Equipment
- Baking sheet large rimmed half sheet pan
- Stand Mixer optional
- Cling film
- Conventional oven
Ingredients
- 1 lb pumpkin, around ½ a medium pumpkin - choose a sweet pumpkin variety for this recipe
- 5 tablespoon olive oil, divided
- 5 cups flour
- 2 tablespoon yeast, instant yeast, or active dry (see notes)
- 1 teaspoon salt, plus flaky sea salt for sprinkling
- 2 cups water, lukewarm
- 2 tablespoon maple syrup
- ½ large yellow bell pepper, sliced
- ½ large red bell pepper, sliced
- 1 large red onion, sliced
- ½ cup mushrooms, sliced
- ½ cup zucchini, sliced
- fresh chives, small bunch
- 1 tablespoon dried thyme
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Cut the pumpkin in half just beside the stem, remove the seeds and cut it in half once again. Peel it using a vegetable peeler, then cut it into small, bite-sized pieces.1 lb pumpkin
- Place the pumpkin on a baking tray, drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil and bake for 20-25 minutes, until fully softened.5 tbsp olive oil
- Transfer the pumpkin to a blender or food processor and blend until a smooth purée forms. Let it cool until just warm.
- Mix together the flour, salt and yeast in a large bowl. In a different bowl, combine the lukewarm water, pumpkin purée, and maple syrup. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix until thoroughly combined (or mix with the dough hook of a stand mixer on low speed for 3-4 minutes). At the end, mix in 2 tablespoon olive oil. The dough will be soft and sticky.5 cups flour, 2 tbsp yeast, 1 tsp salt, 2 cups water, 2 tbsp maple syrup, 5 tbsp olive oil
- Transfer the dough to a large rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper, and stretch it into a large rectangle. Cover with cling film and allow to rise at room temperature for 3-4 hours, until roughly doubled in size.
- Drizzle the remaining 2 tablespoon olive oil over the focaccia and dimple the dough using your fingers, pressing them almost all the way through. Allow to rise for 10-15 minutes more.5 tbsp olive oil
- Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F.
- Arrange the bell peppers, red onion, mushrooms, zucchini and fresh chives on the focaccia. Sprinkle with flaky sea salt and dried thyme.½ large yellow bell pepper, ½ large red bell pepper, ½ cup mushrooms, ½ cup zucchini, 1 tbsp dried thyme, fresh chives
- Bake for 22-25 minutes, until crispy on the outside and golden brown. Let it cool for a few minutes before slicing.
Notes
Canned pumpkin: Use about 10 oz (1 ¼ cups) plain canned pumpkin purée instead of roasting fresh pumpkin, and skip steps 1-3. Don't use pumpkin pie filling.
Active dry yeast: Stir it into the lukewarm water with the maple syrup and let it sit for 5-10 minutes until foamy, then continue with the recipe.
Make ahead: After shaping the dough in the pan, cover and refrigerate it overnight instead of the room-temperature rise. Let it sit at room temperature for about an hour before dimpling and baking.
Weigh your flour if you can, or spoon and level it, so the dough doesn't end up dense and dry.
Nutrition (estimated per serving)
Calories: 409kcalCarbohydrates: 70gProtein: 10gFat: 10gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 7gSodium: 299mgPotassium: 407mgFiber: 4gSugar: 6gVitamin A: 5206IUVitamin C: 42mgCalcium: 47mgIron: 5mg
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