· By Italians Do it better
Focaccia con pesto e mozzarella
For 4-5 people:
- Focaccia, recipe below
- 1 jar Italians Do It Better pesto
- 2 balls of mozzarella
- Olive oil, pepper
- 1 portion of baker's yeast
- 1 tablespoon of honey
- 600ml lukewarm water
- 650g of classic flour (T55 or T65)
- 1 tablespoon of salt crystals
- 4 tablespoons of olive oil
- In a large salad bowl, combine the yeast, honey and lukewarm water, and let sit for 15 minutes. The mixture should have foamed.
- Add the flour and salt, and mix until the flour is roughly incorporated.
- In another salad bowl, add 3 tablespoons of olive oil (out of the 4 provided) and place the focaccia dough there, turning it 2-3 times so that it is well oiled. Cover and leave to cool until the next day. If you want to cook it the same day, leave it at room temperature for about 4 to 5 hours.
- Use the last spoonful of olive oil to generously oil a dish enough
- Place the focaccia there, and gently stretch it so that it takes the shape of the dish, leave to rise for another 1 hour at room temperature.
- Preheat the oven to 220°C. Using oiled hands again, push your fingers into the dough to the bottom of the dish to create the characteristic indentations of focaccia, and bake for 20/25 minutes, monitoring the cooking. When the focaccia is golden brown, remove from the oven and let cool.
- Preheat the oven in grill mode.
- Cut the focaccia into pieces, and cut them in half lengthwise to create mini sandwiches.
- Generously spread each bottom piece with Italians Do It Better pesto, place a few slices of mozzarella, generously pepper, and place on a baking tray.
- Place in the oven and cook until the mozzarella has melted, and when removed from the oven, close the focaccias with the top parts, and serve while still hot.