sauce, store-bought or homemade. Keep the layer thin.
• Low-moisture mozzarella: Shred it yourself if you can; it melts more smoothly than pre-shredded. Fresh mozzarella releases too much water for this bread.
• Parmesan: Adds saltiness and helps the top brown.
• Dried oregano and garlic powder: The familiar pizza-parlor flavor.
• Optional toppings: Mini pepperoni, sliced black olives or a few strips of bell pepper. Keep them light, as the bakery version was.

Your Baking Schedule

Here’s how the time breaks down, so you can plan it around dinner. Rising times depend on how warm your kitchen is; watch the dough, not the clock.

Step	Time	How you know it’s ready
Mix the dough	5 min	No dry flour left; shaggy, sticky dough
Rest and fold	30 min (2 rounds of folds)	Dough feels smoother and stretchier
First rise	45 to 60 min	About doubled, with bubbles on the surface
Press into pan, second rise	30 to 45 min	Puffy and filling the pan corners
First bake (bread)	12 min at 425°F	Pale golden top, set in the middle
Second bake (toppings)	10 to 12 min	Cheese melted with golden spots
Cool before cutting	10 min	Cheese set enough to slice cleanly

How to Make Souplantation Focaccia Pizza

1. Mix the dough

In a large bowl, whisk the flour, instant yeast, sugar and salt. Add the warm water and 2 tablespoons of olive oil and stir with a spatula until no dry flour is left. The dough will be sticky and shaggy; that’s right. Cover the bowl and let it rest for 10 minutes.

2. Stretch and fold

Wet your hand, grab one edge of the dough, stretch it up and fold it over the center. Turn the bowl a quarter turn and repeat until you’ve gone all the way around, 4 folds in total. Cover, wait 15 minutes, and do another round. This builds strength without kneading, and the dough will turn smoother and more elastic each time.

3. First rise

Cover the bowl and let the dough rise in a warm spot for 45 to 60 minutes, until it’s about doubled and bubbly. If your kitchen is cool, put it in the oven with only the light on.

4. Shape in the pan

Pour 2 tablespoons of olive oil into a 9×13-inch metal baking pan and spread it over the bottom and corners. Tip the dough into the pan and turn it once to coat it in oil. Gently press and stretch it toward the edges. If it springs back, wait 10 minutes and try again; it will relax. Cover and let it rise for 30 to 45 minutes, until puffy. Heat the oven to 425°F (220°C) during the last 20 minutes.

5. Dimple and bake the bread

Oil your fingertips and press them straight down into the dough all over, making deep dimples that nearly touch the bottom of the pan. Drizzle with the last tablespoon of olive oil. Bake for 12 minutes, until the top is set and very lightly golden.

6. Add the toppings and finish

Take the pan out and spread the pizza sauce thinly over the top, leaving a narrow border. Sprinkle with the mozzarella, then the Parmesan, oregano and garlic powder, and add any extra toppings. Return to the oven for 10 to 12 minutes, until the cheese is melted with golden spots and the edges are deep brown. The bottom should sound hollow and look golden when you lift a corner with a spatula.

7. Cool and cut

Let it cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, then slide it onto a cutting board and cut it into 12 squares, buffet-style.

Souplantation Focaccia Pizza Recipe Card

Here’s the full recipe with amounts and timings, ready to print.

Short on Time? Two Shortcut Versions

Store-bought pizza dough

Let 1 pound of store-bought pizza dough sit at room temperature for an hour. Press it into the oiled 9×13 pan, let it rise for 30 minutes, dimple it, and follow the same two-stage bake. The crumb will be a little denser than homemade focaccia, but the result is close.

Ready-made focaccia

For a 20-minute version, slice a store-bought focaccia in half horizontally, or use it whole if it’s thin. Brush it with olive oil, top with sauce and cheese, and bake at 425°F for 10 to 12 minutes until the cheese melts. It won’t be as fresh, but it’s an easy lunch.

Make the Cheesy Garlic Version Too

Many Souplantation regulars remember the cheesy garlic focaccia as much as the pizza one. To make it with the same dough, skip the sauce. After the first 12-minute bake, brush the top with 3 tablespoons of melted butter mixed with 1 teaspoon of garlic powder (or 2 minced cloves) and ½ teaspoon of mixed dried Italian herbs. Cover it with mozzarella and Parmesan and finish the bake as above. Cut it into long strips for dipping into soup.

