Sunday, September 4, 2011

Pesto bread

Ok, we can all agree that bread is wonderful. But how can we make it more wonderful? Well, I guess we could top it, but then the toppings get all dried out. I know, we can fill it!

Great idea.

So, let's take a great bread recipe (foccacia) and instead of rolling it out flat and baking in rounds, we'll fill it with something really great: Pesto. And cheese of course. Lots, and lots of cheese.

I've been making this bread for a long time - about 16 years, since I started baking at Geppetto's in Anacortes. This was one of the flagship breads in the shop - and one of the most popular. It's not particularly difficult to make either.

It is difficult to write down my foccacia recipe - I make it largely by feel. I know what each stage should look and feel like, but I'll do my best to write down some basic measurements and you can go from there. I usually mix my dough by hand, but I'm trying to adapt some of my recipes to a mixer, to make it easier for others to make them.

2 cups warm water (not hot)
3 tsp active dry yeast (you buy in bulk, right?)
1 tsp salt
3T granulated white sugar
5-6 cups all purpose flour
8 oz shredded mozzarella cheese
8 oz shredded asiago cheese
8 oz basil pesto

1. Pour the water into the bowl of your stand mixer. (Install the paddle attachment)

2. Add the yeast, and mix on the lowest setting for about 10 seconds until the yeast is dissolved.

3. Let it rest for a minute or two, until the yeast has begun to activate.

4. Add the salt and sugar, mix on the lowest setting for about 20 seconds until dissolved.

5. Add 2.5-3 cups of flour and start mixing on the lowest setting. Watch the consistency of the batter that is formed - it should be like waffle batter - thick, but not so thick it forms a real dough yet. Start with 2.5 cups of flour, and add a little more at a time until you achieve this consistency. (See picture below)

6. Remove the paddle attachment, and replace with the dough hook.

7. Add another 2.5 cups of flour, and begin to knead on the lowest setting. Again, watch the consistency - the dough will initially stick to the bowl, but as you gradually knead in more flour, it will move from sticky to tacky, and will clean the bowl and form a smooth ball. Kneading should take 10-15 minutes total. (See picture below)

8. Lightly oil the bowl with olive oil, turn the dough ball in the oil to coat, and cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm place to rise until doubled (45 mins-1 hour)

9. When the dough has risen, pour it out onto a smooth surface (do not flour the countertop)

10. Roll the dough out into a large rectangle - about 20-24 inches wide, 10-12 inches long, 1/2 inch thick. Cut the dough in half. (See picture below)

11. Spread the pesto to cover each half of dough - make sure you leave about an inch on all sides, otherwise the oil in the pesto will not allow you to seal the seam of the finished loaf. Then you'll have melted cheese and pesto all over the inside of your oven. Trust me, you do not want this. Leave the inch.

12. Sprinkle half of the mozzarella on each loaf, followed by half the asiago.

13. Now, from the bottom edge nearest you, tightly roll each rectangle up to the top. Make sure it is tightly rolled, or all the pesto/cheese will melt down to the bottom of the loaf.

14. Here's the only real technique laden part of the process - firmly pinch to seal along the long edge and tuck the ends in and pull the dough over the top, then pinch to seal the ends. It takes some practice to get a good seal. Repeat with the other loaf.

15. Now here is where (this time only) I deviated from my normal routine. I recommend you skip to step 16. Normally, the finished loaf of this bread has a much higher concentration of pesto and cheese at the bottom of the loaf, and only trace amounts in the top of the loaf. This is not entirely due to gravity, as I discovered. To attempt to mitigate this, I tried to twist the loaf, much like I did the chocolate babka. I did two loaves - one twisted only one way, and another where I twisted, then folded the entire thing over and twisted again. In the end, it did not fix the bottom concentration problem, but it did produce two very unique looking loaves. I have realized that the concentration at the bottom is due to the rise of the bottom portion of dough being inhibited by the filling, so only the top layers of dough rise properly. Oh well, I'll just keep doing it the way I always have. On to step 16.

16. Place the loaves, seam side down, onto a baking sheet. Set them in a warm place to rise before baking (25-30 minutes). Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

17. Carefully place the loaves in the oven to bake - spray the bottom of the oven with water and gently close the door. Set a timer for 4 minutes.

18. After 4 minutes, spray the oven again. Reset the timer.

19. After 4 more minutes, spray the oven again, set the timer for 8 minutes.

20. Every 8 minutes, check the bread and rotate the pan. When the bread has turned golden brown on top and sounds hollow when tapped, remove from the oven. Cool on the pan for 10 minutes, then remove and finish cooling on a wire rack.

21. Slice and serve - it is amazing while still warm!

There are any number of variations on this - some really good fillings I've tried are sundried tomato pesto with prosciutto and mozzarella, and freshly chopped basil and tomatoes with chopped fresh mozzarella (like a self-contained bruschetta)

Happy Baking!


After the first flour addition
Kneading
The final dough ball
Oiled, ready to rise
The dough has risen.
Rolled and cut
Don't forget to leave the inch!
Cheese. Wonderful cheese.
All cheesed up
Rolled nice and tight
This is the loaf I twisted like babka
Ready for the last rise
Out of the oven
The final product

No comments:

Post a Comment