focaccia with sea salt and basil pesto |

Preparation time: 45 min

Preheat your Oven at 425 °F

• Foccacia dough

  In the bowl of your stand mixer, combine all of the ingredients except for the oil.  Mix on low speed until you form a nice ball (around 3 minutes) then medium speed it up for another 3 minutes. Add the oil and then use med-high speed for one minute.

  Flour your hands to avoid sticking and remove the dough from the stand mixer, transfer to an oiled mixing bowl and cover with plastic wrap.  Leave at room temperature for 45 minutes, it should roughly double in size during this time.

  Take the dough, beat it down and form it back into a ball and then place it back in the mixing bowl covered with plastic wrap. It should double again in about 30-45 minutes.

• Garnishing and cooking

  Roll out dough using a rolling pin and form form a rectangle. Place it on a baking sheet, covered with parchment paper.

  Place the baking sheet in a warm and humid place (or cover with a plastic bag). We will let the breadsrise again before cooking (almost double its volume).

  Before baking, make little dents on the surface of the bread with your fingertips. Spread olive oil over the surface, sprinkle a sea salt all over.

  Bake for about 20 minutes, making sure you get a nice golden color.

• In a blender, mix all the ingredients while slowly adding the olive oil until smooth. Taste and season with salt and pepper