Look no further than this pumpkin spelt focaccia bread for the perfect accompaniment to soups, stews, and chili! If you have ever shied away from making bread from scratch, here is your chance to prove that you can do it.
My dad introduced my brother and I to the joys of bread baking at an early age. We were living in the Yukon at the time, and my dad’s interest in scratch bread had been sparked by the Alpine Bakery, a wonderful spot for organic sourdough bread, wood oven pizza, and healthful baked goods. Whitehorse was a granola eating outpost in the early 90s, before health food had entered the mainstream, and judging by what I see in our photo albums, my dad was in his element.
Dad became inspired by the owner of the Alpine Bakery to try his hand at baking bread at home, and so he started churning out loaves of dense, hearty spelt, rye, and oatmeal bread. Some of my earliest memories are of warm homemade bread slathered in butter.
Eventually, after years of observation, I decided to try my hand at making bread. Using our dog-eared copy of Laurel’s Kitchen Bread Book as my guide, I started with a basic whole wheat loaf, and then learned some simple variations: cinnamon raisin; challah; and focaccia bread stand out in my mind as some favourites. Though I have yet to foray into the wonders of homemade sourdough, I like to think that my foundation for yeast-leavened breads is strong thanks to years of learning from my dad and our trusty bread book.
What I think is so wonderful about baking bread from scratch, as opposed to some other types of cooking and baking, is that there is a meditative element to it. There’s the proofing of the yeast, followed by the mixing and stirring, and finally, several minutes of kneading. There’s the first rise, and sometimes the second rise, of the dough. The punching down, shaping into loaves. It’s methodical, yet mystical. There’s an element of surprise: no two loaves ever seem to turn out the exact same when you are working with natural ingredients and the whims of your environment.
This pumpkin spelt focaccia is inspired by my family’s recipe for classic focaccia bread. When I was younger, we would always serve either homemade focaccia or homemade cornbread along with soups, so this recipe has an air of nostalgia. Given the ubiquity of pumpkin at this time of the year, I felt called to experiment with adding some pumpkin puree into bread. Initially, I was hesitant, worrying that it might add too much moisture to the dough. However, with some minor adjustments of liquid and flour amounts, I struck gold with the proportions in the final recipe.
Even if you have never baked bread from scratch, I encourage you to give this recipe a try. I’m no professional baker, and if I can make this focaccia without too much trouble, I have faith that you can, too.
how to make pumpkin spelt focaccia bread:
- Start by combining warm water with yeast and a bit of maple syrup in a bowl. Meanwhile, stir together flour , rosemary, and salt in a separate bowl.
- Once the yeast has proofed, mix in extra virgin olive oil and pumpkin puree. Add the yeast mixture to the flour and salt; stir to combine.
- Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for five minutes.
- Place dough in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with a towel. Put it in a warm area of your kitchen for 1 hour, or until doubled in bulk.
- Punch down dough and divide into two equal rounds. Press each round into a 10-inch circle and use your fingers to create small indentations all over the dough.
- Transfer each round to a pizza pan, 10-inch cast iron skillet, or parchment paper-lined cookie sheet.
- Bake at 400 degrees F, remove from the oven to sprinkle on pecorino cheese, and bake for 10 minutes more.
That’s all there is to it! As long as you have about 90 minutes to spare, you can have a wonderful pumpkin focaccia on your table tonight.
some final thoughts:
- This recipe can easily be made vegan by omitting the pecorino cheese. You could use ½ cup of my sunflower seed “Parmesan” instead. 🙂
- If you don’t have any whole spelt or light spelt flour on hand (the recipe calls for both), you can probably use all whole wheat flour or ½ whole wheat flour and ½ all-purpose flour.
- Recipes that pair beautifully with this pumpkin spelt focaccia: High Protein Vegan Chili and Creamy White Bean Broccoli Soup!
On a side note, these photos were taken when I was still trying to figure out my DSLR camera. They are on the blurrier side, which I apologize for! Better photos will be coming as I learn more about shooting on manual mode and Lightroom editing. 🙂
I hope you love this bread, and that it gives you confidence to experiment more with bread making. If you make this recipe, let us know how you liked it by leaving a comment and recipe rating below. If you have Instagram, tag a photo @upbeet.kitchen and #upbeetkitchen to let us know how you liked it. I love seeing your creations!
Enjoy!
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Pumpkin Spelt Focaccia Bread
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 2 10-inch rounds, enough to serve 8-12 1x
Description
Look no further than this pumpkin spelt focaccia bread for the perfect accompaniment to soups, stews, and chili! If you have ever shied away from making bread from scratch, here is your chance to prove that you can do it.
Ingredients
- 1 cup warm water (must be 110 degrees F for yeast to activate)
- 2 ¼ tsp active dry yeast
- 1 tsp pure maple syrup
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, divided
- ¾ cup unsweetened pumpkin puree (homemade or store-bought)
- 5 cups light spelt flour
- ⅔ cup whole spelt flour, plus more as needed
- 2 tbsp dried rosemary, divided
- 1 tsp fine sea salt
- ⅔ cup grated pecorino cheese
Instructions
- Combine the warm water, yeast, and maple syrup in a medium bowl. Whisk to combine and set aside until frothy, about 10 minutes. If your yeast fails to activate, you water may have been too hot or tood cold, in which case, dump it out and start again.
- In a large bowl, stir together the flour, 1 tablespoon of the rosemary, and the salt.
- To the yeast mixture, add 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil and the pumpkin puree. Add this to the flour bowl and stir to form a shaggy dough. Add additional whole spelt flour as needed.
- Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 5-10 minutes, adding more flour as needed, to form a smooth, elastic dough that is neither too sticky nor too firm.
- Lightly grease a clean bowl with olive oil and place the dough inside. Cover with a towel and place it in the warmest area in your kitchen to proof for one hour. The dough is ready to be punched down when it has doubled in bulk and the indentation made by your finger in the middle of the dough remains there without filling back in.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and get out two round 10-inch pizza pans, two cookie sheets, or a 10-inch cast iron skillet plus a cookie sheet. Which ever pans you use, just know that you will need enough space for two 10-inch focaccia.
- Punch down the dough and divide it into equal rounds. Roll or press each round into 10-inch circles on a lightly floured surface. Transfer the dough to the prepared pans and make several indentations in the dough with your fingers. Drizzle with the remaining olive oil. Sprinkle on the rosemary.
- Bake the focaccia for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and sprinkle the pecorino evenly over each round loaf. Return to the oven and bake 10 minutes more.
- Let the bread cool for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.
Notes
This bread is best fresh. Because it is made with natural ingredients, it dries out quickly. Store leftover focaccia in an airtight container and reheat in a 300 degree F oven.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Bread, Baking
Keywords: pumpkin focaccia, homemade spelt focaccia, pumpkin focaccia recipe, pumpkin bread recipe
Debbie
Focaccia is one of my favourite dinner breads, so I had to try making your pumpkin spelt focaccia and it turns out perfectly. Texture and flavour were wild! My girls devoured this in one sitting, and demanded that I make it again very soon. So I will!
★★★★★