Halloween Focaccia Bread

Festive Halloween Focaccia is made easy with frozen dinner rolls! Decorate with bell pepper pumpkins, olive spiders, and mushroom skulls. A cute, savory Halloween party recipe idea everyone will love.

Prep Time25

Cook Time20

Proof (Rising) Time3

Total Time3 45

Course: Appetizer, Bread

Cuisine: American, Halloween

Keyword: frozen dinner rolls, halloween party food, halloween recipe

Servings:

Author: Sandy Clifton

Equipment

Ingredients

Focaccia

Olive Oil
18 Frozen Dinner Rolls (such as Rhodes®)
Kosher Salt, to taste
Italian Seasoning, to taste
Garlic Powder, to taste

Veggie Art (See Notes)

2 Orange Bell Peppers
Fresh Parsley
Mushrooms
Olives

Instructions

Prep and Proof

Spray the baking dish generously with cooking spray and add a little olive oil.
Add the frozen bread roll dough pieces to the pan, spaced evenly apart, in one layer.
Cover with plastic wrap and place dish in a warm area (I put them in the oven with the oven light on, as it gives just enough warmth to make them rise. But I don’t turn on the oven).
Let the rolls thaw and rise to about double in size. Don’t leave them out too long as they can over proof and your bread will be flat.

Prep Your Design

While the bread is rising, you can prep your design. I chose a pumpkin patch for mine, as I’m not that talented with this kind of thing (I did put some ideas in the recipe notes below).

Season the Dough

When the rolls have risen, remove the plastic wrap and use your clean fingers, in a kind of claw position, to poke them all (they will deflate and have dimples).
Brush on 1 to 2 Tablespoons of olive oil over the top of the dough.
Sprinkle on some kosher salt to taste.
Sprinkle on Italian seasoning and garlic powder to taste.
Heat oven to 375°F.

Decorate

Arrange your design on the seasoned dough. You can’t go wrong here (see notes for ideas). Just make sure your veggies aren’t wet.

Bake

Bake the focaccia at 375°F for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the top is just golden.
Let cool n the pan a while, then transfer to a cutting board, or serve from the dish, if you want.

Serve

Loosen the bottom of the focaccia bread with a metal spatula as it can stick to the pan a little.
Serve with some marinara sauce or other dip, or alongside soup or meats and cheeses.

Notes

Recipe Timing

Proof time can vary 2½–4½ hours depending on room temperature.
Start preheating oven to 375°F about 15 minutes before the dough is ready.
Decorate quickly (5–10 minutes) so you can go straight into the oven and capture oven spring.

Decorating Ideas

You can get creative here, and have fun making your Halloween or fall themed scene. The kids can join in and help make the veggie art!

Orange Bell Pepper Pumpkins or Jack-O'-Lanterns – Cut the bell peppers in half from stem to base, clean out the seeds. Flatten each half and use a small knife to shape like a pumpkin. Carve out a face or leave plain. Use some parsley or green onion as the stems and vines for a pumpkin patch look.
Black Olive Spiders – Makes cute spiders. Use half for the body, and slice the other half for the legs.
White Mushroom Skulls – Cut in half lengthwise and scoop out tine divots in the cap for skull eye sockets, and cut grooves in the stem as the jaw (2 skulls per mushroom).
Onion Webs – Very thin red onion rings for “webs”; a whole olive in the center.
Eyes Everywhere – Sliced green olives with pimiento for silly monster eyes.
Pepper “Candy Corn” – Use strips of orange, yellow, and white (mozzarella) for a candy-corn motif.

Nutrition