Fall Themed Focaccia Bread

A fall themed focaccia bread, perfect for dinner parties or a casual Sunday. It turned out so well, I wanted to share with you! My only tip is to make sure the focaccia is cooked under the pumpkin before you take it out.

This year we grew a pumpkin arch in our garden, photo below. It was magical! I have been baking up a storm making soups and pies with the pumpkins. I decided to try adding pumpkin to a seasonal focaccia design and it looked adorable. My favourite part is the sage top!

How to Decorate

There’s so many designs to play around with on top of focaccia bread using edible flowers, vegetables and herbs. You can use fresh or dried herbs. I often see flower designs made with cherry tomatoes and the stems with green onions. I’ve even seen onion and peppers to look like toadstools. Edible flowers like pansies, nasturtiums or calendula give it a fall floral vibe. Have fun with it, you can even add cheeses for a gourmet taste or jalapenos for heat. Use what is in season in your growing zone.

Grow Your Own Herbs

I want to inspire you to grow your own herbs! Herbs can be grown in containers and some in part shade. Most herbs are perennials so they come back year after year making it a one time investment. Herbs we find at the grocery stores are often sprayed or in plastic containers. If you’ve been thinking about gardening, start with herbs! We grow sage as we love to dry + cook with it. We also grow thyme, rosemary, oregano, basil and cilantro which are key herbs for focaccia toppings.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups lukewarm water

• 1 tablespoon sugar

• 1 tsp (1 package) of active dry yeast

• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil (additional for bowl + pan)

• 2 teaspoons sea salt (1 tsp for top)

• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (some used for rolling out)

• Mini pumpkin or squash to decorate

• 3 sprigs of rosemary

• 4-5 sage leaves

• 5-6 nasturtium flowers

• 2 sprigs of thyme

Instructions:

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine lukewarm water, sugar and yeast and let sit for 5-10 minutes

2. Stir the mixture and add salt, 1/4 cup of olive oil, and 3 cups of flour. Stir and turn dough onto a floured surface. Knead for approximately 5 minutes, until the dough looks smooth and stretchy. Add flour as needed.

3. Coat a large bowl with olive oil and add the dough (turn over to coat with oil) and place a clean dish towel on top and wait 1 hour.

4. Punch the dough down to deflate

5. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and oil a baking pan or dish with 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil.

6. Stretch the dough out with your hands to fit the baking pan, cover again with the dish towel and let it rise again until about 30 minutes.

7. Poke multiple holes with your fingertips into the surface of the dough. Drizzle the top of the dough with oil olive then sprinkle 1 tsp of salt. Decorate with rosemary, sage, nasturtiums and pumpkin. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.

8. Let cool and enjoy!

If you make this recipe, I’d love to see — tag me on Instagram Stories @thepurposefulyou! If you’re growing pumpkins next year- watch my YouTube video on how we grew our pumpkin arch- WATCH HERE.

Stay tuned for more recipes, and in the meantime click here to see more garden recipes and tips! Thanks for being here.