Garden Focaccia

Garden Focaccia is an easy and delicious bread to make with your kids. It will get them engaged in the baking process and they’ll have so much fun designing their “garden” and eating their veggies!

My kids had so much fun designing their “garden” and decorating the focaccia. My daughter was thrilled to turn our veggies into a beautiful garden! And I was shocked when my son asked for another serving of mushrooms and onions!

What is a garden focaccia

Focaccia is a flat oven-baked Italian yeast bread. It is flavored with olive oil and herbs and can be topped with vegetables. It’s similar to garlic bread or pizza dough (and smells a lot like it when it’s baking) and is often served as a snack or appetizer, though my kids would argue it’s a meal in itself. My kids and I like to eat it hot and dip it in marinara sauce. There are many different variations, but we used an easy and common recipe using rosemary and thyme, but you can use any herbs you prefer!

List of Ingredients for Garden Focaccia

• Olive Oil
• Garlic
• Dried Thyme
• Fresh Rosemary
• Dry Active Yeast
• Honey (or sugar)
• All-Purpose White Flour
• Salt
• Pepper
• Green Onions
• Red Onion
• Yellow Pepper
• Rosemary Sprigs
• Mushrooms

Making the Bread dough for the Garden Focaccia

• Infuse olive oil with herbs – In a cast-iron skillet, or other heavy bottomed skillet, combine 1/2 cup olive oil, 2-3 minced cloves of garlic, 1 tablespoon of minced rosemary, 1 teaspoon of dry thyme, and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper. Cook on low heat for about 5 minutes, or until it becomes very aromatic.

• Activate yeast – As your olive oil and herb mixture is heating, combine 1 cup of warm water, 2 and 1/4 teaspoons of active dry yeast (or one packet), and 1/4 teaspoon of honey (or 1 teaspoon of sugar) in a large bowl. Stir to combine and then let it sit for about 5 minutes or until it begins to look foamy.
• Mix bread dough together – Once your yeast has been activated and begins to foam in the water and honey mixture, add 1 cup of all-purpose white flour and 1/4 cup of the infused olive oil mixture. Stir a few times until combined. It should be rather sticky. Let it sit for about 5 minutes, or until it starts to look bubbly.

• Finish making the bread dough – Stir in the remaining 1 and 1/2 cups of flour and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Stir until the dough comes together. Transfer to a standing mixer. Attach the bread hook and knead on low speed for about 15 minutes, or until the dough is soft and smooth.
• Let dough rise – Transfer the small ball of dough to a well-oiled bowl. Cover with plastic wrap, place somewhere warm, and leave for about 1 hour, or until it doubles in size. As your dough is rising, start planning your “garden.”

Decorating your Garden Focaccia

• Prepare veggies – Rinse and dry the vegetables you are planning to use. Slice a few mushrooms, set aside. Pick out three or four nice looking sprigs of fresh Rosemary. Choose three of four whole green onions, with the roots in tact. Slice and peal a red onion, and choose a few whole coin-shaped slices to use. Cut a yellow pepper into one circular shape, and several thin triangle shapes.
• Plan your garden – I found it easier to arrange all the vegetables on a cutting board before putting them onto the bread. This helped me get a good visual of how much space I had. And I could change my mind and rearrange veggies as much as I needed to. Then once I had it arranged the way I liked, I just transferred it onto the bread, which I will explain below.

Baking your Garden Focaccia

• Prepare your baking sheet – You will want to use a half-sheet pan (18 in × 13 in (460 mm × 330 mm) with 1-in sides). Here is an example. Line it with parchment paper. On top of the parchment paper pour 2 tablespoons of the olive oil mixture and spread it out evenly.
• Transfer dough to baking sheet – Once the dough has risen to double its original size, transfer it to the baking sheet. Then, using your fingers and the palms of your hands, gently press the dough into the pan. Shape the dough into a rectangle. Then with your finger tips, dimple the dough all over. Finally, drizzle the top of the dough with the remaining olive oil mixture.

