Easy Decorated Focaccia Bread
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Easy decorated focaccia has herbs & veggies on top to look like a flower garden. Five ingredients, no-knead, & I've included tips for lots of topping combinations.
Equipment
Ingredients
Focaccia Dough
- 2¼ teaspoons active dry yeast (one packet)
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1¾ cups warm water (between 105-115°F or 40-46°C)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 4 cups all purpose flour
- 1½ teaspoons salt (use fine sea salt or table salt)
Decoration
- 3-4 tablespoons olive oil
- Suggested Toppings: olives (patted dry), whole cherry or grape tomatoes, thinly sliced red onion, orange or red bell pepper sliced cross-wise, fresh thin rosemary sprigs or young asparagus for flower stems
Instructions
Day One: Mix and Ferment the Dough
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk the yeast, sugar, and warm water. Set aside for 10 minutes, until it’s foamy on top. (If it’s not foamy, your yeast might be expired.)
- Add the olive oil and stir it into the foamy yeast mixture.
- Add the flour and salt on top, and mix with a large wooden spoon or silicone spatula until it forms a wet dough.
- Cover the mixing bowl tightly with plastic wrap (to retain moisture so it doesn’t dry out) and let it rise at room temperature for 1-2 hours (to jump start fermentation).
- Transfer the bowl to the fridge for 12-16 hours (for slow, cold fermentation).
Day Two: Proof, Decorate, and Bake
- Generously grease a 9x13 inch baking dish with butter or olive oil.
- Dump the dough from your mixing bowl onto the center of the baking dish. Use your fingers to gently press the dough into all the edges and corners of the baking dish. Cover the dish with plastic wrap and let it rise at room temperature for 2-4 hours, until it’s puffed up and jiggly on top when you shake the baking dish.
- Preheat the oven to 450°F (230°C).
- Generously coat your fingers in olive oil (don’t skip this, or else the dough will stick all over your fingers!) Use your fingers to press dimples into the dough, pressing all the way to the bottom of the baking dish.
- Use fresh, thin rosemary sprigs, whole green onions, or young asparagus to form the flower stems. Then arrange the olives, whole cherry or grape tomatoes, sliced red onion, and sliced bell pepper to form the petals of different flowers. You can sprinkle a little cornstarch or chopped green onion in the center of each flower for more texture.
- Drizzle 3-4 tablespoons of olive oil over all the dough, herbs, and veggies.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the focaccia is golden brown and puffed up. Cool for at least 20 minutes before slicing.
Aim to have the dimples spread about 1 inch apart from each other, all over the surface of the dough. If you’ve made focaccia before, go for a little less dimpling on this one, so it doesn’t mess up your decorations.
Notes
- I recommend getting all your toppings washed, dried, sliced and arranged on your counter so you can easily & quickly transfer them to avoid having to move them around once they’ve been placed on the sticky dough.
- Arrange your flower petals tightly together, since they’ll spread out a bit as the bread expands in the oven.
- Since it’s topped with veggies, I store my cooled bread in the fridge, then reheat squares in the microwave or over the toaster.
Nutrition
Serving: 1 slice (of 12)Calories: 223kcalCarbohydrates: 34gProtein: 5gFat: 7gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 5gSodium: 294mgPotassium: 50mgFiber: 1gSugar: 2gVitamin A: 1IUVitamin C: 0.002mgCalcium: 8mgIron: 2mg
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