Sourdough Focaccia with pickled grapes, speck and thyme is a deliciously crusty and chewy flatbread with a light crumb and big bursts of flavor from the bold toppings.

I have two words for you — Picked Grapes! Wow, they are my new obsession. I’m so happy that Sneha, our hostess for today’s BreadBakers event, chose this creative topic. She asked us to use grapes, dried or fresh, baked in the bread of our choice.

Looking for inspiration, I Googled around for savory recipes using grapes. I came across a number of recipes, mostly for salads, using Pickled Grapes. I was intrigued.

I made a quick batch, altering the mix of spices to my taste, and put them in the fridge for the night. I tasted them the next day and it was love at first bite. I can’t wait to try pickled grapes in all sorts of other dishes.

Start your pickled grapes by placing the spices in a clean jar.

to pickled grapes pour the brine over the fruit

Pour the warm brine over the grapes

Refrigerate the pickled grapes for at least 1 day before using.

You’ll notice that the grapes in the photos are speckled. Although I got the grapes in our farm share, this is not a special variety of grape. According to the farmer, the speckles were due to the hot and rainy growing season. But the speckles didn’t affect the flavor at all. In fact, I kind of like they way they look like little specked eggs.

I thought a salty/fatty topping would accent the tangy/sweet flavor of the grapes, so I added some chopped speck. A little fresh thyme for a fresh herbal note was the perfect final touch.

Because of the sweet, sour and salty combination, I think Focaccia with Pickled Grapes and Speck is a perfect brunch dish. A slab of this bread would be wonderful next to scrambled eggs or an omelet.

Helpful hints for making Sourdough Focaccia with Pickled Grapes:

Make the pickled grapes 1-2 days before you’re going to bake the bread. They can be made up to a week in advance.
It is possible to mix this dough by hand, but it’s much easier on a stand mixer. If mixing by hand you can use a bench scraper or plastic bowl scraper to help lift and move the dough.
I used a sourdough bread as the base of this focaccia. If you don’t have a sourdough starter you can follow the bread recipe in this post instead. For future recipes I urge you to either buy or make a starter of your own. The flavor and texture difference is worth the effort, believe me.
My starter is replenished with equal volume of water and flour (e.g. 1/2 cup water & 1/2 cup flour). That makes my starter 166% hydration. It is the texture of pancake batter. You might need to adjust the amount of flour used in the recipe based on the hydration of your starter.
I found the following schedule worked really well for this 2 day recipe: I mixed the dough in the afternoon/evening of day one (say a Friday or Saturday). I let it sit at room temperature (with the hourly folding and flipping) until bed time.
I put the dough in the fridge for the night and took it out early in the morning because I wanted to enjoy this bread for breakfast. If you want to bake the bread for later in the day just take the dough out of the refrigerator about 2 hours before the time you want to serve the bread.

By breakfast time I had warm, fresh Sourdough Focaccia with Pickled Grapes & Speck. Heavenly!!!

Sourdough Focaccia with Pickled Grapes and Speck

Name: Sourdough Focaccia with Pickled Grapes and Speck
Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 14 h 5 min
Yield: 16 servings
Ingredients: 1/2 cinnamon stick; 1" piece of vanilla bean; 5 , cracked cardamom pod; 1/8 teaspoon black peppercorns; Pinch of red pepper flakes; 8 oz red or green seedless grapes, washed and stemmed; 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar; 2 tablespoons water; 1/2 cup granulated white sugar; pinch of kosher salt; 1 cup (7.5 oz, 205g) sourdough starter (see note); 1 1/4 cups (10 oz, 295 ml) warm water; 1/2 cup (2.75 oz, 75g) whole wheat flour; 1/4 cup (1.8 oz, 50g) olive oil; 1 1/2 teaspoons table salt; 3 1/4 cups (14 oz, 396g) unbleached all-purpose flour; 1/4 cup (1.8 oz, 50g) olive oil; 2 oz speck, chopped (see note); 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves

Yield: 16 servings

Prep Time: 45 minutes

Rising Time: 13 hours

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 14 hours 5 minutes

Sourdough Focaccia with pickled grapes, speck and thyme is a deliciously crusty and chewy flatbread with a light crumb and big bursts of flavor from the bold toppings.

Ingredients

Pickled Grapes (1-2 days ahead)

1/2 cinnamon stick
1" piece of vanilla bean
5 , cracked cardamom pod
1/8 teaspoon black peppercorns
Pinch of red pepper flakes
8 oz red or green seedless grapes, washed and stemmed
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons water
1/2 cup granulated white sugar
pinch of kosher salt

Bread Dough

1 cup (7.5 oz, 205g) sourdough starter (see note)
1 1/4 cups (10 oz, 295 ml) warm water
1/2 cup (2.75 oz, 75g) whole wheat flour
1/4 cup (1.8 oz, 50g) olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons table salt
3 1/4 cups (14 oz, 396g) unbleached all-purpose flour

Finish

1/4 cup (1.8 oz, 50g) olive oil
2 oz speck, chopped (see note)
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves

Instructions

Make the Pickled Grapes

Place the cinnamon, vanilla bean, cardamom pods, peppercorns and pepper flakes in the bottom of a clean 1 pint canning jar.. Place the grapes into the jar on top of the spices.
In a small saucepan combine the vinegar, water sugar and salt. Bring the mixture to a full boil and stir until the sugar is melted.
Pour the hot brine over the grapes. Cover the jar with the lid and let cool to room temperature.
Refrigerate for at least a day before using. The grapes will keep several weeks in the refrigerator.

