By popular demand 😀 here is my new Bread Art Focaccia. Do you like it?
It’s a very simple drawing, so simple that even children can do it! (And I will never admit that I designed it this way just because I absolutely can’t draw! 🤭).
But the beauty of a simple drawing like this is that you can easily replicate it with your children (or grandchildren), and I’m sure you’ll have lots of fun.
And above all… I’m sure children will eat all the vegetables! 😍
I decided to call this second vegetable-decorated focaccia by its English name – Bread Art Focaccia – to remember the very first decorated focaccia I happened to see, three years ago, which left me speechless and inspired my first decorated focaccia.
The inspiring decoration was found in this article by Libreriamo, which spoke of a new trend, a new way of decorating bread and focaccia, started thanks to the artistic flair of an American baker, who decided to decorate her focaccias by recreating Van Gogh’s paintings with vegetables.
At the time, we were in the midst of the first lockdown, and I, in a moment of melancholy, decided to try my hand at it. It was supposed to be a simple test, a homemade way, since unfortunately we couldn’t leave the house, to distract myself from the sad thoughts of that period (now those moments seem distant, but how difficult they were!).
That first attempt at decorating a focaccia was almost therapeutic at the time. It turned out to be a creative and relaxing activity that helped me spend a peaceful afternoon. The drawing was very simple, with soft colors and made with what I had in the fridge, which was almost mandatory in a period when going shopping was not easy.
But above all, I never expected the success that the recipe had after publication, and still has three years later every time I share the photos on the Facebook page.
It’s something that always makes me very happy, so much so that the last time it made me want to try again.
As I was taking the vegetables out of the fridge, I was thinking about what drawing I could do that wasn’t a repeat of the previous floral design, and especially that was at least a little different from the countless spring focaccias or garden focaccias – all very beautiful by the way – that you can find online with a simple search.
And that’s how I got the idea to recreate the house that I had decorated a tart with last summer (which you can see inside this recipe). I made it for a special occasion, my brother’s new housewarming, and everyone loved it, in its simplicity.
Well then, are you ready to start preparing the dough?
Then while you wait for it to rise, take a look at my other decorations (edible and not 😊):
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Very economical
- Rest time: 8 Hours
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Portions: 6 pieces
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Creative
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients
NOTE: These ingredients yield a focaccia for one baking tray (the oven tray, to be precise), but I divided it into two smaller trays (9.8×11.8 in) (because I baked them in the mini oven). I ‘drew’ the house only on one of the two focaccias, but the design is easily reproducible even on a larger focaccia. 😊
- 17.64 oz all-purpose flour
- 5.29 oz liquid sourdough starter (licoli)
- 5.29 oz milk kefir (or yogurt)
- 5.64 oz water
- 2 tbsps extra virgin olive oil
- to taste mixed vegetables (two-colored carrots, onion, fennel stalks and fronds, cherry tomatoes, olives)
- to taste herbs
- to taste poppy seeds
Tools
- Oven Sfornatutto
Steps
First, prepare the focaccia dough:
Pour the flour, licoli, water, and one tablespoon of oil into the bowl of a stand mixer and knead until the dough is well-combined.
Let it rise until it doubles in size (about 8 hours), then roll out the dough on a baking tray lined with parchment paper (or as I did on two smaller trays).
👉 This dough is very similar to my simple dough with licoli that I usually use for making pan pizza. But you can choose any dough you like; the decoration doesn’t require a specific dough.
👉 If you’re not used to using sourdough, here are a couple of alternative recipes: pizza dough (with yeast) or instant focaccia (for those who don’t like long rises).
Grease the surface of the dough with a tablespoon of oil (brush it on, or distribute the oil with your fingertips).
How to proceed with the decoration: the process is really very simple.
Prepare the vegetables.
Decide which vegetables to use, also based on what’s available in the fridge, and cut them into sticks and slices to have all the pieces you need on hand.
I cut fennel stalks into sticks, which I used to draw the house. They can be replaced with celery, especially if you intend to make a larger house.
The carrot slices for the roof were cut in half.
Then I cut carrot squares (orange and purple) for the windows, doors, and chimney.
With smaller pieces (coarsely chopped) of purple carrot, orange carrot, and onion, I created the gravel for the ground, completed with poppy seeds.
The trees are two fennel stalks with fronds. They can be composed with smaller fronds, or use the thin stalks, with leaves, of a celery heart.
For the seagulls, I used olive slices, and two cherry tomato slices for the butterflies (with a purple carrot body).
Finally, I sprinkled oregano in the sky and a mix of herbs for bruschetta on the house facades.
Bake in the oven at 428°F for 25-30 minutes.
As you can see from the post-baking photo, all the carrots shrunk while cooking. 😀 Therefore, for the roof decoration, it might be useful to leave the carrot slices whole and overlap them (like a slate roof 😊 it’s worth a try!).
Finally, here’s a photo where you can also see the second undecorated focaccia. It does lose a little poor thing, I should have decorated it too! 😀
Try making your own Bread Art Focaccia too! Then please send me the photos, I’m curious to see them! 🤩
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As always, you can find me on my Facebook page, on my Pinterest boards, in my two groups: Catia’s group, in the kitchen and beyond and Exactly what I was looking for! and if you like… subscribe to my Newsletter.
