Let’s Make Colorful Garden Focaccia!

March 20, 2021. First day of Spring. Colorful Garden Focaccia.

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It was a beautiful day and I wanted to make something colorful and happy to welcome the first day of spring. Since I have been making all these King Arthur’s Extraordinary Bread recipes, I thought that a Garden Focaccia would be fun!

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The dough base recipe is from King Arthur Baking, and the design was something unplanned, that I just created off the top of my head. Making this is relatively straightforward and easy – no fancy ingredients or techniques. First I made the focaccia – a yummy chewy flatbread, and then I rummaged around my fridge and used the veggies I had at hand – bell peppers, green onions and arugula – to decorate the top. I sliced the peppers thinly to create the flower shape I had in mind.

Let’s get baking!

Ingredients to Make Colorful Garden Focaccia

Focaccia Base
Starter
1 cup (120g) Bread Flour (high protein flour)
1/3 cup (60g) Potato Flour or Potato Flakes
1 tsp active dry yeast
1¼ cup (283g) water
Dough
2 to 2¼ cups (240 to 260g) Bread Flour
1½ tsp (9g) salt
2 Tbsp. Olive Oil, and more for greasing the pan

Focaccia Topping
1 yellow bell pepper, sliced thinly
1 orange bell pepper, sliced thinly
1/2 red bell pepper, sliced thinly
1 green onion, scallion
handful of arugula
black and white sesame seeds
dried cilantro leaves
dried red pepper flakes
salt and pepper to taste

I would recommend using a stand mixer for this, however, you can also knead by hand, or use your bread machine to make the dough. You will also need a large rimmed baking or cookie sheet (half-sheet size) to assemble and bake the focaccia.

Making Focaccia Dough

Start by making the starter. In a large bowl, combine thoroughly all the ingredients listed for the starter. Cover and let it rest for 60 minutes. In your stand mixing bowl, add in the bread flour and salt. Whisk to combine. Next, add in the starter mixture and olive oil. Using the dough hook attachment, mix and knead the dough for about 8 to 10 minutes until the dough is shiny and elastic. When done, place in a lightly greased bowl, cover and let it rise for about 90 minutes in a warm place.

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While the dough is proofing, prepare the veggies. Wash and dry the veggies thoroughly. Slice the peppers thinly, preferably into long thin spears/triangles. These will be used as petals for the flowers.

Decorating and Making Colorful Garden Focaccia

When the dough is ready, spread 1 to 2 tablespoon of olive oil on the baking sheet and turn the dough into the sheet. Use your hands to pat the dough flat and push it to the edges of the baking sheet. When flat, gently push the tips of your fingers into the dough to create dimples on the surface. Drizzle a bit of olive oil on top of the dough.
Start assembling the topping. There is no right or wrong way to do this. Simply let your creativity take over and enjoy yourself.

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Making the Colorful Garden

To recreate the pattern I made, start by placing down the 3 “flowers” onto the dough. To do this, press each piece of veggie lightly into the dough. Begin with the flower petals – first yellow peppers. then the orange and red. Next, create the flower stems with green onions. Then, add the flower leaves with green arugula. For the details, use black sesame for the centers of the 2 large flowers. Cut up the remaining peppers into small pieces and randomly arrange them in the open spaces. Then, add the flower leaves with green arugula. For flavor, sprinkle dried cilantro on the entire focaccia. The last ingredients are a sprinkling of salt and pepper to taste. When done, cover and let it rest for another 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 400°F.

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Baking Colorful Garden Focaccia

Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes or more, or until the crust is golden brown.

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Notes:

Uneaten focaccia can be stored in airtight container for a few days. For longer periods, freeze.

As I was making this recipe, I was curious to see if there were other veggies that would be tasty when roasted. When I roast vegetables, I usually crank up my oven to 400F and toss whatever veggies I have in olive oil and season with salt and pepper, and sometimes herbs (rosemary, thyme, basil) and spices (turmeric, coriander, fennel). They usually turn out delish. I found these posts that I thought was worth sharing. Making roasted veggies is really as simple as that.

https://minimalistbaker.com/how-to-roast-vegetables/

https://tastesbetterfromscratch.com/roasted-vegetables/

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