How to Make a Beautiful Holiday Focaccia

Today I’m sharing how to make a beautiful holiday focaccia. First, I make the dough using a quick and easy focaccia recipe that can be made in a few hours. Next, I turn the focaccia into food art by creating a holiday scene with garden vegetables and fresh herbs. Finally, I pop my holiday focaccia in the oven until golden brown and my masterpiece is ready to serve.

Some of my Christmas season favorites include decorating our Christmas tree and baking for family and friends. My Christmas tree holiday focaccia combines both holiday favorites. It’s easy to make, a fun creative activity, and a joy to share. Enjoy!

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Printable Recipe Card: Beautiful Holiday Focaccia

Holiday Focaccia Ingredients and Notes

Let’s head to our kitchens to gather everything needed to make a Beautiful Holiday Focaccia. Today’s recipe utilizes simple ingredients and tools. You may have everything needed already in your kitchen.

If not, stop by the grocery store first and pick up a few garden vegetables and herbs to create a Christmas tree or design of your choice. Be sure to grab a packet of yeast if you don’t keep it on hand, as well as bread flour.

Focaccia Dough-Ingredient List

• 2 cups Warm Water: Use lukewarm water to activate your yeast for this recipe. Ideally between 100- and 110-degrees F. Keep in mind that if the water is too hot it can kill the yeast.
• 1 package Active Dry Yeast: If you’ve never used yeast, you can find it in the baking aisle at your grocery store. It is sold in packets. And if (like us) you buy yeast in bulk, measure out 2 1/4 teaspoons of yeast for this recipe.
• 3 Tablespoons Sugar: Sugar is used in bread recipes to help activate the yeast. This is especially important when making a quick dough.
• 1/2 cup Olive Oil: This is a large focaccia loaf, so a generous amount of olive oil is required.
• 5 cups Bread Flour: Bread flour has a higher protein content than all-purpose flour. You can substitute all-purpose flour if preferred, but your focaccia may have less of a rise and be less chewy than focaccia made with bread flour.
• 1 Tablespoon Kosher Salt: Be sure to pull out the measuring spoon when adding salt to the dough mixture.

Focaccia Toppings-Ingredient List

• 1 bunch of Asparagus: When creating a Christmas Tree Holiday focaccia, I’ve found that asparagus works perfectly. Use the asparagus to create the tree trunk and tree stems for your ornaments to hang. Asparagus also tastes great when baked.
• 1 White Onion: I used a slice of onion and star cookie cutter to create a tree topper. Be sure to use a sweet onion (taste your onion before adding it to your focaccia to make sure the flavor is perfect).
• 1 pint of Cherry Tomatoes: Cherry tomatoes make the perfect red Christmas ornaments. Don’t cut them in half, just press down a bit when adding the tomatoes to the dough.
• 1 small bag of Pearl Onions: You can use fresh or frozen pearl onions for the focaccia to create white ornaments. If using frozen onions, be sure to thaw overnight. And if using fresh onions, be sure to remove the onion skins.
• 1 bunch of Fresh Rosemary: It may be tempting to use rosemary to create the entire tree, but trust me, a mouthful of rosemary doesn’t taste good. So be sure to remove the stems and use it sparingly in your design. I like how it looks along the tree trunk.
• 2 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil: It’s time to use the good stuff. Top your focaccia with the best olive oil you can find.
• 1 teaspoon Flaky Sea Salt: Ditto! Use a good flaky sea salt to top your focaccia. My favorite is Maldon Sea Salt flakes. I buy it online in bulk, here’s the link.

How to Make a Beautiful Holiday Focaccia

Now that you’ve gathered the needed ingredients, it’s time to make a beautiful holiday focaccia.

Speaking of time, the focaccia bakes for about 25 minutes and will need time to cool before serving. Plus, you will need about 2 1/2 hours to prepare your dough, allow the dough to rise and decorate your focaccia.

So put on some Christmas music and enjoy creating a beautiful holiday focaccia for your friends and family.

How to Make Holiday Focaccia Dough

1. To create your holiday focaccia dough, add lukewarm water, yeast and sugar to a mixing bowl. Combine and let sit for about 5 minutes until the mixture foams.
2. Next add olive oil, flour and salt to your mixing bowl. Combine ingredients.
3. Knead mixture with a dough hook for about 5 minutes. If the dough is sticking to the bowl, add extra flour a few Tablespoons at a time as needed.
4. Coat a separate bowl with olive oil and place the focaccia dough in the bowl. Move the dough around as needed to coat all sides of the dough.
5. Cover the bowl and let the dough rise until it doubles in size (about 1 hour).
6. After the dough has doubled in size, place the dough on a 9X13 baking sheet lined with parchment paper and coated in olive oil.
7. With clean hands, stretch the dough to fit the baking sheet. Make indentations with your fingers in the dough.
8. Let the dough rise for 45 minutes.
9. That’s it. Your focaccia dough is ready to decorate.

How to Create a Christmas Tree Focaccia

1. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees F while you are preparing to decorate your focaccia dough. I keep an oven thermometer on hand to double check my oven temperature when baking.
2. Prepare your garden vegetables and herbs for decorating your holiday focaccia. Be sure to snap the woody ends off of the asparagus, wash the tomatoes, peel the skins off of the pearl onions, and remove the rosemary from the woody stems.
3. Cut out your star topper for the tree with a cookie cutter.
4. To create a Christmas tree, I start by placing the tree trunk (using asparagus) on the prepared focaccia dough as well as the star topper (made from onion).
5. Next add your tree branches bending the asparagus as needed.
6. Now add the ornaments. I use tomatoes and pearl onions.
7. Finally, add a little rosemary down the center around the tree trunk.
8. To finish off your focaccia toppings, drizzle with olive oil and top with sea salt.

Tips on Baking and Serving Holiday Focaccia

• Bake the holiday focaccia for 25 minutes until golden brown in an oven preheated to 425 degrees F.
• Cool and serve! Makes 12-16 servings.
• Holiday Focaccia is perfect for a crowd. Serve it to friends and family or take to your next holiday party.
• You can also slice the focaccia to create sandwich bread. Load it up with holiday ham or turkey and enjoy!

More Holiday Focaccia Design Ideas

In addition to a Christmas tree holiday focaccia, I have tried my hand at creating a Christmas wreath and a string of garland with ornaments.

If you let your imagination run wild, I’m sure you can create many more holiday focaccia designs. Drop me a note in the comments and let me know what you’ve tried or what you think I should try next.

A final note: Today’s recipe for Holiday Focaccia is a garden to table recipe suitable for vegetarian diets. Enjoy!

Cheers to retired life, and as always, happy gardening!

x Penny Pennington Weeks

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