MISTLETOE FOCACCIA
Focaccia is a flat oven baked Italian bread that's soft, airy, and typically dimpled all over its surface. It’s made from simple ingredients of flour, yeast, water, olive oil, and salt, with the dough often left to rise twice for that perfect light texture. Before baking, it’s generously brushed with olive oil and sprinkled with sea salt, herbs like rosemary, or other toppings such as olives, tomatoes, or onions. Think of it as Italy’s answer to a savoury, herby sponge cake that’s perfect for dipping, sandwich bases, or just munching on with a cheeky bit of olive oil.
My Christmas festive version of it, involves placing a mistletoe design on top using large parsley leaves and halved cherry tomatoes. A couple of tricks with this is to make sure the leaves get dunked into oil before placing on top to help not burn. The look of it,, is very cool, and you can go ham on many of them on the top, as the mistletoes design will shrink a little bit in the oven, so don’t feel to go with less is more here, because more is definitely more with this focaccia.
MISTLETOE FOCACCIA
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MISTLETOE FOCACCIA 〰️
Time: 2 hours
Serves: 8 as a starter
360ml warm water
7gm instant yeast*
1 tea spoon caster sugar
400gm bread flour
10gm salt
Handful large parsley leaves
5 cherry tomatoes, halved
Olive oil
Sea salt flakes
*I recommend ‘Lighthouse Yeast + Bread Improver’ sachets
In a large bowl add in the warm water, instant yeast and sugar and whisk together with a fork until yeast has integrated into water. Add in flour then salt and mix together with a large plastic spoon to bring it together. Place cling film over it and allow to rest for 20 minutes in warm spot.
After 20 minutes give the dough a slap and pull from underneath to allow it to stretch a bit. This technique is important, and involves getting a slightly wet hand underneath and pulling the dough and then slapping it over and over. Finish by folding the dough over itself on four sides, by pulling one side up and folding over the top repeated on all four sides. Allow to rest for another 30 minutes covered and in warm spot.
Preheat oven to 230 degrees celsius fan forced.
Prep the parsley leaves by washing in water and then patting dry with paper towel and letting sit to dry completely.
On a small baking tray line with baking paper and then drizzle olive oil onto it so its covers the bottom. After 30 minute rest, add the dough into tray and fold from all four sides again before flipping over so there’s a flat top. Help spread the dough into the corners before allowing to rest covered for a final 20 minutes in warm spot.
After final rest add an a solid amount of olive oil on top and onto your hands. Then using oiled fingers, press in and dimple the focaccia all over the top allowing bubbles to pop up and form around the topping. Dimple by pushing down, giving a little wiggle and then pulling out. Place 3 x 3 cherry tomatoes in a tri bunches in three seperate spots of the focaccia. Prep a small bowl of olive oil and dunk each parsley leaf into the oil, shake off excess and place in between two tomatoes. Repeat this process so that each cherry trio has three parsley leaves jetting out, adding on parley leaves above the inner parsley leaf if the leaves are smaller, creating three mistletoes on top of focaccia. Finish with a bing pinch of sea salt flakes all over.
Place in oven and cook for 25 minutes. Or until a lovely deep colour forms on top.
Allow to rest until cool enough to touch before cutting up and serving nice and hot.