3-Cheese and Pesto Focaccia Pizza

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

For the dough:

Let yeast develop in the cup of water with a dollop of molasses for 5 to 15 minutes. Foam should be between half to double the height of the water, which means it’s better to use at least a 2-cup measuring cup.

In a bowl, sift or aerate the flour with a fork. Add salt. Add oregano. I recommend getting dried, crushed oregano from the spice aisle and then crushing it even further by rubbing it between your hands before thoroughly mixing it in with the flour. Pour yeast mixture and olive oil into the flour. Fold to combine until a dough ball is formed. Add additional warm water a teaspoon at a time if the dough is not fully coming together.

Knead dough on a floured surface. Let dough ball sit in a bowl, covered by a tea towel for 15 to 20 minutes. Then remove the dough to a floured surface and form dough into a crust. You may need to use a floured rolling pin to get it to fully stretch. It will almost cover a 9 x 13” baking sheet. Let sit covered for another 15 to 20 minutes.

For the pesto:

In a food processor with a cutting blade, finely chop the garlic. Add cheese next and process until you have tiny, tiny chunks and you can’t distinguish the cheese from the garlic. Repeat the process with the walnuts. Take the food processor lid off and sprinkle with sea salt. Add in basil at this point. Tightly replace food processor lid. Run until mixture is a green goop that is balling up as the blades turn. Stream olive oil through the lid hole while the food processor is running. Stop when your preferred consistency is reached. As a pizza “sauce,” it’s better if the pesto is thick, but easily spreadable.

Topping the pizza:

I prefer to shred my own cheese. As I use only about a half wedge of Parmiggiano-Reggiano/Parmesan in the pesto, I use the remaining half of the wedge for the pizza topping, using the small round holes on my shredding tower. I use the large round holes on the tower for the mozzarella. Mix these thoroughly.

Spread the pesto evenly over the pizza dough. Evenly portion out pinches of the goat cheese over the pesto. Cover the goat cheese and pesto with the mozzarella and Parmiggiano-Reggiano/Parmesan mixture.

Bake for approximately 17 to 20 minutes depending on your oven. The inner part of the cheese should be lightly browned.