For the first bread of the March 15th HBinFive Bread Braid, I made Focaccia using the Healthy Bread In Five Minutes Pesto & Pine Nut Bread dough. My avocado wasn’t quite ripe enough to make the Avocado bread yet so I started with this one.
This dough had such a wonderful flavor that I thought it deserved to be made into something different than just a freeform loaf. Pesto and pine nuts seemed like the perfect combination for Focaccia. I used jarred pesto this time, but as soon as my basil plant starts producing, I plan to make some fresh basil pesto. Can’t wait!
The dough is made with a mixture of white whole wheat flour, spelt flour and all-purpose flour. I used freshly-milled flour made from organic white winter wheat.
I’m really enjoying milling my own grains. The flavor is so much better and it’s better for you. I still use commercial all-purpose flour, but I try to mill my own whole wheat whenever possible. I used Arrowhead Mills Organic Spelt flour this time (it’s really good), however, I found some organic spelt grains at the farmer’s market so I hope to be milling my own spelt flour soon.
I didn’t add any additional spices or ingredients to the Focaccia dough – it didn’t need them. I just formed the dough into a ball, then spread it out into a rectangle.
Then, I dribbled olive oil over the top and dimpled it before letting it rest on the counter for 30 minutes. Just before baking, I added a little more olive oil and sprinkled some kosher salt and crushed black pepper on top.
Then, I baked it on the baking stone with the steam pan underneath for about 20 to 25 minutes.
Let me tell you, I was not disappointed! Oh my goodness! This dough is awesome! I’ll be making it again for sure.
I only used half of the dough for the Focaccia, so I decided to make a freeform loaf using the remainder. I almost wish I had made two Focaccias because my son and I really enjoyed it, but from the looks of the loaf, we’ll enjoy it as well.
We’re still snacking on the Focaccia so I didn’t want to cut the loaf yet. However, once I do, I’m sure it won’t last very long.
About the HBinFive Baking Group
The HBinFive Baking Group, started by Michelle of Big Black Dogs, is baking through all of the breads in the Healthy Bread in Five Minutes book. For more information on the HBinFive baking group, check out Michelle’s blog.
Oooh, I can’t wait to make this dough. I just love pesto and pine nuts! what a great idea to make it into a focaccia (thats what I ended up doing with the avocado guacamole dough…LOVED IT)
Thanks Danielle! I was wondering what I was going to do with the avocado guacamole dough.
I’ll be making this bread sometime in the next day or two, yours looks so inviting. I love the whole pine nuts.
Looks wonderful!!! Maybe I’ll make some soon….
Cristie and Nancy, I really enjoyed this bread. I look forward to hearing about what everyone else thinks about it.
I loved this bread. Your focaccia looks just the right heigth for a sandwich. I’m trying my avocado-guacamole bread as focaccia. Hope it turns out as well as yours.
This was a fun recipe to make and I loved the whole Pine Nuts in the bread!
Your focaccia and bread look delicious. I’m excited about trying this dough. (I mixed it up last night and it is currently waiting patiently in the fridge for me) Thanks for the inspiration!
Your focaccia looks fantastic – I am definitely going to make one out of this dough the next time I make this recipe! I didn’t add pine nuts to my recipe, but they look delicious in your bread!
What nice looking focaccia! The whole pine nuts were so pretty. Your loaf looked great too.
Great looking bread, I liked this dough a lot. Looking forward to milling more of my own grains, I just got some spelt berries as well, but have not tried them yet.