Focaccia Bread Art - #BreadBakers

I have wanted to make focaccia bread art for a very long time but just never had the opportunity. When I offered to host this month's Bread Bakers and chose the theme "Flatbreads", I already knew what I wanted to make. It was going to be amazing. Now, what's that saying? Man plans and God laughs?

Do you know the absolute worst time to need a variety of colourful vegetables? No. Well, let me tell you. It's right after a hurricane has ravaged your island leaving most of the farms flattened so vegetables are scarce and hence EXPENSIVE. Tomatoes and sweet peppers are about US $10 per pound. O my heart. Cabbage? Unthinkable. Hopefully, we can get past this very soon. 

In any event, I pushed on and did something. I made this a few times. The first time, the focaccia was a little blah so for subsequent versions, I made an herb oil for use in and on the dough. That was a game changer and what I highly recommend. 

Focaccia Bread Art

Ingredients 

Sponge

1 cup flour 

1/2 cup water 

a pinch of instant yeast 

Herb Oil 

5 tablespoons olive oil 

Herbs of your choice (I used rosemary and 3 minced cloves of garlic)

Rest of the dough

2 cups flour 

1 1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon instant yeast (or 2 1/4 t of active dry yeast)

1/2 cup water

2 tablespoons herb oil from above 

Toppings (your choice)

Remaining herb oil 

Sweet peppers  (in different colours)

Parsley 

Rosemary 

Tomatoes

Zucchini

Escallion

Directions

Mix together the sponge ingredients and let sit at room temperature for 14 hours. 

Add the herbs and garlic to the olive oil and gently warm. You don't need it to be hot. I did this in a bain marie for just a couple minutes. Let the oil sit.

When the sponge is ready, add the flour, salt, yeast, water, and oil. Knead together to make a soft dough. Let rise at room temperature in an oiled bowl for about an hour until doubled. You can also proof the dough in the fridge at this point as well. The slower rise develops more flavour.

While the dough is rising, slice your vegetables and herbs to get them ready to quickly top your focaccia. 

When the dough is ready, lightly spray a baking sheet and also drizzle with a little olive oil. 

Gently pull and shape the dough into a rough rectangle or oval. It should be about 3/4" to 1" thick. Use your fingers to dimple the dough then drizzle with the remaining olive oil. Next, have fun and add your vegetables and herbs in any pattern you desire. Remember to use the herbs from your oil here as well.

Preheat oven to 425 F. 

Let the focaccia rise until puffy. 

Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until golden. 

Eat and enjoy. 

• Eggless Keto Naan from Sneha's Recipes
• Focaccia Bread Art from Passion Kneaded
• Magical Oreo Paratha from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Nan-e-Barbari from Ambrosia
• Rosemary Onion Socca - Chickpea Flatbread from Food Lust People Love
• Sourdough Pizza Bianca from Karen's Kitchen Stories

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on this home page.

We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.

Ceckerboard Bread - #BreadBakers

So the theme for August's Bread Bakers is "Picnic". You think long and hard and finally come up with the perfect idea. You feel witty. Checkerboard bread to mimic picnic blankets. Get it? Checkerboard? Picnic blanket. Perfect, right? You submit your idea and then immediately remember that picnic blankets are plaid not checkered. 

Doh!

Plaid or not, I'm glad I can participate in this month's Bread Bakers. Work won't let me be great so I'm missing out on a lot of baking but this month's Bread Bakers is super special. It's our tenth anniversary. I still remember how excited I was when Stacy first posted about this group. I had just begged my way into the original bundt baking group and was very excited that there was another group to join. 

If you're wrapping up your summer with a picnic or too, scroll down for some options for your spread.

Checkerboard Rolls 

Ingredients 

4 1/2 cups (540 grams) flour 

2 tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons instant yeast

1 1/2 teaspoon salt 

2 eggs

1 cup milk 

1 tablespoon oil 

2 to 4 tablespoons water 

2 tablespoons cocoa powder 

2 teaspoons water to make a paste with the cocoa

egg + tablespoon of water for an egg wash

Directions

Whisk the flour, sugar, yeast, and salt.  Add eggs, milk, and oil. Knead together. You want your dough to be soft and tacky so add a little of the water at a time to achieve this. My climate is extremely humid and I only used about 2 tablespoons. 