If you like cheesy bread, you might also enjoy this Little Caesars Italian cheese bread recipe, and for a sweet take on the same pan dough, try the cinnamon roll focaccia recipe.

Five Small Habits for a Better Focaccia Base

The base is what makes this Souplantation focaccia pizza recipe work, so it’s worth getting right. None of these take extra time.

• Measure flour by weight if you can. A cup of flour can vary by 30 grams or more depending on how you scoop it, and too much flour is the most common reason focaccia turns out dense.
• Wet your hands, not the dough. When handling a sticky dough, water on your hands stops it from sticking without adding more flour.
• Use a metal pan. Metal conducts heat quickly and gives a golden, crisp bottom. Glass and ceramic bake slower and often leave the base pale.
• Dimple deeply. Shallow dimples disappear in the oven. Press until you feel the pan, so the oil pools and the surface bakes into those classic little hollows.
• Let it cool briefly before slicing. Ten minutes lets the crumb set and the cheese firm up, so the squares cut cleanly instead of tearing.

Troubleshooting Your Focaccia Pizza

Problem	Likely cause	Fix
Dense, few holes	Dough under-risen or too dry	Let it rise until clearly doubled; don’t add extra flour
Gummy middle	Toppings added too early or too much sauce	Pre-bake the bread 12 minutes; keep the sauce layer thin
Pale, soft bottom	Glass pan or not enough oil	Use a metal pan and the full 2 tablespoons of oil
Dough won’t stretch to corners	Gluten is tight	Rest 10 minutes and press again
Cheese browned too much	Oven runs hot	Tent loosely with foil for the last few minutes
Cheese greasy	Pre-shredded or high-fat cheese	Shred a block of low-moisture mozzarella yourself

Serve It the Buffet Way

At Souplantation, focaccia pizza was a side, not the main event. It sat next to bowls of soup and big plates of salad. That’s still the best way to serve it. A few pairings:

• A bowl of creamy soup, such as this Panera corn chowder recipe, or a simple tomato soup
• A big tossed green salad with plenty of crunchy vegetables
• Pasta salad or a marinated bean salad for a cold buffet spread
• On its own as an after-school snack or a party appetizer, cut into small squares

Storing, Reheating and Freezing

Room temperature: Because of the cheese, don’t leave it out for more than two hours.

Refrigerator: Wrap the squares or store them in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Reheat: Warm the squares on a baking sheet at 375°F (190°C) for 6 to 8 minutes, or in an air fryer at 350°F for 3 to 4 minutes. The oven brings back the crisp bottom; the microwave makes it soft.

Freeze: Freeze cooled squares on a tray, then move them to a freezer bag for up to 2 months. Reheat from frozen at 375°F for 12 to 15 minutes.

Souplantation Focaccia Pizza FAQs

Is this the official Souplantation recipe?

No. The chain never published its bakery recipes. This is a home copycat designed to match the thick, soft focaccia base and simple cheese-and-sauce topping that the buffets served.

Can I make the dough the night before?

Yes, and the flavor improves. After the stretch-and-folds, cover the bowl and refrigerate it for 12 to 24 hours. Take it out about an hour before shaping, then continue from step 4.

Do I need a stand mixer?

No. The stretch-and-fold method builds the dough’s structure by hand in a bowl, with no kneading and no machine.

Can I use a half sheet pan?

Yes, but double the recipe. A single batch in a larger pan will be thin, more like a flatbread than focaccia.

Why is my focaccia flat?

Usually the yeast was old, the water was too hot, or the dough didn’t rise long enough. Check the yeast’s expiry date, use warm (not hot) water, and give the dough the time it needs to look puffy and doubled.

Can I make it with whole wheat flour?

You can replace up to a third of the flour with whole wheat. Add 1 to 2 extra tablespoons of water, since whole wheat absorbs more, and expect a denser crumb.

Bring Back a Little Buffet Nostalgia

If you grew up grabbing a square of focaccia pizza on the way to the soup station, this Souplantation focaccia pizza recipe is a simple way to bring that memory back to your own kitchen. Tell us in the comments which Souplantation dish you miss most, and how close this version gets for you.