Since I’m not a successful baker by trade (or genetics… sorry for outing all of my family) I’ve found that now that I’ve gotten more comfortable with my crock pot over the years I am not afraid to try my hand at baking in it.
It was a stretch the first time I did, but surprisingly enough it did work out.
You probably remember somewhere along the way that I’ve said I want to either NOT use any additional pans to cook my crock pot creations in (I.E. place an additional vessel inside of my crock pot that I would have to buy special) or use something that I have on hand to place inside the crock pot to cook in (that is where the “cooking in canning jars” in the crock pot came from… I have lots of them of different sizes ALL the time at my disposal).
This crock pot focaccia went right into the bottom of a greased crock pot (just like the chocolate chip blondies and iced cinnamon biscuits) and was SO easy and super delicious. It had a nice crunchy bottom and a chew to the center…. it was perfect!
Here is how I did it:
- 1 boxed 12 – 14 inch pizza crust mix, made according to package directions
(I used a gluten free, but a regular pizza crust mix would work well too) - olive oil
- toppings (parmesan cheese, olives, red onions, rosemary, pepperoni, etc.)
Make the pizza crust according to the package directions. If it says to let it sit before rolling out, don’t omit that step. However, it says to let it do a final rise, you CAN omit that step.
Spray the inside of a 5 1/2 – 6 quart crock pot with non-stick spray. 
When the roll is ready to roll out place it in between two pieces of plastic. Make sure the pieces of plastic are large enough so that you won’t roll the dough larger than them. Using the plastic just helps you to move it easily to the greased crock pot without it tearing.
Now carefully using a rolling pin roll it out roughly into the shape of the crock pot. It doesn’t have to be exact, but roll it out a little larger than the interior of the crock pot to allow for any shrinkage.
Once it’s rolled out to the size needed peel the top piece of plastic off. Pick up the rolled out dough and place it in the crock pot by flipping it upside down. Now remove the other piece of plastic by peeling it off.
Using a fork or tip of a knife pierce the top of the dough so you don’t get any doming during the cooking process.
This is also the point where you should add any toppings. I added a drizzle of olive oil and grated parmesan cheese (but did it at the end because I got preoccupied with Miss Maddy… won’t make that mistake again!).
Place a hand towel over the top of the crock pot and secure it using the lid. You want to make sure you pull the towel tight so it has no chance of touching the dough. Also, you could use a couple of folded paper towels in place of the hand towel if you wanted to.
Turn the crock pot to high and cook for 2 – 4 hours. Mine took exactly 3 1/2 hours, but I did use a slow cooker that DOES NOT tend to burn or have hot spots. As always, trust your nose. If it smells like it’s burning during the cooking process you should probably check it.
Once it is done IMMEDIATELY remove it from the crock pot to avoid over cooking the focaccia. Also, you may want to make sure you put it on a cooling rack instead of a plate or solid surface so it doesn’t get soggy on the bottom while it’s cooling.
This was extremely delicious and easy. We actually made a meal of it by serving it with heated up jarred marinara sauce. I cut it like breadsticks to make it a little easier for dipping.
I will definitely be doing this again. It would make a great accompaniment to any pasta dish and would be great to make if you want “breadsticks” to snack on during the ball game or get together.
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