Pumpkin Patch Focaccia Bread for Halloween
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What’s Up, Hungry People?
Focaccia garden bread can be made into a Halloween treat! Inspired by all things spooky, this easy focaccia is the perfect side for your Halloween dinner. Topped with sweet potatoes cut to look like Jack-O-Lanterns, this focaccia is a fun way to create your very own tasty pumpkin patch right at home.
Picture a haunted pumpkin patch right on your table, but instead of pumpkins, you’ve got sweet potatoes carved into Jack-O-Lanterns, all nestled into a fluffy, flavorful focaccia. It’s a bread that brings the spooky season to life with every bite. Whether you’re hosting a Halloween bash or just want to add a touch of the eerie to your dinner, this focaccia is the way to go. It’s festive, fun, and guaranteed to be a hit with all the hungry ghouls and goblins at your table.
Rise, Rise, RISE from the Bread
Focaccia bread requires yeast to get a nice bubbly rise. Big bubbles and holes in the bread are telltale signs of a perfect focaccia.
To get the bubble party started, you’ll need to bring your yeast back from the dead with lukewarm water and a pinch of sugar. Watch as big bubbles begin forming, signaling that your yeast is alive and ready to go!
It’s also helpful, once you’ve made your dough, to use a square container for the first rise. This helps the dough hold its shape and fill the baking pan all the way to the edges. You can use a round bowl too, but you might end up with an oval-shaped loaf—spooky, but maybe not what you’re going for!
Tempting Toppings
Picking the perfect toppings for your focaccia pumpkin patch is easy! Ingredients like sweet potatoes and peppers are best added before baking so they can infuse the bread with their deliciousness. Seasonings like the Green Goddess blend from Trader Joe’s add extra savory goodness throughout.
Tempting Toppings
Picking the perfect toppings for your focaccia pumpkin patch is easy! Ingredients like sweet potatoes and peppers are best added before baking so they can infuse the bread with their deliciousness. Seasonings like the Green Goddess blend from Trader Joe’s add extra savory goodness throughout.
Here’s What You Need:
- Sweet potatoes: Cut into Jack-O-Lantern faces, these add bright orange color and a touch of sweetness.
- Green Goddess seasoning: Can’t get to a Trader Joe’s? Combine garlic powder, onion powder, salt, lemon pepper, and dried parsley for a similar flavor profile.
- Ramp/garlic salt: Seasoned salts match well with the sweet potatoes. I used ramp salt, but garlic or onion salts are great too.
- Bell peppers: Use red, yellow, and orange mini bell peppers for vibrant colors and a hint of sweetness.
- Green onion & red onion: These bring a bit of savory bite to balance the sweetness.
- Demerara sugar: Adds a crunchy texture and sugary pops of sweetness on top.
- Honey: Perfect for a final drizzle that brings everything together.
- Purple food coloring: Adds an extra “WOW” factor with its spooky, unnatural color.
Making Sweet Potato Jack-O-Lanterns
No pumpkins are involved in this pumpkin patch! For my “pumpkins,” I used sweet potato slices. Carefully use a paring knife to carve triangle eyes and a jagged mouth into the sweet potato slices. It’s actually easier to carve the faces after slicing the potato, so don’t try to carve the whole thing at once.
Out of my approximately twenty sweet potato slices, I carved faces into about half. Feel free to be more (or less) ambitious with your Jack-O-Lanterns! Once they’re ready, toss the slices in olive oil and a touch of Green Goddess seasoning before pressing them into the dough after its first rise.
For the Green Goddess Seasoning Blend, here’s a copycat recipe that yields about a half cup—store it in an airtight container for up to a year:
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 2 tablespoons dried parsley
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon onion powder
- ½ tablespoon dried minced garlic
- ½ tablespoon dried minced onion
- 1 teaspoon lemon pepper
Let’s Get Spooky
Now that we’ve got everything prepped, it’s time to get cooking! Let’s walk through the steps to create this spooky focaccia masterpiece.
Prepping the Dough:
First things first – activate your yeast by mixing it with warm water, sugar, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Let it sit for 10-15 minutes until it’s foamy and bubbly.
Next, whisk in your purple food gel until the mixture turns a spooky shade of purple. Now, with your stand mixer on low, gradually add the flour ½ to ¾ cup at a time. You’re aiming for a shaggy, wet dough. Before you add the last cup of flour, pour in the olive oil. The dough should be sticky and wet.
Shaping and Rising:
Dust a clean surface with flour and tip out the dough. Knead it lightly until a smooth dough ball forms – it’ll still be a bit loose and sticky, but that’s okay! Transfer the dough to a greased square container, cover it with plastic wrap, and let it rise in a warm spot for about an hour, or until it’s doubled in size.
Once it’s risen, gently transfer the dough onto a greased 9×13 baking pan lined with parchment paper or a silicone mat. Let it rise for another 30 minutes.
Adding the Toppings:
While your dough is having its second rise, preheat your oven to 425°F. Now’s the time to get creative with those sweet potato Jack-O-Lanterns. Toss them in olive oil and Green Goddess seasoning, then press them into the surface of the dough.
