Christmas Tree Focaccia
An Original Recipe by Lorraine Elliott
Preparation time: 2 hours (not all active time) plus 3 days in fridge
Cooking time: 25 minutes
- 500g/1.1lbs bread flour (minimum 12g protein per 100g or 0.4 ounce per 3.5ozs)
- 460g/0.9pint water
- 8g/0.28oz instant dried yeast
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 9g/0.3oz fine salt
- 6-7 tablespoons olive oil
- Flaked salt
To decorate
- 1/4 bunch fresh parsley
- 4 small cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1/4 red onion
- small red, yellow and orange capsicum (baby peppers also work)
- 1 Turkish green pepper
Step 1 - First mix the flour and water together in a large bowl making sure that there are no dry patches. Cover and sit for 30 minutes. Then stir in the yeast (I find it easiest to sprinkle this over) and sugar. Then add the salt and make sure that it is well mixed in with a dough whisk and there are no dry patches of yeast. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon of oil on top and cover and sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.
Step 2 - Take the dough and lift it from the 12 o'clock position to the 6 o'clock position. Then rest it for 30 minutes at room temperature. Then repeat this coil fold method an additional 3 times. Then drizzle with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and cover and keep in the fridge for 3 days.
Step 3 - Four hours before you want to bake it take the dough out of the fridge. Line a 28x22x7cm or 11x8.7x2.8inch baking tin with parchment and drizzle 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil over the base spreading it out. Do one final coil fold and lift the dough into the prepared tin. Cover with another high rimmed tin (so that the dough won't touch the tin once it doubles in size). Spread out as much as possible and leave it in a sunny area of the kitchen for 3-4 hours while you get started on the decorations. By the time the 3-4 hours is up, the dough should have spread to the edges of the tin.
Step 4 - Preheat oven to 200C/400F fan forced. I like to lay out the decorations first on paper so that all I have to do is transfer it to the focaccia (because once you place something on the sticky dough it's hard to move it). Start with the onions in graduating sizes (larger at the bottom and smaller at the top) and then lay parsley leaves in the shape of a tree. Cut the capsicum peppers into squares and make square presents out of them. Then cut strips to make the ribbon in opposite colours. Trim the end off the Turkish curly pepper and slice down the centre. Use one large slice of curly pepper for the bottom of the tree and slice the other half of the pepper in two and place on top. Cut a star out of a yellow pepper.
Step 5 - When the dough has risen and spread to the edges, drizzle with oil and dimple with your fingers. Transfer the decorations over to the dough and bake for 23-25 minutes. Sprinkle with salt and rest for 15 minutes before serving.