Savoury Pumpkin Focaccia with Pesto

Name: Savoury Pumpkin Focaccia with Pesto
Yield: Serves 4–6
Ingredients: 1 x 7 g (1¼ oz) sachet of fast-action dried yeast; 500 ml (17 fl oz/2 cups) lukewarm water; salt and pepper, to taste; 60 g (2 oz) rocket (arugula), plus extra to serve (optional); handful of thyme sprigs; 60 ml (2 fl oz/¼ cup) olive oil; 60 g (2 oz) pumpkin seeds; zest and juice of 1 lemon; 600 g (1 lb 5 oz) plain (all-purpose) flour; 1 yellow onion, very thinly sliced; 1 small squash or pumpkin, very thinly sliced; 2 tablespoons olive oil, plus extra for drizzling; pinch of salt; 1 tablespoon sugar

Preparation info

Serves
4–6

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

Celebrate

By Bettina Campolucci Bordi

Published 2021

About

I wanted to find a way to make good use of all the Halloween pumpkin we tend to buy and only use for decoration. This bread looks stunning with the sliced pumpkin on top for decoration.

Ingredients

500 ml (17 fl oz/2 cups) lukewarm water
1 x 7

Starter
Vegan

Method

Add the water, yeast, sugar and salt to a bowl and stir well until everything is dissolved. (Make sure the water is lukewarm and not boiling hot.)

Once dissolved, add the flour and combine well with a spoon or dough whisk to form a nice dough. Scrape any excess dough from the sides of the bowl, then add some olive oil to the sides (to prevent the focaccia sticking when it rises).