Purple Sourdough Focaccia (naturally Colored)

Hi,

For me when it comes to eating it is not just the taste that matters, the dish should also be visually appealing, where color and forms play a major part. Hence, I very often cook and eat colorful dishes. And what does this have to do with today’s recipe?

We have this friend of us who is partly amused partly sceptic whenever he sees me eating my not so conventional dishes, like cold beetroot soup or cold roasted pepper soup. We invited him over for dinner and because he asked several times with that peculiar smile on his face whether there will be any pink soup I told: no. I decided to make a purple bread instead.

Long story short in the end he liked it so much that he asked me to pack a piece for him to take away.

Supplies

Ingredients:

For the mature starter:

25 g starter* from the fridge
50 g strong bread flour
50 g water

*You can find a detailed explanation on how to make your own starter from scratch in one of my previous Instructables.

For coloring:

220 g purple carrots
400 g water

For the focaccia:

100 g mature starter
550 g strong white bread flour
380 ml liquid (meaning the water in which carrots were cooked supplemented with water in this quantity)
10 g salt
5-6 tablespoons of olive oil for oiling the pan and drizzling over the dough
1 tablespoon of canola/olive oil to oil the bowl during fermentation
about half of the cooked carrot finely chopped

For decoration:

100 g blueberries
100 g blackberries
purple basil
chili pepper
1 teaspoon pink peppercorn
2 sprigs rosemary
flowering oregano
lavender (1 flower, maximum 2)

Utensils:

digital scale
mason jar
spoons
stand mixer with dough hook attachment
bowl to proof the dough
to decorate: cutting board, sharp knife
clingfilm
deep baking pan (25 x 35 cm, about 4 cm deep)
salad spinner (for washing herbs)
saucepan
vegetable peeler

Step 1: Refresh Stock Starter

[I’ve been baking sourdough breads regularly for over 2 years now. Yes, I started out like so many others, during the lockdown, but I kept the habit up because baking bread is fun, you know what you put in the dough, it is variable, and everyone in my family likes homemade sourdough bread a lot. All I want to say is that I have a nice and strong, regularly used stock starter sitting in the fridge. For me, it is enough to refresh starter once prior to baking, but if you do not use your stock starter regularly it may need to be refreshed twice to get ready to make the dough rise. In this case, take the stock starter out of the fridge the previous night and follow the process as written below.]

First thing in the morning (it is very important to start in time, as the process is lengthy) measure 25 g stock starter, 50 g flour and 50 g water into a clean jar, mix well and let it sit on the kitchen counter loosely covered with a lid.

Within the next 3-5 hours the volume of the stock starter will at least double and it will be fluffy (you’ll see tiny but also bigger bubbles on the side of the jar).

If you are not sure about whether the starter is ready, place a spoonful into cold water, it should float (last pic.).

Step 2: Coloring

Wash and peel purple carrots, slice and place them into a saucepan and cook until tender. The water in which the carrots are cooked will get dark purple.

When the carrots are soft, fish them out of the liquid, but do not discard the liquid!

Cut about half of the carrots into tiny bits and set aside.

Step 3: Autolyse

When the starter is ready for use, place the mixing bowl on a digital scale, tip the flour into it, then add the cooking liquid of the carrots and so much water that the liquid should add up to 380 g in total. Combine and cover the bowl with a kitchen towel and let it sit on the counter for about 40-60 minutes. The aim of this step is to help gluten develop and to make it easier to work with the dough.

Step 4: Combine Dough

Add the starter to the flour and water mixture, knead with the stand mixer equipped with a dough hook attachment. I kneaded the dough at speed 2 twice for 3 minutes with a one-minute break in between.

Add salt and chopped carrots (salt and wild yeast do not get on well, therefore I suggest to let the yeast work itself into the dough first and add salt only at this point). Knead for another 2-3 minutes.

Tip the dough onto the lightly floured countertop.

Step 5: Knead by Hand

We arrived at one of my favorite parts in making bread. There are various ways to get round this, I prefer the so-called slap and fold method in which as the name suggests, you slap the dough on the counter then fold it. Truly therapeutical after a long day in the office. I usually slap it 100 times. Yes, I am counting.

Finally, form the dough into a ball, transfer it into a lightly oiled bowl, cover with a kitchen towel and let it sit for 40-60 minutes.

Step 6: Folding

Dump the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and stretch it into a rectangle (actually a fairly big rectangle can be achieved: roughly 50x70 centimeters).

Fold the dough from the short side like an envelope (three – fold), turn it 90 degrees so that it is again the short side close to you. Roll it up like a towel, then put it back into the bowl (covered) and let it rest for another 40-60 minutes.

Repeat folding two more times with the same interval in between. As gluten develops, you will not be able to stretch the dough as large as when folding it for the first time – and that’s just how it should be. Let the dough rest for roughly an hour following the third fold, before getting onto the next step.

Step 7: Forming

In case of focaccia, forming means gently stretching the dough in the pan.

Pour 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil into the pan (size: approximately 25x35 cm). Spread it evenly by lifting one side of the pan then the other. Place the dough in the middle then gently push with your fingers starting from the center to the sides of the pan. You may also grab the edges and stretch it. It will spring back, don't force it. It will be easier to finish after letting the dough rest for a while. Cover with clingfilm and let the dough rest for one hour.

Remove the clingfilm and stretch the dough gently further, pulling the sides until it reaches the edges of the pan. Cover tightly with clingfilm and place it in the fridge for overnight.

Step 8: Decoration

Take the focaccia out of the fridge, remove the clingfilm and let it warm up to room temperature (1-1.5 hours).

In the meantime, gather your supplies for decoration. Wash fruits and herbs and let them dry. Remove herb leaves from thick stems. Cut a few slices of chili.

Preheat the oven to 190° Celsius.

Drizzle the top of the dough with 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil and poke your fingers into the dough, Scatter with rosemary, blackberries, blueberries, pink peppercorns, a few basil leaves, chili slices and lavender petals. Please note that lavender has a strong smell and taste, use just a bit.

Bake for about 30 minutes.