Nothing beats the taste and smell of homemade bread and this freshly-baked Pesto Focaccia bread tastes just amazing. The freshness of homemade pesto adds flavor and takes this bread to a whole new level.
Pesto is honestly the world’s most versatile spread. It can literally be eaten with almost any meal. In my house, if my kids want to enhance the flavor of any dish – they will just add pesto. As simple as that! Pesto Focaccia Bread
Personally, I just love the combination of the pesto’s coarse texture fused with the soft and smooth feel of bread.
This love for pesto led me to make a recipe for my kids who were at home for spring break. I made a bread that was infused with two things, pesto, and focaccia bread, creating the best pesto focaccia bread!
ARE YOU A PESTO LOVER?
If you are a huge pesto lover like me, then this focaccia bread is a MUST for you! It’s –
- super easy to make
- light
- airy
- delicious
- and bursting with flavor.
This bread will enchant anyone who eats even a little crumb of this bread. All in all, it’s the perfect bread that can be paired with any meal, from salads to pasta.
What Makes up this Pesto Focaccia Bread Recipe?
This Pesto focaccia bread is infused with the most delicious pesto flavor and tastes amazingly good. To maintain that fresh taste and flavor I have used homemade parsley pesto. But feel free to experiment with any pesto of your choice.
The base for this bread uses rapid rise yeast/instant yeast. Have no instant yeast on hand? No worries, use active dry yeast. But unlike instant yeast, active dry yeast cannot be added directly to the dough. It needs to be proofed/activated. Activating dry yeast is simple – please follow this link for more details.
Knead the dough and allow it to rest for 30-35 minutes or until it doubles in size. After the resting time spread the dough in a greased baking dish. Make indents and evenly spread pesto all over the top surface. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until lightly golden. Drizzle with oil and serve warm.
PLEASE DO NOT SKIP OLIVE OIL!
Olive oil is the heart of focaccia bread. It’s added while:
- kneading the dough
- finishing the dough
- drizzled on top when freshly out of the oven
- and is eaten with olive oil.
The day I baked this bread, my kids came sniffing out the scent just like a detective following a trail of clues. As soon as they laid their eyes on the freshly baked bread, they couldn’t contain their joy. I had to hold them back to at least let the bread cool down.
HIGHLIGHTS!
Its crisp round edges and its brown warm look will be enough to entice anyone into your cooking skills. So, if you want a healthy and hearty focaccia bread to eat, then you have to try this bread. My kids absolutely loved this bread and they devoured it down finishing an entire plate in a few minutes. Leftovers make a perfect bread for any meal of the day!
I encourage you to give this recipe a try and share your feedback! If you have questions related to this recipe, send me an email and I would be happy to answer them. We’d love to hear from you. 🙂
Craving for more, try these other options!
- Honey Wheat Brown Bread
- Easy Garlic Knots
- No Knead Tomato Basil Focaccia Bread
- One Hour Pull apart Garlic Rolls
Thanks for reading.💕
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Pesto Focaccia Bread
Ingredients
FOR THE BASE - BREAD
- 2 cups All purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons + 2 teaspoon Milk powder
- 2.25 teaspoon Rapid rise Yeast or Instant yeast
- 1.5 teaspoon Salt
- 2 tablespoons Olive oil
- 1 tablespoon Sugar
- 3/4 cup + 1 tablespoon Lukewarm water
- 3/4 cup Homemade Pesto
PARSLEY PESTO OR BASIL PESTO - MAKES 1 CUP
- 3 cups Fresh Parsley or Fresh Basil leaves
- 3/4 cup Oil
- 1/2 cup Pinenuts
- 2/3 cup Shredded Parmesan cheese
- 3 cloves of Garlic
- 1 teaspoon Freshly grounded Black peppercorns
- 1 teaspoon Lemon Juice
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Assemble ingredients.
- Combine everything in a big bowl. Pour lukewarm water into the dry ingredients and knead a soft pliable dough.
