Here we are with the second pumpkin recipe of this autumn: the pumpkin focaccia in the dough! Together we will prepare a savory leavened bread with pumpkin puree that will give flavor and taste to our sheet pan pizza! Don’t be scared, the leavening of this pumpkin dough is just 3 hours; you can possibly shorten it to 2 hours.
As anticipated, I had a nice big pumpkin this time and from this I made several recipes. The first is the pumpkin soup without potatoes that you can find on the blog because it is already published. Then this delicious and tasty focaccia and then, as soon as I have time to write the recipe, you will find the oven-baked pumpkin with almond flakes.
You will find these and all the other preparations of these years in the collection of Pumpkin Recipes! I recommend the pumpkin cream and speck roll because it is the most requested recipe during autumn and winter in my house. Then, don’t miss the pumpkin desserts: among these, you will find the pumpkin and cinnamon shortcrust pastry without butter and the pumpkin and carrot cake perfect for breakfast!
Below you will find all clickable links to be able to read the recipe you prefer. I remind you that I wait for you every morning in the group and on the Facebook fan page of Le Ricette di Bea with the Recipe of the Day! An unmissable appointment for the whole community to start the day with a sweet or savory treat!
Now let’s move on to the pumpkin focaccia recipe. Keep in mind the leavening time before deciding to make this pumpkin pizza and, above all, the preparation of the oven-baked pumpkin that we will reduce to puree before adding it to the focaccia dough itself. I invite you to watch the video recipe to better understand and comprehend every step that perhaps I didn’t manage to express or clarify well in writing.
- Difficulty: Very Easy
- Cost: Very Cheap
- Rest time: 3 Hours
- Preparation time: 20 Minutes
- Portions: 6 People
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Autumn, Winter
- Energy 507.74 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 100.35 (g) of which sugars 3.58 (g)
- Proteins 17.09 (g)
- Fat 6.23 (g) of which saturated 0.90 (g)of which unsaturated 1.74 (g)
- Fibers 11.28 (g)
- Sodium 457.99 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 265 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients for a pumpkin focaccia with a 11×15 inch pan
- 14 oz flour (classic 00)
- 14 oz Manitoba flour (with strength W500)
- 14 oz pumpkin
- 0.25 oz fresh yeast
- 1.5 cups water (maximum 1.7 cups)
- 1.35 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 0.25 oz salt
- A few sprigs thyme
- as needed mixed seeds
- 1 pinch paprika
- 1 pinch curry
- 1 pinch pepper
Variations on the ingredients list: if you don’t have fresh yeast in the fridge, you can use dry yeast; the dose is about 0.14 oz. If you don’t want to use thyme because maybe you don’t like it, you can replace it with the classic rosemary typical of focaccia. If you don’t like paprika or curry, or both, you can omit them in the preparation of the pumpkin puree.
Specification on the salt dose: choose fine salt for the dough, while coarse salt for seasoning the focaccia. In the dough we will use 0.2 oz of fine salt, while the remaining 0.07 oz will be coarse salt.
Tools to prepare pumpkin focaccia
- 1 Stand Mixer
- 1 Kneading Board
- 1 Kitchen Towel
- 1 Oven
- 1 Baking Pan
- 1 Scale
- 1 Spoon
- 1 Cutting Board
- 1 Knife
- 1 Fork
- 1 Parchment Paper
- 1 Baking Tray
Steps of the pumpkin focaccia recipe
As anticipated, the first thing to prepare is the pumpkin puree that we will add into the focaccia dough. So let’s start from here.
Let’s take the pumpkin, place it on a wooden cutting board and, with a sharp knife, cut a portion. We will obtain a nice piece of about 14 oz. Then cut into slices and then into cubes, not too big but not too small either. Consider that we are going to bake the pumpkin in the oven at 355-375°F with static mode for about 30-40 minutes, so that it will be easier to reduce it to puree with a fork. Place a sheet of parchment paper on a baking tray and transfer the pumpkin pieces onto it.
Sprinkle with salt, pepper, curry and paprika. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and bake for 30-40 minutes. Check during this time with the fork that the pumpkin softens to easily reduce it to puree without using a blender or other tools. It should remain firm and not creamy, to be clear. Let it cool at room temperature while we continue with the preparation of the pumpkin focaccia. Of course, turn off the oven, as we are now going to face the 3 hours of leavening.
Weigh all the ingredients needed to prepare the focaccia dough and place them on the work surface. Take the stand mixer and place it on the table or the chosen work surface. Pour a little water into the bowl which must be absolutely at room temperature. Crumble the fresh yeast and add the dose of extra virgin olive oil. With a spoon, add the pumpkin puree to the bowl and start the stand mixer.
While the machine is working, start adding the two flours. First the Manitoba flour, which will be used entirely for the dough, then followed by the classic flour. Please, both previously sifted. You should not use all of the 00 flour. We will need some flour to work the dough on the board, both to create the ball to leave to rise and to roll out the focaccia before transferring it to the pan to be then baked. During the mixing of the dough with the stand mixer, add the water gradually. Again, do not use it all; be careful not to make the dough too sticky and soft.
When the dough is well attached to the hook, we can transfer everything to the floured wooden board. Make some folds and create the ball. Place it in a slightly floured bowl and cover with a kitchen towel. Place to rise in a dry place where the dough will not undergo temperature fluctuations. If you prepare this recipe with the radiators on in the house, find a place away from them, so that the heat or cold fluctuation does not affect the leavening.
After 3 hours, or as indicated before, if you have less time at your disposal, even 2 hours and 30 minutes will be fine, we can proceed. Turn on the oven with static mode at 355-375°F. Take the rectangular pan and drizzle the bottom with extra virgin olive oil. Don’t be stingy because the focaccia will absorb the oil during cooking. My pan is 11×15 inches; if you don’t have one this big but have a smaller one, you can divide the dough into two parts using a dough scraper.
Sprinkle the kneading board and start stretching the dough with your hands. Leave the focaccia with a thickness of 0.5 to 1 inch. Transfer the pumpkin focaccia to the pan. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, sprinkle with coarse salt, place the thyme sprigs here and there and add the seed mix. We are ready for baking.
Bake the focaccia and let it cook for 30 minutes. With a spatula, check the bottom of the focaccia before turning off the oven and taking out the pumpkin pizza. Let it cool for a moment on the kitchen counter and then cut into medium-large squares to serve at the table the pumpkin focaccia.
All that is left is to wish you bon appétit and remind you that I look forward to seeing you every day here on my cooking blog with many easy, quick, and delicious recipes like this one!
Storage, tips and variations of the pumpkin focaccia recipe
Storage: we can store the focaccia in a container with a lid for a couple of days. We will then reheat it in a hot oven for a couple of minutes.
Extra tips: I have written many useful tips throughout the recipe text. However, I advise one more thing: do not keep the oven too high; a temperature above 375°F could dry out the dough too much, making the focaccia hard and not soft as it should be.
Variations: as written, you can vary ingredients like paprika, curry, and thyme. If you want to vary the type of flour, I recommend trying a cereal flour, with seeds or without, richer and tastier than classic flour. I would keep Manitoba flour with good leavening power, to provide the right boost for leavening.