Knead the dough for a few minutes until it is almost smooth and then divide into two equal pieces. Put one piece aside and continue kneading the other until it is smooth, soft, and tacky. Place in a covered, oiled bowl. 

Next, add the cocoa paste to the other half of the dough. Thoroughly knead until the cocoa paste has been fully distributed. This is the hardest part for me. I always question my choices whenever I decide to colour dough. Will it blend? But don't worry, it will come together.

Put the chocolate dough into an oiled bowl and cover.  At this point, I prefer to put the dough in the fridge for a slow, cold rise. But you can let the dough rise at room temperature. 

When the dough has doubled, grease a 9" x 13" baking pan. 

Working with one piece of dough at a time, divide the dough into six equal pieces. Roll each piece into a smooth tight ball. Place alternating colours into the baking pan. 

Cover and let rise at room temperature until doubled and puffy. This could take about an hour.

With about 20 minutes left, preheat the oven to 375F. 

When the rolls are doubled and puffy, brush with egg wash and bake for 20 minutes or until the lighter coloured rolls are golden.

Cool and enjoy. 

• Baked Whole Wheat Kachoriby Cook with Renu
• Checkerboard Rollsby Passion Kneaded
• Cheddar and Herb Loafby Palatable Pastime
• Easy Sourdough French Country Breadby Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Eggless Fruit & Nut Chocolate Banana Loaf by Sneha's Recipe
• Garlic Herb Fan Rollsby A Messy Kitchen
• Hushpuppiesby A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Niçoise Picnic Squaresby Food Lust People Love
• Schiacciata all'Uva by Culinary Cam

Spicy Cheesy Breadsticks - #BreadBakers

I teach until 9:30 on Monday nights and sometimes I'm barely keeping up after class. Tonight was a little hard because I'm battling a headache. I was mentally planning the last couple hours of my Monday night (exercise? Connections? Duolingo?) when I noticed a notification on my phone. I'd seen it before but never really paid attention. But now, something said LOOK. It was the Facebook notification for our Spicy Bread with Peppers event being hosted by Radha.

Oh crap! I had completely forgotten that this was due tomorrow. I made my entry over a month ago (never happens) but just never had time to write up the post. And now, here we are on a night when I have no gas in the tank and a ridiculously early morning ahead. Well, let's do this! Forgive my mistakes, please. 

Be sure to scroll down to see all the peppery offerings today.

Spicy Cheesy Breadsticks

Ingredients

Dough 

3 1/2 cups flour 

1 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon instant yeast

1 teaspoon salt 

1 1/3 cups water

2 tablespoons oil 

Topping

2 tablespoons melted butter

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 tablespoon red pepper flakes

1 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded

1/4 cup parmesan cheese, shredded

Directions

Whisk together flour, sugar, yeast, and salt. Next, add water and oil and knead for about 7 minutes or until you have a soft tacky dough. Transfer the dough to a covered, oiled dough. I like to proof my dough overnight so I placed the dough in my fridge. However, you can proof at room temperature for about an hour or until doubled. 

Preheat the oven to 425F. 

Combine melted butter, garlic, and red pepper flakes. Set aside. 

Divide the dough into two. You will only need a half for this recipe. Or you could double the topping ingredients and make two sets of cheesy breadsticks. On a sheet of parchment, roll the dough out into a 9" x 13" rectangle. 

Brush the melted butter mixture across the dough and then sprinkle evenly with cheese. 

Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until golden. Slice into sticks and serve. 

• Garlic Chili Pepper Flatbread from Food Lust People Love
• Hatch Chili and Gouda Sourdough from A Messy Kitchen
• Jalapeño Popper Pizza from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Radish Stuffed Calzone from Sneha's Recipe
• Roasted Pepper and Onion Spelt Flour Bread from Cook with Renu
• Roasted Red Bell Pepper and Red Chili Sourdough from Zesty South Indian Kitchen
• Sambal Oelek Milk Bread Buns from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Spicy Cheesy Bread from Passion Kneaded

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on this home page.

We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.