FOCACCIA PIZZA
During my pregnancy I became obsessed with bread, it was all I ever wanted to eat. I would eat whole loafs to myself, most times with lots of butter. It didn't help that our local grocery store here in Portland, New Seasons makes the most delicious fresh bread daily. My favorite bread is their focaccia bread and it is out of this world, a perfect mixture of oily and salty. The only problem was they make it at a certain time a day, it sells out fast, and is best eaten within 3 hours of being made. I was sick of perfectly timing my focaccia pick up because there were times I was so badly craving it and it would be SOLD OUT!!! So I took my insane craving and made it into a reality and better enough topped it with some of my favorite toppings and make it a pizza.
INGREDIENTS
Focaccia
1 envelope active dry yeast
1 teaspoon honey
2 tablespoons & 1 cup olive oil, plus more for bowl
2 teaspoons kosher salt
4 cups all-purpose flour, divided, plus more for surface
course salt
Pesto
almond pesto
2 garlic cloves
1/2 cup raw almonds
4 cups basil
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup finely grated parmesan
salt
freshly ground pepper
Toppings
prosciutto
arugula
olive oil for drizzling
1 tablespoon fresh squeeze lemon juice
kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper
PREPARATION
Combine yeast, honey and 1½ cups warm water (105–110°) in a large bowl; let stand until yeast starts to foam, about 10 minutes.
Mix in 2 tablespoons olive oil, salt, and slowly adding in flour mixing until incorporated and a shaggy dough forms.
Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead until soft, smooth and elastic, 10–12 minutes. Place dough in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise for 2 hours.
Coat a rimmed 11 x 17 inch baking sheet with ½ cup oil. Gently and gradually stretch dough until it reaches the edges of the baking sheet. Spread your fingers to make little holes all the way through the dough. Drizzle dough with the remaining 1/2 cup of oil and sprinkle with course salt.
On a baking sheet tightly cover dough with plastic wrap and let sit in a warm place until the dough is puffed and full of air bubbles, 30-40 minutes. Preheat oven to 425°
Meanwhile, make the pesto. Place the garlic and almonds into a food processor and pulse several times.
Add the basil, parmesan and continue to pulse.
While the food processor is running, slowly add the olive oil in a steady small stream. Stir in some salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.
Bake until golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from the oven, spread the pesto evenly all over the focaccia, and put back in the oven for 5 minutes. Top with prosciutto and arugula, and drizzle with olive oil and lemon juice. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cut, serve, and try not to eat it all in one sitting like I did!
Enjoy!