How To Make Floral Focaccia Art + A Small Batch Focaccia Pizza Bread Recipe!

Learn tips on creating edible art with veggies and herbs plus an easy focaccia pizza dough recipe!

Food art has naturally been one of my most loved hobbies growing up. Whether it's creating cinnamon hearts on my lattes, banana penguins for my little, or a floral focaccia garden- it makes eating such an exciting experience for my family and I. Plus, it is a fun way to impress your guests!

Focaccia bread art has been trending in recent years on social media. Influencers across the world have been creating edible works of art using vegetables and herbs on their homemade focaccia to create flowers, birds, and even little garden friends like lady bugs. After visiting the U-pick flower field last weekend, I got even more inspired to make my own flower garden bread art. Since focaccia makes a delicious homemade pizza base, I decided to make a small batch of pizza focaccia bread- thick, fluffy, and rich in olive oil. I love adding spice to almost anything I eat so I decorated the dough with a flower created with different types of peppers from my backyard garden.

If you are looking to pick up on a new cozy day activity, I recommend checking out my focaccia art tips and an easy small batch focaccia pizza bread recipe to get you started!

What is Focaccia Bread?

Focaccia (pronounced foh-KAH-chyuh)is an Italian flatbread made with yeast, salt, flour, and coated with olive oil. This bread is recognized by its bouncy texture and its signature dimples created by poking the squishy dough. It can be made plain or decorated with vegetables, herbs, and/or cheese.

Let's look at the key ingredients a bit closely:

Bread flour or all-purpose flour: It can be important to measure the flour accurately since it is the main ingredient in this recipe. Choosing bread flour can result in fluffy and airier focaccia.

Instant yeast or active dry yeast: I like to proof yeast in warm water with a tiny bit of sugar until it becomes foamy( ~5 minutes) before adding it to the flour.

Luke-warm water: Using warm water can help hydrate the dough and activate the yeast. Dough that feels wet and sticky can give the bread more of a desired airy texture inside.

Extra-virgin olive oil: Olive oil gives focaccia a golden brown edges a rich flavor. You add it to the dough, brush it on top, and underneath the dough before baking.

Himalayan Salt: I like to mix salt into the flour to enhance the flavor of the bread. You can also sprinkle flaky salt on the top of the dough prior to baking.

Toppings: you can get creative with dry or fresh herbs, cheese, vegetables, and even sauce like pesto or tomato.

See below for my pizza focaccia recipe detail bread!

How to Create Focaccia Garden Art:

You can get creative with your imagination, find inspiration in nature, a painting, or on social media of course.

Flower petals: I like to use sliced bell peppers, grape tomatoes, and red onion. You can also cut veggies like zucchini or eggplants into petal shapes. Broccoli and cauliflower are other great options!

Center of a flower: You can create a round center with tomatoes, olives, or peppers.

Flower stems: Chives, green onion, cilantro stems, roasted asparagus, and rosemary sprigs all make beautiful long stems. I used a long banana pepper from my garden to create a stem.

Leaves: Fresh cilantro, parsley, basil, broccoli, or leafy greens like baby spinach make great leaves.

Background details: You can create little lady bugs with cherry tomatoes and olives or butterflies with mini bell pepper wings.. I also like to create grass with chives or peppers.

Extra toppings: Add your choice of cheese and dried herbs like chili flakes and/or parsley prior to adding your garden art for a boost in flavor.

My Go-To Small Batch Focaccia Pizza Dough Recipe

Easy no-knead focaccia pizza dough recipe!

Ingredients:

1 cup bread flour or all-purpose flour

1 tsp. sugar

1/2 packet of active dry yeast

1 tsp. Himalayan salt

1/2 cup lukewarm water

2 tbsp. plus 1 tsp. olive oil

1 tsp. chili flakes

1 tsp. dried parsley

1 tbsp. parmesan cheese

Tomato sauce or soup for dipping

Flower garden toppings( you can get creative with your own toppings or use my options:

Red onion: About 15 thin slices to create flower petals

Serrano pepper- 1 round slice to create the flowers center

Banana pepper: 1 long slice to create a stem

Baby spinach: For leaves connected to the stem

Bell peppers: I lined the base of the dough with small, thinly sliced bell peppers to create a line of flowers/grass.

Directions:

Combine the yeast, sugar, and water in a bowl. Set aside for 5 minutes to activate the yeast.
In a seperate bowl, combine flour and salt. Once the yeast looks foamy, add it to the flour mixture along with a tablespoon of olive oil. If using a mixer, beat at high speed with a paddle or hook attachement until sticky and well combined. You can also mix using a Danish dough whisk.
Coat a small-medium glass baking dish with a tsp of olive oil. Transfer the dough and stretch it out with your hands to the size of the dish as possible.
Cover the dough and let it rise and double in size for about 1 hour at room temperature.
Once your dough is ready, gently poke around the dough to create dimples. Drizzle over a tablespoon of olive oil. Sprinkle over your dried chili flakes, cheese, and herbs.
Get creative with your garden art and bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown/cooked through. Enjoy with warm pizza sauce!