Focaccia art
Focaccia art is homemade focaccia with edible toppings such as tomatoes, olives and herbs arranged to form a focaccia garden or other design. It is served the same way as traditional focaccia as an appetiser with dipping oil or a side with pasta dishes, salads or soups.
Ingredients
For the dough
- 500 grams bread flour
- 2½ teaspoons easy bake yeast
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 360 millilitres water approx
To oil the tin
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
To decorate the focaccia
- 1½ tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- Plus toppings of your choice
Instructions
Prepare the focaccia dough
- Place the flour, salt and yeast in a large bowl and mix.
- Heat the water to hand hot and start by adding 350ml to the bowl with the other ingredients. The water will be at the correct temperature when it is roughly the temperature of a hot bath. This will be warm enough to activate the yeast but not too hot to kill it. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil.
- Mix with an electric mixer with dough hooks for around 3 to 4 minutes. The dough should be quite wet at this stage, if it isn't add a little more water. If you don't have an electric mixer, knead the dough by hand for around 10 minutes.
- Cover the bowl and leave in a warm place to prove for around an hour or until it has doubled in size.
- Tip the dough onto a floured board and fold over 3 to 4 times.
- Liberally oil the baking tin with olive oil. Place the dough in the tin and stretch it to fit. Leave to prove in a warm place for about 30 minutes to 1 hour until the dough has risen slightly.
- Make dimples in the top of the dough . The dough will be sticky so dip your finger in olive oil first so that it doesn't stick to the dough.
Decorate the focaccia
- Arrange the focaccia toppings on a board, re-arranging as needed until you have finalised your design. Transfer the arrangement to the top of the unbaked focaccia.
- Drizzle 1 to 1.5 tablespoons olive oil over the top of the dough allowing it to settle into the dimples. Sprinkle flakes of sea salt over the top of the dough. The dough will look very oily at this stage.
To bake the focaccia
- Bake at 200oC, 400oF, gas mark 6 for around 20 minutes or until it is golden on top and firm to the touch.
- Leave to cool in the tin for about 10 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool.
Notes
Note
The nutritional information includes topping the focaccia with extra virgin olive oil and sea salt only. It does not include any other focaccia toppings as these will vary depending on your choice of toppings.
Nutrition
Calories: 324kcalCarbohydrates: 47gProtein: 9gFat: 11gSaturated Fat: 2gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 7gSodium: 890mgPotassium: 99mgFiber: 3gSugar: 0.2gVitamin A: 1IUVitamin C: 0.01mgCalcium: 13mgIron: 1mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!