Friday, May 10, 2013

Focaccia Two Ways: Orange-Lavender and Lemon-Asparagus Focaccia

Lemon Asparagus Focaccia
I've pulled this blog out of hibernation just in time to join the Virtual Vegan Potluck.  Welcome potluck attendees!  I made two types of seasonal citrus focaccia to showcase some of my backyard produce.
Above is lemon and asparagus focaccia with black pepper.  Below is sweet orange and lavender focaccia (which I overcooked a bit--oops, but still tasty). Both breads are based on the same dough, just with different toppings.
Orange Lavender Focaccia

The Ingredients:
Dough (for two loaves):
2 1/2 c warm water
2 T olive oil
1 T sugar
1 T + 1/2 t dry active yeast
2 1/2 t salt
6-7 c unbleached white flour

Orange Lavender topping:
about 1 T olive oil
4 t chopped fresh lavender (about half leaves and half flowers)
1 small orange, sliced as thinly as possible
2 t sugar

Lemon Asparagus topping:
about 1 T olive oil
5 asparagus spears, halved lengthwise
1/2 a large lemon, ends removed, sliced as thinly as possible
a pinch black pepper
a pinch salt

The Process:
  1. To make dough, combine water, oil, sugar, and yeast in a mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, and let sit for 5-10 minutes until yeast is puffy.
  2. Add salt and about 5 1/2 cups of the flour and knead with oiled hands or stir with the mixer's dough hook, adding more flour as necessary to form a slightly sticky but workable dough.  Knead about 12 minutes by hand or about 5 minutes with a stand mixer.
  3. Form dough into a ball, coat with oil, and place in a large, oiled mixing bowl.  Cover with plastic wrap or a damp towel and place somewhere warm.  Allow dough to rise until doubled. (This can take anywhere from about 45 minutes to more than 2 hours, depending on your yeast and the room temperature.)
  4. Punch down dough and divide into two equal pieces.  Preheat oven to 400°.
  5. Lightly oil 2 baking sheets, and stretch each piece of dough into a rough rectangle, mostly covering a baking sheet.  You can leave the edges rounded and uneven for a more "rustic" look.  Let sit, covered loosely with plastic wrap, for about 15 minutes, then uncover and lightly dimple the surface of the dough with your fingertips.  Brush each loaf with a generous coating of olive oil.
  6. For the orange focaccia, arrange orange slices on top of dough, then sprinkle with lavender and lightly press the lavender in with your fingertips to make it adhere to the dough.  Top with sugar.
  7. For lemon focaccia, arrange lemon slices and asparagus spears on top of dough, brush asparagus with a little olive oil, then sprinkle with salt and pepper.
  8. Bake about 20-25 minutes or until tops of loaves have golden-brown splotches, then cool on baking racks.



Thanks for dropping by! Feel free to go back to the Misfit Baker, go forward to Farmer's Market Vegan, or go to the host site, Vegan Bloggers Unite!

23 comments:

  1. Happy Virtual Vegan Potluck 3.0 Day! That looks amazing, I LOVE FOCACCIA and CARBS!

    ♡ rika, vegan miam
    www.veganmiam.com
    ★ we travel + eat vegan blog ★

    ReplyDelete
  2. Mmm, both ways look delicious but I'm gonna grab a little more of the lemon asparagus. These look so good...very creative!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I love the inventive topping flavour combinations! Really gorgeous looking too!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Mmm, oh my goodness, that orange-lavender flavor combo is blowing my mind. It's an honor to come after you in the potluck! :D

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thank you so much for coming out of your hibernation to join us! And with such beautiful breads. Hope all is going well!

    ReplyDelete
  6. I am so glad you came out of hibernation! I think that focaccia may be the most beautiful I have ever seen! I love it!

    ReplyDelete
  7. That looks awesome. I mean, super, duper awesome. lovely and delicious.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Wow! That is gorgeous bread! They must be like poetry to eat. Great job and Happy VVP Day!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Wow, both of those focaccias are so so pretty! Such a great idea to bake thin citrus slices onto the top. They look fancy and delicious. Lovely recipes! :)

    ReplyDelete
  10. Gorgeous photos and these look amazing! Thanks for the recipes :)

    ReplyDelete
  11. I love focaccia! The photos are gorgeous and the bread sounds delicious! Happy VVP~

    - alexis
    http://www.sugarcoatedvegan.com

    ReplyDelete
  12. I am swooning over these recipes!! BOTH look equally amazing!! I would eat both the entire thing as my main meal.

    ReplyDelete
  13. MMMM! I love home-made vegan foccacias & these 2 are calling my name & mouth! 2 fantastic entries for the VVP! I am loving them & must make these beauties right away! Home grown green asparagus are the best! Yummmmm!

    You have a lovely blog here! A great entry for the VVP! :)

    ReplyDelete
  14. I need to make this immediately! Thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Stunning!
    Such unique and appealing combinations.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Look like masterpieces, can't wait to try them. Thank you for the recipe.

    ReplyDelete
  17. These look so tasty! Is there any left? I'll have some of the orange lavender, please.

    ReplyDelete
  18. I'm really intrigued by this orange lavender combo. I adore focaccia and want to devour both versions! Mmmm, bready goodness.

    ReplyDelete
  19. It looks fantastic. I did not think the orange lavender focaccia looked overcooked - it just looks fabulous! If you did not mention it, no one would have known :) I love the combination of orange and lavender. I am also super impressed that you could use your backyard produce - that is the way to do it.

    ReplyDelete
  20. I've never seen an Orange-Lavendar Foccacia before - what a beautiful idea!

    ReplyDelete
  21. Oh yum! That asparagus one looks mouth watering, I love focaccia! This bread section of the potluck is incredible, I love every one of them. Can I vote for them all?

    ReplyDelete

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.