Garlicky and bright, this roasted squash focaccia recipe makes for the perfect autumnal baking project.
Helia Sadeghi is a Bay Area-based content creator, student, and cook. Being born and raised in Isfahan, Iran, Helia's upbringing inspires their love for cooking. "This focaccia celebrates delicata squash in the most delicious way and is wonderful for the fall. The garlic-infused olive oil creates a delicious, crusty focaccia and the sumac turns the onions a bright pink and perfectly compliments the flavor. Let’s just say, sumac and squash were meant to be together." - Helia Sadeghi
For the focaccia:
Ingredients
- 450 g bread flour
- 345 ml lukewarm water
- 1 1/2 tsps active dry yeast
- 2 tsp of Brightland California orange blossom honey
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1/4 cup Brightland ROSETTE garlic olive oil, plus more for drizzling and serving
For the sumac-roasted veggie topping:
Ingredients
- 1 whole medium delicata squash
- 1/2 large red onion
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 2 tbsp sumac
- 3 tbsp Brightland AWAKE olive oil
Make the dough:
Instructions
- 1 In a large bowl, add in the honey, lukewarm water, and yeast. Mix and allow the yeast to activate and become bubbly, about 5 minutes. Add in the flour, sea salt, and 2 tbsps of ROSETTE garlic olive oil. Using a stand mixer or a spatula, mix to form a shaggy dough.
- 2 If using a stand mixer: Knead the dough for 5 minutes on medium speed. The dough will be very sticky. If kneading by hand: You can knead the dough directly in the bowl or on an oiled surface. When kneading, use wet or oiled hands as the dough is going to be very sticky. Knead using the stretch and fold method for 5 minutes.
- 3 Place the kneaded dough in a well-oiled large bowl. Cover with oiled plastic wrap or a wet towel and allow it to proof in a warm place for two hours or until it is doubled in size. A great place to let the dough proof is in the oven (turned off) with the oven light on.
- 4 After the dough has doubled in size, it is time to do some stretch and folds. Uncover the bowl and oil your hands. Gently stretch the dough out of the bowl and fold it onto itself. Continue to stretch and fold the dough in different directions at least 4-5 times, oiling your hands again if necessary. You can also do the stretch and fold process on an oiled surface if you prefer. Return the dough to a well-oiled bowl and cover again with oiled plastic wrap.
- 5 For the best crumb, I would highly recommend leaving it overnight in the fridge. If you do not have the patience or time to leave it in the fridge overnight, leave the dough to proof in a warm place for another hour and skip the next step.
- 6 The next day, take the dough out of the fridge and allow it to sit in a warm place for two hours to continue proofing and come to room temperature.
- 7 Oil your hands and repeat the stretch and fold process once again. Cover the dough and allow it to rest for another 30 minutes. Optionally, you can repeat the resting then stretch and fold process over and over, up to 4 times, for the bubbliest focaccia.
- 8 Next, it's time for the final proof of the focaccia. Generously drizzle a 9x13 non-stick rimmed baking sheet with ROSETTE garlic olive oil. Transfer the dough onto the oiled baking sheet and allow it to rest for 5 minutes. This will make the stretching a bit easier as it allows the gluten to rest. Gently stretch the dough toward the edges of the baking sheet. Cover the baking sheet with an oiled plastic wrap and allow the dough to rise to the edges of the pan, for about 1 hour. While you wait for the final proof, make the topping.
Make the Sumac-Squash Topping:
Instructions
- 1 Cut the delicata squash in half lengthwise. Remove the seeds and slice it into roughly 3/4 inch thick slices.
- 2 Slice the onion into slices of the same thickness.
- 3 Spread the vegetable slices on a 9x13 baking sheet covered with foil. Toss with AWAKE olive oil and salt.
- 4 Since onion and squash have different cooking times, the best way to cook them together is to make sure most of the squash is sitting on top of the onion slices. Place the pan of veggies under low broil and roast until just charred. Depending on the strength of your oven/broiler, this should take anywhere between 3 to 10 minutes, so keep an eye on the veggies and remove from the oven as soon as they are a bit charred.
- 5 Toss the roasted veggies with the sumac. The roasted onion will turn a bright pink after being mixed with the sumac because of the acidity of the sumac. Look how pretty!
Bake the focaccia:
Instructions
- 1 Towards the end of the proofing of your focaccia, preheat the oven to 425°F.
- 2 Once your focaccia is bubbly and has proofed up to the edges of the pan, it is time to bake. Uncover the focaccia, oil your fingers, and dimple the dough all over with your fingers.
- 3 Cover the dough with the sumac roasted veggies.
- 4 Drizzle the entire surface of the focaccia generously with ROSETTE garlic olive oil, and optionally, sprinkle flaky salt all over the top.
- 5 Bake for 20-30 minutes or until the focaccia is browned on top.
- 6 Allow it to cool for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. Allow it to cool for at least another 10 mins before slicing it.
- 7 Serve with ROSETTE garlic olive oil, balsamic vinegar, more sumac, and flaky salt. Enjoy your crusty delicious focaccia!
Notes:
- The recipe only provides gram measurements because bread-making, and baking in general, is tricky. You can convert the measurements into cups if you prefer, but I would highly recommend using a scale and the measurements provided.
- If you don't have access to a stand mixer and absolutely do not feel like kneading the dough by hand, it’s okay. After mixing the ingredients and creating a shaggy dough, leave the dough to proof for 2+ hours more than the recipe calls for the initial proofing. The crumb will have less structure, but it will nonetheless be delicious.
