Focaccia is a flat, oven-baked Italian bread, similar to pizza. It’s easy to make, can be sweet or savory, eaten by itself or in place of bread for a sandwich.

Focaccia bread art is a new trend that encourages bakers to decorate their focaccia with fresh vegetables, herbs, and even edible flowers (sometimes it almost looks too pretty to eat).

It all starts with our basic herbed focaccia dough:

Create Focaccia Art

Once the dough is stretched out in the pan (using the recipe, above), let it rise for 20 minutes until it puffs slightly, then add your art designs, pressing them lightly into the dough. Drizzle the top of the dough with a small amount of plain olive oil, and lightly brush your designs with olive oil to prevent burning. Top with a generous sprinkle of flaky salt. Bake in a preheated 450F oven for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown. Transfer bread to a wire rack and cool. Cut into squares and serve!

Basic Herbed Focaccia

If you’re interested in making focaccia art, you can decorate the top of your focaccia dough before baking with any number of herbs and veggies to make a work of art!

Make the dough as in steps 2 and 3, above, however, skip step 1 (the garlic olive oil step), and use 1/4 cup of plain olive oil in the dough. Additionally, use plain olive oil to coat the bottom of the 9×13 pan.

Create your designs, using these suggestions, then follow step 5, below:

Focaccia Art Toppings – Design Ideas Using Vegetables and Herbs: 

  • Italian flat-leaf parsley for flower stems and leavesThin slices of bell pepper for flower petals (strips, or crosswise)Sliced black or green olives for flower centersChives make perfect flower stemsPoppyseeds, sesame seeds, or parmesan cheese, black pepper, for “earth” or “sand”Drained capers for berriesRosemary sprigs for greeneryRed onions, garlic bulbs, and cherry tomatoes sliced crosswise for flowersYou can also use thinly sliced sausage, or mini pepperoni slices if you want to decorate with meat

Make sure to drain and pat dry all vegetables of moisture thoroughly on paper towels, including capers and olives, before topping the dough.