Give your focaccia a spooky twist this Halloween with this fun and delicious recipe. Fluffy, golden bread is topped with creamy goat’s cheese and mushrooms shaped into little wrinkly skulls. More cute than creepy, it’s a playful centrepiece that’s just as fun to make as it is to eat. 

Equipment

1 deep baking pan – 20 x 30 cm
1 large frying pan
Stand mixer with dough attachment.
Round piping tips (to make skull eyes)
A paring knife for carving skulls
Derwent Salt and Pepper mills in steel for spooky vibes

Prep and baking time
2 – 2.5 hours for mixing and proving the dough
45 minutes to carve and prep the mushrooms
Baking time 20 minutes 

Ingredients

Focaccia dough

• 500g Tipo ‘00’ flour
  
• 1 teaspoon instant dried yeast
  
• 10g finely ground salt
  
• 400ml lukewarm water
  
• 20 ml olive oil
  
• 10g honey
  
• ½ cup olive oil (extra for shaping and dimpling)

Topping

• 600g button mushrooms
  
• 1 clove of garlic- peeled and crushed
  
• 20ml olive oil
  
• ¼ cup water
  
• Salt and pepper to taste
  
• 150g soft goats cheese
  
• Extra salt flakes 

Method

Preheat the oven to 220 degrees Celsius – fan forced

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, yeast and salt. 
   
2. Make a well in the centre and add the water, honey and 20ml olive oil.
   
3. Mix all together until there are no dry bits, then knead using the dough hook of a stand mixer until elastic. 
   
4. This will take about 15 minutes and will create a sticky but stretchy dough. 
   
5. Scrape down the sides of the bowl forming the dough into a ball and cover the bowl (with a silicon cover or eco-friendly cling film) to prove. 
   
6. Prove in a warm place until doubled. This can take 1-2 hours. 
   
7. Transfer the dough into the baking pan, drizzled with a generous amount of olive oil.
   
8. Stretch and fold the top of the dough over the middle, then bring the bottom of the dough up and stretch over the top half. 
   
9. Turn the dough 90 degrees and repeat the stretch and fold. Allow to rest, covered for 15 minutes then stretch and prod the dough out into the corners of the pan. 
   
10. Prove in a warm place, covered in a damp tea towel for 30-40 minutes or until visibly risen. 
    

While the dough is proving, prepare the mushrooms: 

1. Wash the mushrooms, leaving the stems intact and trimming the stem base.
   
2. Half through the top and stem.
   
3. Use a small round piping tip to carve out two skull eyes, and a paring knife to carve a nose and shallow lines into the stems. 
   
4. Heat the olive oil in a deep fry pan big enough to hold the mushrooms. Add the garlic and fry gently over medium-high heat. 
   
5. Add the mushrooms skulls and toss gently then pour over the water to quickly ‘steam’ them. Toss for a minute then turn off the heat and allow to cool in the liquid. It’s important not to overcook the mushrooms, rather just heat the outside and impart a little flavour. Reserve the liquid. 
   
6. Mash the goats cheese and season with pepper and salt.
7. The dough should now have risen nicely in the pan and will start to develop bubbles. 

To finish:

1. Drizzle the dough with olive oil and use your fingers to prod holes all over the dough. 
   
2. Poke in teaspoons of goats cheese and the cooled mushroom skull halves
   
3. Drizzle with more oil and season with salt flakes and ground pepper.
   
4. Allow to prove again for another 10 minutes.
5. Bake at 220 degrees for 15-20 minutes until golden, brushing the mushrooms with reserved cooking liquid halfway through the baking process to prevent them from drying out too much. 

Serve warm and fresh. 

Tips:

• When kneading the dough, briefly turning up the stand mixer can help the dough to come together. Aim for dough that starts to come away from the sides of the bowl. 
• Try adding other yummy toppings, like pieces of stretchy cheese poked into the dough, basil leaves or crispy chillies for some punch.