I’ve wanted to make a decorated loaf for a while, having seen several on YouTube and at baking shows. Most seem to have been made with Focaccia (which I also like very much) but I wanted to use my Herby Fougasse recipe, which creates a similar open structured, soft crumb. I must point out that this loaf is a “work in progress”. Nevertheless you can still use it and make good bread; the decorative elements are very open ended.

Makes: 2 medium loaves

Level: Fairly straight forward

Time: Initial “hands on” ~ 20 min. if using a stand mixer. 30 min. if kneading by hand. 60 – 90 min. for the first prove. Second “hands on” ~ 15 min. Second prove ~ 30 – 45 min. Decorating ~ variable, maybe 20 – 30 min. Baking ~ 20 – 25 min.

Need: 2 baking trays (about 30” x 20”, with raised sides)

Ingredients

500g strong white bread flour, plus extra for dusting
10g fine salt
7g sachet instant yeast
3 tsp dried herbs (e.g. rosemary, thyme, sage, oregano, mixed herbs etc)
30ml olive oil, plus extra for greasing and drizzling
325ml warm water
fine semolina, for dusting
Various savoury items for decoration (thin slices of onion, chives, red & yellow peppers cut to shape etcetera.)
Freshly grated salt (Himalayan pink or rock salt) to finish

Method

1. Grease a large bowl with a little oil. Line the baking trays with parchment.

2. Put the flour, salt and yeast into the bowl plus the dry herbs and mix together. Add the olive oil with the water and mix. Knead for 9 – 10 minutes in a stand mixer using the dough hook – until the dough gathers into a smooth, stretchy blob.

3. Tip the dough into a lightly oiled bowl. Cover and leave to rise until at least doubled in size (60 – 90 minutes, depending on room temperature). The dough should be bouncy and shiny.

4. Mix equal quantities of white flour and semolina together and use to heavily dust the work surface and each parchment lined tray, especially into the corners. Gently tip the dough onto the work surface. Divide it equally into two. Spread or roll each piece to fit the trays.

5. Lift each piece onto the prepared baking trays & spread out again to fill the trays.

6. Place the trays inside large plastic bags. Seal and leave to prove in a warm place for 20 – 40 minutes.

7. Preheat the oven to Fan 200°C. Spray or brush a little olive oil over the top of the loaves. Add and press in the cut savoury items to create a pattern or picture. Spray or brush again with olive oil.

8. Bake for 20–25 minutes*, or until the fougasses sound hollow when tapped on the base. Remove from the oven and while still hot, brush with more olive oil and sprinkle with a little salt or any dried herbs of your choice.

* After about 15 minutes check to see if you need to cover with foil, especially if you have delicate decorations.

In the loaf shown here I used chives for the flower stems. This didn’t work very well as they were so thin they became quite crispy. Maybe spring onions sliced lengthways would have been better. For the flower heads I used red, yellow and orange bell peppers and dabbed the inner sides with kitchen paper to soak up the moisture. I had a set of small cutters in various shapes. I think this aspect was quite successful.

I wish you every success with your bread making. I hope you have a go at this one and enjoy making and eating a lovely loaf. If you want to see more of my bread recipes click this link.

Here are some quite different breads that you might want to try:

Coconut and Milk Bread