Scaccia Rolls with Spinach Ricotta Pesto

I wanted to make a muffin sized portion of the scaccia bread with some different fillings.

Ingredients:

Dough:

• 16 ounces of sourdough starter (or 8 ounces of water, 8 ounces of flour, and 1/2 teaspoon of yeast) 
• 1/4 cup warm water
  
• 2 teaspoons instant yeast
• 2 tablespoons (24 g) extra virgin olive oil
• 1 cup (120 g) bread flour
• 1 cup (120 g) semolina flour
• 2 teaspoons salt

Filling:

• 16 ounces (454g) mozzarella cheese, shredded (split evenly nto two bowls)
  
• ~ 72 pepperoni slices (6 ounces?)  (split evenly into two piles)
  
• 2 or so large onions, carmelized
• two garlic heads, roasted (or 2 teaspoons granulated)
• spinach rioctta pesto
  
• 16 ounces ricotta or cottage cheese (drain cottage cheese over paper towel in a colander)
  
• 8 ounces or so fresh spinach (I used half spinach, and half diced kale)
  
• 1 teaspoon each oregano and parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  
• 8 to 10 leaves fresh basil (or 2 teaspoons dried)
  

Instructions:

1. Weigh your flour and other ingredients.
2. Place sourdough starter, water, yeast and oil in bowl of bread machine, Add in flour and salt.
3. Let bread machine mix dough, and proof the dough through the dough cycle.
4. While the dough is rising, carmelize the onion. (What I did:
   
• Cut the onions in 1/4" slices
• Saute in a heavy pan on medium heat, adding 1 tablespoon of oil when they start to brown
• Keep stirring until soft and brown, and add about 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt.)
5.  Roast the garlic. (What I did:
   
• Slice the pointed top of two medium garlic heads 
• Put in small microwave save dish, pour in 2 to 4 tablespoons of water beside garlics
• Pout 1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil on cut cloves
  
• Heat in microwave oven  at 50% power, check for softness,  scooping oil over garlic
• Heat for another 4 minutes, scooping oil over garlic, and keep heating and re-oiling every 30 seconds or so until soft (maybe 2 more minutes?)
• Let sit aside to cool.)
   
  
6. Make up the spinach ricotto pesto: Saute the spinach for a minute or so to soften in the leftover oil from roasting the garlic, Let the spinach cool.
7. Squish the garlic out of the roasted heads, discarding the skins
8. Add the ricotta and garlic to a food process, whirr until smooth, scraping down sides
9. Add the cooled spinach, basil, and the rest of the spices, whirr until well mixed
   
10. Toward the end of the dough’s rise, preheat the oven to 425°F. 
11. Spray the wells  of two 12 well cupcake pans with cooking spray. (Or line with cupcake papwers, and spray lightly with cooking spray.)
     
    
12. Built the scaccia rolls: Divide the dough into two even pieces.
13. Place one chunk of dough on a greased and kightly floured work surface about 24” x 30” in area.
14. Roll the dough into a very thin rectangle as close to 18" x 24” as you can make it. (It will be thin enough to see through it in places. If the dough resists stretching, cover it and let it rest for 10 minutes or so, to relax.) 




15.  Thinly spread half of the spinach pesto sauce in the middle of the dough. Add 1/3 of one portion of the cheese.
    
16. Fold the two un-sauced sections over the center sauced area, overlapping them slightly where they meet.
    

    

17. Spread the carmelized onions evenly over the center sections and sprinkle with 2/3 of the remaining cheese. (Picture is from my previous scaccia )
    
    
    
    
18. Fold the two untopped sections over the carmelized onions in the center, meeting the edges in the center. As needed, gently roll the dough into a 12" tall section,
    
19. Spread one portion of the pepperoni on the left half of the dough, and top with the remaining cheese.
    
20. Fold the right section over the left section, then gently roll into a log. With a sharp knife, slice into 12 pieces about 1"inch wide.
    
    
     
21. Transfer each pieace into a well of the prepared cupcake pan. You will have to hold it together to get in in the wells.  Optionally, let the rolls proof for 30 to 40 minutes before baking while you make up the second batch. (I let the second pan proof for 30 minutes before baking, and probably will do that next time.)
    
22. Bake one pan of the mini scaccias for 20 minutes, until the top is quite brown and a digital thermometer inserted into the center of the loaf reads about 190°F or higher.
    
23. Let the pan cool on a rack for a few minutes, then remove each scaccia to cool on a wire rack.
    
24. Store leftover scaccia rolls, well wrapped, in the refrigerator. Toast slices or reheat to serve.
 

Carole's Notes:

We liked this! I might use a simpler cheese and sauce mixture next time.

Here is an interior view of a roll:



The dough recipe is lightly adapted from https://carolelikesroundfood.blogspot.com/2021/03/scaccia.html and from https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/recipes/scaccia-recipe

(The spinach ricotta pesto is my own recipe.)