Pesto focaccia

Ingredients
For the dough
280 g of Type 0 Manitoba flour
280 g of 100% Italian Wheat – type 0 flour
490 ml of water
1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
2 g of dry yeast
12 g of salt

For the pesto
50 g of fresh basil
20 g of pine nuts
1 clove of garlic
40 ml of extra virgin olive oil
1 ice cube
Salt to taste
Extra virgin olive oil as needed for the baking sheet and the surface of the focaccia

Procedure

For this recipe, we recommend starting to prepare the dough the night before.

For the pesto
To make the pesto, combine the basil, pine nuts, extra virgin olive oil, peeled garlic clove, ice cube, and salt in a tall, narrow glass. Then blend everything for a few minutes with an immersion blender until you have a smooth, creamy consistency.

For the dough
Pour the lukewarm water into a large bowl, add the dry yeast, and stir well to dissolve it. Next, add the extra virgin olive oil, the flours, and the salt, then mix quickly with a wooden spoon until the water has absorbed all the flour: you should end up with a rough, sticky dough. Now cover it with a clean cloth and let it rest for 30 minutes at room temperature. After half an hour, wet your fingertips with water and take the dough, folding it inward four times while gradually rotating the bowl a quarter turn each time. Cover it again and let it rest for another 30 minutes, then repeat the process for three more rounds of folds, letting the dough rest for 30 minutes between each round. After the final round of folds, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rest in the refrigerator overnight. The next day, take the dough and perform another round of folds, then place it in a well-oiled 30-cm round baking pan, drizzle the surface with extra virgin olive oil, and let it rest, covered, for at least two hours—preferably in the oven (turned off but with the light on). After two hours, drizzle a little more oil over the surface of the dough and spread the previously prepared pesto evenly over it. Grease your fingertips and gently press the surface to create the classic “holes” of the focaccia. As you do this, spread the dough until it covers the entire surface of the baking sheet. Bake the focaccia in a convection oven at 200°C for about 20–25 minutes, or until the surface is golden brown. Enjoy the focaccia while it’s still warm.

In collaboration with Essenza Vegetale