Focaccia with Zucchini, Blue Cheese and Pink Peppercorns
Ingredients
Dough
- 160 ml warm water
- 20 g fresh yeast* (or 7 g instant dried yeast)
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 225 g all-purpose flour + 1 tablespoon for the starter**
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
Toppings
- zucchini
- 250 g blue cheese (with blue mold)
- 1 tablespoon ground pink peppercorns
- chili pepper
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
Preparation
- Drop the yeast into warm water, add sugar, 1 tablespoon flour, a pinch of salt, mix and set aside for approximately 15 minutes until the starter foams well.
- Sift the flour into a bowl, add salt and all the yeast starter, mix with a spoon, pour in the olive oil and combine the ingredients into a soft ball. Knead the dough on a work surface for approximately 15 minutes until it's smooth, soft and elastic. Note: if you're kneading the dough with a mixer, such as with spiral dough hooks or a dough hook for yeast bread, add 4 tablespoons warm water to the dough, then the dough will be thinner and easier to knead, plus after baking it will be more delicate). It's worth kneading the dough by hand as well.
- Place the kneaded dough in a bowl, cover with a cloth and set aside to rise on the kitchen counter in a warm place for approximately 1.5 hours. The dough will increase in volume by about three times.
- Remove the risen dough from the bowl and knead briefly. Grease a baking pan approximately 20 x 30 cm with olive oil, line with dough and push it with your fingers, spreading it across the entire surface of the pan. Set aside for 1/2 hour.
- Slice the zucchini and cheese into slices. Grind the red pepper in a small bowl. Arrange cheese slices on the dough, sprinkle with pepper, add chopped chili pepper without seeds, cover with zucchini slices, season with salt and drizzle with olive oil. Set aside for 15 minutes. In the meantime, preheat the oven to 220 degrees C. Bake for 15 minutes.
Tips
* yeast should be removed from the refrigerator earlier to warm up.
** I used semolina flour, but any flour works, such as cake flour or yeast baking flour.