Fresh Baked Roasted Garlic Olive Oil Pesto Focaccia Bread (5 Easy Steps)
On a recent weekend errand run, I returned home hungry and eager to try the pesto focaccia bread I picked up from my local Costco. While the purchase was mostly inspired by my forgetting to eat breakfast earlier that morning, any buyer’s remorse quickly faded once I opened the packaging, and a waft of delicious pesto burst free from its plastic captivity.
One bite in and I was hooked. This bread is seriously good!
With dinner plans still up in the air, I knew I needed to find a way to incorporate the bread into a meal that could complement its flavor. Pasta with marinara seemed like the obvious choice. With my new focaccia-fueled energy, I was back out once more to gather the required ingredients.
When I got to the store, I suddenly had a thought—If I’m making pasta why shouldn’t I make my own fresh bread? For store-bought bread, the pesto focaccia was certainly good, but couldn’t I do better? I decided I needed to find out. Worst case scenario, I still had something to fall back on if it didn’t turn out.
A few hours and three dough iterations later, I finally had something I was convinced would come outright. To my delight, the fresh-baked pesto focaccia bread turned out amazing! With a little bit of tweaking to the recipe, I finally had something I could proudly say is a homemade version that is at least as good as the store-bought stuff, but even better that it's fresh!
This recipe is a great snack by itself, as a flavorful pizza crust, or alongside your favorite pasta dish!
Fresh Baked Roasted Garlic Olive Oil Pesto Focaccia Bread
Ingredients
Dough
- 3¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 2¼ tsp rapid rise yeast
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1½ cup warm water
- ¼ cup chopped rosemary
- 5 tbsp Roasted Garlic Flavored Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Pesto
- 2 cups fresh basil
- 2 cloves garlic
- ½ cup parmesan cheese
- 4 tbsp Roasted Garlic Flavored Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Instructions
- With a dough hook attachment in place, add flour, yeast, salt, and sugar to a stand mixer bowl. Run the mixer on low and slowly add warm water (115F) and 3 Tbsp olive oil. Increase mixer speed until the dough begins to full away from the sides of the bowl.
- Lightly grease a 13×9 inch pan and transfer the dough, pressing into all corners. Allow rising for one-half hour in a warm location.
- While the dough is rising, prep pesto in a food processor. Blend cheese, garlic cloves, and basil leaves. Slowly add 3-4 Tbsp of olive oil, transferring into a small bowl when done. Cover and set aside.
- Preheat oven to 375 F. Lightly grease the bottom of a wooden spoon handle and use poke holes throughout the dough. Drizzle any remaining olive oil before covering the entire surface with pesto sauce and top with rosemary.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes. Allow to cool before slicing.
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