Pesto And Vine Tomato Schiacciata

  1. Mix the sugar and yeast into the tepid water (in a jug or bowl) and leave for 10 minutes
  2. In a large bowl, measure out your flour and make a well in the middle
  3. Tip the water/sugar/yeast into the well you just made, plus add the 1.25 tablespoons of olive oil
  4. Mix together into a rough shaggy mess, cover with a linen cloth (or whatever you normally use) and leave for 10 minutes (to give the gluten development a kick start and make kneading easier)
  5. Tip the messy dough out and knead for about 8 minutes. The dough is a little sticky but will become smooth and glossy with kneading
  6. Spread a little extra oil on your hands and then lubricate the bowl. Round the ball of dough off using your oiled hands and place it in the bowl, recovering it
  7. Leave the dough to proof for about 30 minutes in a warm (but not hot) area
  8. When risen (to not quite doubled in size), tip the dough ball back out on to your working surface
  9. Knock the air bubbles out of the dough with a brief knead
  10. Sprinkle some flour onto the base of a large baking sheet/tray and put your oven on to 220C fan/240C conventional/470 F
  11. On your work surface, press out the dough as thinly as you can - you should be able to stretch it to about 28 cm (11-12 inches) in width and almost twice as long - a large oval. (You can use a rolling pin for this process)
  12. Dot over about 5 teaspoonfuls of the pesto onto ONE HALF only of the rolled/pressed out dough
  13. Fold the plain half of the dough over on itself to sandwich the pesto in between
  14. Roll or press out the dough to a neat oval shape, enlarging it slightly - the schiacciata should take up about 80% of a large baking tray: about 28cm/11" width, 38cm/18" in length,
  15. Lift it up carefully and place on the baking tray
  16. Pinch the edges together on the three sides (other than the folded edge) and leave to proof (covered with a cloth again) for 20 - 30 minutes
  17. After it's risen again, use your finger tips to make indentations across the top for the oil
  18. Drizzle some olive oil all over the dough, moving it about with your fingers if there are conspicuously dry patches anywhere
  19. Dot several more teaspoonfuls of the pesto over the top of the dough, dispersing it about a little with the back of the spoon (but don't 'spread' it out as you did with the first layer)
  20. Sprinkle or grind the sea salt all over the dough (remember there is none in the dough itself so you do need a little more than just a light seasoning)
  21. After 10 minutes, turn the oven down to 190 C fan / 210 C conventional/400F and bake for a further 12 - 15 minutes.rnWhen baked, transfer to a wire rack to cool

white bread, olive oil, water, yeast, sugar, extra virgin olive oil, salt, packet, red pesto

Taken from food52.com/recipes/81380-pesto-and-vine-tomato-schiacciata (may not work)

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