- If the dough is sticky add in an extra 1 tablespoon flour while it is mixing. Cover the bowl with a damp towel.
- Grease a baking bowl and press the dough into that bowl.
- Place it in a warm location and let it rise for 30-35 minutes, or until the dough has doubled in size.
- Preheat oven @350 degree F. Use your fingers or the back of a spoon to poke deep indents all over the dough.
- For pesto - combine all the ingredients listed under - 'Parsley pesto' in a food processor. Blend until smooth.
- Evenly brush pesto all over the top surface of the dough.
- Bake in a preheated oven (@350 degree F) for 18-20 minutes or until the crust is slightly golden in color.
- Remove from the oven.
- Drizzle with olive oil, slice, and serve warm.
Holly says
This focaccia bread looks amazing! I love the pesto topping too. Nothing beats homemade bread!
Ruchi says
Second that!
Homemade is the best. Thanks, Holly!
Jyothi (Jo) says
Focaccia is my favorite bread to bake, it’s so simple yet so delicious! Love the addition of pesto here. Looks sooo good!
Ruchi says
Thanks, Jyothi!
It really is so simple, and I pesto takes it to a whole new level.
Jagruti Dhanecha says
Love flavourful and fluffy focaccia, the addition of pesto in this recipe sounds so amazing.
Ruchi says
Thanks, Jagruti!
Carrie Ditton says
I love fresh baked bread but would have never thought to put pesto on it! Talking about adding an amazing aroma to an already great smell. I will be making this for my Thanksgiving appetizers!
Ruchi says
Pesto and bread really are such a great combo, blends beautifully and just perfect for parties.
Thanks, Carrie!
Julie says
I looooove homade focaccia! I have so much garlic scape pesto in my freezer from the summer – now I know what to do with it!
Ruchi says
Thanks, Julie,
Hope you like it!
Nicole says
Focaccia is one of my favorite breads! Thank you for teaching me how to make it.
Ruchi says
Pleasure is all mine.
Thanks, Nicole!
Charity says
I used to work at an Italian restaurant and one of my jobs was to roll out the focaccia. I’ve never tried making them at home, but I really should! This looks lovely!
Ruchi says
Yes, it’s so easy.
I hope you like it!
Sharon says
Pesto and focaccia are such a great pairing! This would be great with a nice pasta dinner any night of the week.
Ruchi says
Thanks, Sharon. It is indeed a perfect weeknight meal.
And if you serve it with a soup or salad, nothing beats that.
It’s a winner!
Amanda Mason says
What an absolutely genius recipe! My family would devour this loaf! I am going to print this off because I’m making this with my next pasta dinner. Beautiful and such a GREAT recipe!
Ruchi says
Thank you, Amanda! It’s my family fav too.
I hope you like it as much as we do.
Lauren says
Uniting two of my favorite things! Love pesto sauce, that sweet basil flavor with the spicy garlic is just so good! Focaccia Bread reminds me of my first real restaurant job. Don’t miss the job but I miss that bread! Lol
Ruchi says
Thanks, Lauren!
I love anything that cooks in the oven but baking bread is therapeutic especially when it combines two of your favorites.
Analida Braeger says
Yummy, glorious carbs. Especially focaccia. One of those breads that disappears hours after exiting the oven. Yep, guilty. When I try yours, I’ll be sure to save some for my family too.
Ruchi says
Thank you Analida. Agree, focaccia vanishes fast.
I hope you love it as much as we do!
Gloria says
Pesto focaccia…you have my attention. I LOVE making homemade bread. Nothing beats that aroma…and I can just imagine how good it would be with pesto added. I really need to give this recipe a try.
Ruchi says
Thanks, Gloria!
It’s unfailing yum!
Natalie says
Wow this focaccia looks sooo perfect. I love that pesto on top and texture is so soft and delicious looking. It’s mouth watering really. This will be great on Holiday table.
Ruchi says
It sure is.
The smell of fresh bread with pesto smells heavenly!
Thanks, Natalie!