Next, sprinkle the minced peppers and red onion over the top, along with half of the chopped green onions. Drizzle everything with a bit of olive oil to help it all crisp up nicely in the oven.
Baking Time:
Pop the focaccia into the oven and bake it for 20-25 minutes, or until it’s puffed up and just starting to brown. When it’s done, let it cool in the pan for about 30 minutes before attempting to remove it. This helps prevent it from falling apart – nobody wants that!
Finishing Touches:
Once the focaccia is mostly cooled, drizzle it with the remaining olive oil and honey. Sprinkle on some demerara sugar, more Green Goddess seasoning, ramp salt, and red pepper flakes if you like a bit of heat. Slice it up when it’s cool and enjoy! Store any leftovers in an airtight container for up to a week.
Spooky Tips and Tricks
- Rising Dough: If your dough isn’t rising as expected, make sure your yeast is still active. Expired yeast can be a real downer.
- Sweet Potato Carving: For easier carving, soften the sweet potato slices slightly by microwaving them for a minute. This makes them less likely to break when you’re making those tiny Jack-O-Lantern faces.
- Baking Evenly: If your oven has hot spots, rotate the pan halfway through baking to ensure even cooking. No one wants a lopsided focaccia!
- Keeping It Fresh: To keep your focaccia fresh for a few days, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap or foil and store it at room temperature. Reheat in the oven for a few minutes to bring back that just-baked goodness.
Common Questions
- What can I use instead of Green Goddess seasoning?
- If you don’t have Green Goddess seasoning, a mix of garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and lemon pepper will do the trick.
- Can I use a different type of potato?
- Absolutely! Butternut squash also works well! Just note that the cooking time might vary slightly.
- What if I don’t have purple food gel?
- No worries! You can skip it altogether or use a different color. Orange or green would be just as spooky.
- Can I freeze the focaccia?
- Yes, you can! Freeze the focaccia in an airtight container for up to a month. To reheat, let it thaw at room temperature and then warm it in the oven.
Happy Halloween!
This pumpkin patch focaccia is the ultimate Halloween treat, bringing spooky vibes and delicious flavors together in one tasty bite. With its Jack-O-Lantern sweet potatoes and savory toppings, it’s a fun and festive addition to any Halloween spread. So, gather your ingredients, channel your inner bread witch, and whip up this festive focaccia that’s as fun to make as it is to eat!
Pumpkin Patch Focaccia Bread for HALLOWEEN
Equipment
Ingredients
FOR BREAD:
- 1 ½ cups warm water 100°F-100°F
- 1 package quick rise yeast
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 3 cups flour + more for dusting
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 1 teaspoon purple food gel
FOR PRE-BAKED TOPPINGS:
- 1 sweet potato sliced
- 1 mini multi color sweet bell peppers chopped
- ¼ red onion finely minced
- 1 tablespoon Green Goddess seasoning blend
- ½ tablespoon garlic salt or ramp salt
- 2 green onions chopped
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
FOR AFTER-BAKED TOPPINGS:
- 1 tablespoon demerara sugar
- 1 tablespoon honey drizzled
- 1 teaspoon Green Goddess seasoning sprinkled
- 1 tablespoon olive oil drizzled
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes optional, to taste
- 1 teaspoon salt to taste
Instructions
- In a large bowl of a stand mixer, whisk together the warm water, yeast, sugar, and salt. Let sit until foamy and bubbly, about 10-15 minutes.
- Whisk in the purple food gel until the liquid is purple. Then, with the stand mixer running on the lowest setting, begin to add the flour 1/2-3/4 cup at a time until it forms a shaggy, wet dough. Slowly pour in the olive oil before the last cup of flour. The dough will be very wet and sticky.
- Dust a clean, flat surface with flour. Tip the dough out onto the floured surface and lightly knead until a smooth dough ball begins to form. The dough will still be wet and feel loose.
- Transfer the dough ball into a greased square container, cover with plastic wrap, and then proof in a warm spot for about 60 minutes or until doubled in size. The dough should have large air pockets in it.
- When the dough has doubled in size, tip the dough onto a greased 9×13 baking pan lined with parchment paper or a silicone mat. Let rise for an additional 30 minutes.
- While the bread rises for a second time, preheat the oven to 425°F. Cut the sweet potato slices into mini Jack-O-Lanterns. Place all of the sweet potato slices into a small bowl and add about a tablespoon of olive oil and a half tablespoon of Green Goddess seasoning. Toss lightly until the slices are coated evenly. Mince the peppers and red onion. Chop the green onions down to the whites.
- Lightly press the sweet potato slices into the surface of the focaccia bread. Sprinkle on the minced peppers and red onion, along with about half of the green onions. Drizzle with olive oil.
- Pop the focaccia into the oven and bake until puffed up and just beginning to brown—about 20-25 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 30 minutes before attempting to remove it from the pan.
- Once the focaccia is mostly cooled, drizzle on the remaining olive oil and honey. Then sprinkle on demerara sugar, more Green Goddess seasoning, ramp salt, and red pepper flakes (to taste). Slice when cooled and enjoy! Chill any remaining bread in an airtight container for up to a week. Happy Halloween!
