Name: Beet It Halloween Foccacia
Prep time: 1440 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 1470 min
Yield: 1
Ingredients: 400g cooked beetroot not in vinegar; Cold water as required; 435g Cotswold Strong White flour; 348g (80%) beetroot juice; 1g fresh yeast / 0.47g instant dried yeast; 9.6g (2.2%) salt; 14g (3.3%) olive oil; 1 -2 sweet potatoes; 40g melted butter; 1 garlic clove minced; 50g beetroot (not in vinegar); 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar; 1 tsp thyme; 1 tbsp olive oil; 2 red onions, finely sliced; 1 tsp thyme, chopped; 1 tbsp soft brown sugar; 4 tbsp balsamic vinegar; 113g feta cheese; 30g greek yoghurt; 1 tbsp EVOO; 2 tsp lemon juice; Black food colouring for face detail; Flaky sea salt; A few sprigs of rosemary, chopped

Makes: 1 x 800g focaccia (I recommend using a 9” x 12” baking dish)

Prep time: 24 hrs

Bake time: 25-30 mins

Flours used: Cotswold Strong White Bread flour

Method:

Beetroot juice

If you have a juicer, add your cooked beetroot pieces and process until you have extracted all of the liquid.
Alternatively use a blender, adding a little water at a time until you have a smooth consistency. Use a fine mesh strainer or a cheesecloth to separate the juice from the pulp.
Measure your beetroot juice, adding additional water if required.

Beetroot focaccia dough

Add the flour to a large mixing bowl.
Pour in the beetroot juice and crumble in the yeast.
Next add in the oil and the salt and combine until there’s no dry flour remaining.
Cover with a damp tea towel and leave for 1 hr to allow the flour to absorb the beetroot juice.
After 1 hr has passed we’re going to stretch and fold the dough. Wet your hands slightly so the dough doesn’t stick.
Grab an edge and stretch upwards and then fold over towards the opposite edge
Rotate the bowl around 45 degrees and repeat.
You want to continue this process until you’ve gone all the way around, about 8-10 times.
This will start to create a smooth surface on the underside of your dough.
Flip the dough over so the smooth side is on top.
Cover and rest for 1 hr.
Now you want to do a series of coil folds. Again wet your hands slightly so the dough doesn’t stick.
You want to get under the dough in the 3 and 9 o’clock positions. Gently lift up the dough until the far side is released from the bowl and then fold it down under itself.
Rotate the bowl 180 degrees and repeat this process.
You now want to do this for the remaining edges until you have a nice smooth dough ball.
You can continue to rotate and perform more coil folds but stop if you start to see tearing on the smooth surface.
Repeat the above process every hour for the next 3 hrs.
When you’ve finished your last coil fold, cover the bowl and leave at room temperature for 12-13 hrs.
Get a small piece of unsalted butter and rub all surfaces of your baking dish. Put this in the fridge for 5-10 mins to allow the butter to firm back up.
Remove from the fridge and add a small drizzle of olive oil. Use your fingers to coat all surfaces of the baking dish. This will help prevent the dough from sticking.
Add the dough and gently stretch to each edge. Don’t worry if it pulls back, this will relax and expand over the next few hours.
The dough will now prove in the baking dish for a final 5-6 hours. Check back every hour and gently stretch the dough each time until you’re happy that it has filled the space.
In the final hour before baking, drizzle some extra virgin olive oil over the focaccia. Put a little oil on your hands and dimple the dough all over. This reduces the air in the dough and prevents it from rising too quickly.
Cover and leave the dough to rest until ready to bake.

Sweet potato pumpkins

Peel your sweet potatoes.
Cut into 2-3mm slices.
Use a small pumpkin cookie cutter, or hand cut your own shapes.
Use a scalpel or a sharp knife to cut out the face details.
Melt the butter in a pan.
Add the minced garlic and cook gently to infuse for a few minutes on a very low heat.
Use a pastry brush to coat both sides of each slice.

Caramelised onions

Heat the oil in a lidded frying pan over a low heat and add the red onions and thyme.
Cover and cook for 15-20 mins, stirring occasionally so they don't catch, until soft and slightly golden.
Remove the lid, reduce the heat to low and stir through the sugar and vinegar. Cook for a further 5 mins until the liquid has almost disappeared.
Set aside to cool.

Beetroot pieces

Chop up the beetroot into small cubes
Add the thyme and balsamic vinegar and allow time to infuse before topping the focaccia.

Whipped feta

Add your feta, greek yoghurt, EVOO and lemon juice.
Process until smooth
Transfer to a piping bag with a large round nozzle

Build your focaccia

30 mins before you plan to bake your focaccia, turn your oven to 220°C to preheat.
If you don’t have a baking steel or pizza stone, get a metal sheet pan and place it in your oven. This will help get a more even bake on the base of your focaccia.
Let’s add our toppings. Take the beetroot pieces and spread across the dough, pressing in gently.
Next add the caramelised onions and sprinkle over a little flaky sea salt followed by the chopped rosemary.
Lastly place the sweet potato pieces evenly across the dough, leaving spaces for the whipped feta to be piped on later.
Place a sheet of tin foil over the pan sealing around the edges. This helps trap in the steam giving you a softer crumb as the dough rises. It also allows the sweet potato to cook without burning too quickly.
Bake for an initial 15 mins.
Remove the foil and continue to cook for 10-15 mins, rotating after 5 mins and checking again after 10 mins.
Once you’re happy with the bake, remove from the dish and transfer to a wire rack.
When cool enough, pipe on the whipped feta ghosts.
Use a cocktail stick dipped in black food colouring to add the ghost faces.
Slice up and enjoy!

Thank you so much to Graham @dough.the.evolution for providing this recipe. If you’d like to see more, please visit their Instagram page.

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Beet It Halloween Foccacia

Ingredients

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