Make the dough (day 1)

In the bowl of a stand mixer, or in a large mixing bowl, combine the starter with water, whole wheat flour, oil, and salt. Add 2 1/2 cups of all purpose flour to form a thick batter. If using a stand mixer switch to the dough hook. Add the remaining flour and knead on medium low speed for 15 minutes (speed 3 on my stand mixer) or turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead by hand.
The dough will start out quite sticky but will clear the bowl and cling to the hook after kneading. If working by hand, keep your hands and the surface floured to prevent the dough from sticking.
Scrape the dough into a lightly oiled bowl, turning once to coat. Cover the bowl and set aside at room temperature for 4-5 hours. Every hour repeat the following procedure: Uncover the bowl, lift one side of the dough over into the middle of the dough. Repeat with the other three sides of the dough then flip the dough over. After 4-5 hours put the dough in the refrigerator overnight.

Bake the Focaccia (Day 2)

Remove the dough from the refrigerator and leave it at room temperature for about 1 hour.
Lightly oil a 1/2 sheet pan with half of the olive oil. Place the dough onto the oiled pan (trying not to deflate too much) and flip it over to coat the dough with a film of oil. Use your fingers to spread the dough to about a 1/2" thick square or rectangle. Cover the dough with plastic wrap. Allow the dough to rise for about 1 - 1 1/2 hours until well risen and puffy.
Preheat the oven to 375°F convection or 400°F regular. Use your fingers to dimple the top of the dough all over. Brush with the remaining olive oil, sprinkle with speck and thyme. Distribute the picked grapes over the surface and press them down into the dough.
Bake about 15-20 minutes until puffed and golden brown

Notes

My starter is replenished with equal volume of water and flour (e.g. 1/2 cup water & 1/2 cup flour). That makes my starter 166% hydration. It is the texture of pancake batter. You might need to adjust the amount of flour used in the recipe based on the hydration of your starter.

Speck is a type of spiced and smoked ham. You can use pancetta, proscuitto or any ham/bacon of your choice. Whichever your use, chop it small so it can become crisp while the bread bakes.

The recipe can be halved and baked in a cast iron skillet

Thanks to Sneha of Sneha’s Recipe for hosting this event. Check out these other fabulous bread recipes featuring grapes in all forms:

Buccellato di Lucca from Gayathri’s Cook Spot
Cinnamon Raisin Bread from Food Lust People Love
Cinnamon Raisin Rolls from Ambrosia
Golden Raisin Walnut Bread from Cindy’s Recipes and Writings
Mini Raisins Buns from Sneha’s Recipe
Roasted Grape and Pear Kuchen from A Day in the Life on the Farm
Red Wine Rosemary Bread from All That’s Left Are The Crumbs
Sausage and Cambozola Pizza with Arugula and Grapes from Karen’s Kitchen Stories
Sourdough Focaccia with Pickled Grapes and Speck from Baking Sense

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on this home page.

We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.

Comments

Wendy Klik

September 11, 2018 at 8:40 am

I’m anxious to try these pickled grapes. Thank you.

- Eileen
  
  September 11, 2018 at 4:52 pm
  
  They are so easy to make and I can think of million ways to serve them. As I said, I’m officially obsessed!
  
Karen

September 11, 2018 at 3:39 pm

Those grapes sound amazing! I love the speckles too. Too bad they can’t introduce them as a new variety, ha ha! Your crumb is amazing too. Great flavors.

- Eileen
  
  September 11, 2018 at 4:54 pm
  
  Thanks, Karen. It was a fun BreadBakers theme.
  
Cindy

September 11, 2018 at 8:25 pm

I’ve pickled strawberries but never grapes. I need to try this recipe asap!

- Eileen
  
  September 12, 2018 at 10:46 am
  
  Cindy, you’ll love them. They absolutely burst in your mouth.
  
Namita

September 11, 2018 at 10:55 pm

I loved your focaccia Eileen. You planned well in advance and pickled the grapes. The crumb is beautiful. There must be a burst of lovely flavours and tastes. I checked out your focaccia recipes and loved them all. Some of them are going to be replicated in my kitchen soon.

- Eileen
  
  September 12, 2018 at 10:46 am
  
  Awesome!
  
Jessica Canva

September 12, 2018 at 10:06 am

Wow! looks really yummy this pickled grape combined with the sourdough will bring a unique taste …..Thanks for sharing

- Eileen
  
  September 12, 2018 at 10:46 am
  
  Thanks!
  
sneha datar

September 14, 2018 at 3:34 am

Love Pickled Grapes in salad and sandwiches, topping them over a bread makes them look even more delicious.

Sourdough Focaccia with Pickled Grapes and Speck #BreadBakers

Helpful hints for making Sourdough Focaccia with Pickled Grapes:

Sourdough Focaccia with Pickled Grapes and Speck