• Let dough rise – After you have your dough spread out in the pan, let it sit for about 20 minutes to fluff up a little bit.
• Decorate – You’ve already planned out your garden, so all you need to do is transfer the vegetables onto the bread dough. So, after your dough has risen in the pan for about 20 minutes, start transferring the vegetables onto it in the same arrangement you already planned out. Once your bread is decorated and resembles a garden, gently press the vegetables into the dough. Then, I like to sprinkle it all with a little sea salt before I bake.

• Bake – Preheat your oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. Bake at 450 degrees for 10 minutes. Then lower the temperature to 350 degrees and bake for an additional 15 minutes.
• Cool – Allow your garden focaccia to cool slightly, and then slice into several rectangle pieces and enjoy hot or warm. Dipping in marinara sauce is a tasty option too!

Garden Focaccia

Yield: 1

Prep Time: 2 hours

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 2 hours 25 minutes

Garden Focaccia is an easy and delicious bread to make with your kids. It will get them engaged in the baking process and they'll have so much fun designing their "garden" and eating their veggies!

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Ingredients

• Bread:
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 cup warm water
• 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 1/4 teaspoon honey (or 1 teaspoon of sugar)
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Garden design:
• 1 yellow pepper
• 3 green onions
• 3 mushrooms
• 3-4 sprigs of fresh rosemary
• 1 red onion

Instructions

1. In a cast-iron skillet, or another heavy bottomed skillet, combine 1/2 cup olive oil, 2-3 minced cloves of garlic, 1 tablespoon of minced fresh rosemary, 1 teaspoon of dry thyme, and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper. Cook on low heat for about 5 minutes, or until it becomes very aromatic.

2. As your olive oil and herb mixture is cooking, combine 1 cup of warm water, 2 and 1/4 teaspoons of active dry yeast, and 1/4 teaspoon of honey in a large bowl. Stir to combine and then let it sit for about 5 minutes or until it begins to look foamy.

3. Once your yeast and water mixture begins to foam, add 1 cup of all-purpose white flour and 1/4 cup of the infused olive oil mixture. Stir a few times until combined. It will be rather sticky. Let it sit for about 5 minutes, or until it starts to look bubbly.

4. Stir in the remaining 1 and 1/2 cups of flour and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Stir until the dough comes together. Transfer to a standing mixer. Attach the bread hook and knead on low for about 15 minutes, or until the dough is soft and smooth.

5. Transfer the small ball of dough to a clean, well-greased bowl. Cover with plastic wrap, place somewhere warm, and leave for about 1 hour, or until it doubles in size.

6. Prepare a half-sheet pan (18 in × 13 in (460 mm × 330 mm) with 1-in sides) by lining with parchment paper. Then drizzle 2 tablespoons of the olive oil mixture onto the parchment paper and and spread it out evenly.

7. Once the dough has risen to double its original size, transfer it to the prepared baking sheet. Using your fingers, press the dough into the pan. Shape the dough into a large rectangle. Then with your finger tips, press into the dough, to create dimples all over the top. Then, drizzle the top of the dough with the remaining olive oil mixture.

8. Begin preheating your oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.

9. After the dough is spread out evenly in the pan, let it sit for about 20 minutes to fluff up a little bit.

10. As your bread dough rises in the pan, start preparing the vegetables you will use for your garden design. First, slice a few mushrooms, set aside. Pick out three or four sprigs of fresh Rosemary. Choose three of four whole green onions, with the roots intact. Slice and peel a red onion, and choose a few whole coin-shaped slices to use. Cut a yellow pepper into one circular shape, and several thin triangle shapes.

11. Arrange all the vegetables on a cutting board before putting them onto the bread. This helps to get the design right before finalizing. After your bread dough has risen for 20 minutes, transfer the vegetables onto the dough. Once your bread is decorated and resembles a garden, gently press the vegetables into the dough. Sprinkle everything with a little salt before baking.

12. Bake at 450 degrees for 10 minutes. Then lower the temperature to 350 degrees and bake for an additional 15 minutes.

13. Allow your garden focaccia to cool slightly, and then slice into several rectangle slices and enjoy while still warm. Dipping in marinara sauce is a tasty option too!