Gluten-free Winter Focaccia With Pear, Pistachio, & Rosemary

Making a seasonal focaccia has become one of my favorite activities to observe each solstice and equinox. Making bread is a classic tradition for seasonal observances. And I love focaccia because it’s faster and easier than a full loaf of yeasted bread and it’s also super fun to get creative with the decorations. This pear, pistachio, and rosemary winter focaccia perfectly captures the seasonal vibes. 

The information in this post is intended for educational and entertainment purposes only. It is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. It is always best to work with a qualified healthcare professional before incorporating herbs into your diet.

Reasons You’ll Love This Recipe

• It’s made with gluten-free flour but the taste and texture are spot-on. It’s so nice to find a bread recipe that doesn’t just remind me of what I’m missing by avoiding gluten. 
• The recipe is super easy. No kneading is required. Just mix all the ingredients, let the dough mixture rest and rise, then transfer it to a prepared pan and you’re good to go. 
• You can get creative with the decorating. Whether you simply scatter the toppings across the dough or you decide to create pretty patterns, the result will be impressive either way. 
• It’s super customizable. You can mix herbs and/or spices into the dough, switch up the toppings, add a drizzle of honey or a glaze of jam. There are so many ways to make this gluten-free focaccia recipe your own. 

How To Make Gluten-Free Winter Focaccia

The Ingredients

One of the reasons I like this recipe is because the only gluten-free flour substitute I need is Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-free 1:1 Baking Flour. As far as pre-mixed gluten-free flour replacements go, this one has become my favorite. It works most consistently in place of regular wheat flour. 

To make this winter focaccia, you’ll need…

• Lukewarm water
• Olive oil
• Honey
• Instant yeast
• Gluten-free flour
• Baking powder
• Salt

That’s the base recipe for the gluten-free focaccia and from there you can get as creative as you like with your toppings. To give this a winter vibe in honor of Yule, I topped it with…

• Olive oil
• Fresh rosemary
• Thinly sliced pear
• Roughly chopped pistachios
• Flaky salt

Once it’s baked, I like to serve it with a drizzle of honey. I used a ginger honey I had on hand and the flavor complemented it perfectly. But a drizzle of plain honey is also delicious. 

Making Ginger Honey

The ginger honey is totally optional but it really does add another layer of flavor that really elevates the winter focaccia. It’s a breeze to make and you can use it in a number of ways—added to tea; drizzled on oatmeal, yogurt, or pancakes; or taken by the spoonful to support digestion and immune function. The only catch is that you have to make it at least a few days in advance in order to let it infuse. 

In a small jar, grate enough fresh ginger to fill the jar at least ½ full. Top with honey and give it a stir. Then place it in the fridge and let it infuse for at least a few days. 

After about a day the honey will be much thinner. After a couple of days, you can start using your ginger honey anywhere you like. If you grated the ginger finely enough, there’s no need to strain out the ginger before using. Leaving the ginger in will allow it to continue infusing, too. Use the ginger honey within about 2 weeks. 

Making The Focaccia

Start by combining the warm water, olive oil, honey, and yeast in a small bowl. Set aside for 5-10 minutes to activate the yeast. 

Measure out the flour, salt, and baking powder in the bowl of a stand mixer. Using the paddle attachment, give the dry ingredients a mix. Then pour in the yeast mixture and mix on low for a few minutes until combined. 

The dough will look more like pancake batter at this point but don’t worry, that’s what it’s supposed to look like. Cove the bowl with plastic wrap and set it somewhere warm to rise for about 40 minutes, or until it doubles in size. 

Line a quarter-size baking sheet with parchment paper and drizzle with a bit of olive oil. Gently transfer the dough to the prepared baking sheet. Drizzle with a bit more olive oil and then use your fingertips to press the dough into the pan and spread it out fairly evenly. You want to be gentle so you don’t flatten it out too much. 

Top the dough with the thinly sliced pears, fresh rosemary, and chopped pistachios. Let the dough rest while the oven preheats to 375° Fahrenheit. 

Bake the focaccia for 30-35 minutes, until it’s beautifully golden brown. Remove from the oven and cool for 10 minutes before slicing and serving with a drizzle of honey. 

Tips & Notes

Measuring by weight is useful when baking anything, but I’ve found it very nearly required when baking with gluten-free flours. If you have one, use a kitchen scale, If you don’t, be sure to measure using the scoop-and-level method, where you scoop the flour into the measuring cup and then level it with a knife.

As mentioned above, I use Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-free 1:1 Baking Flour for this recipe. I haven’t tested it with any other flour yet and I really like the results when using this flour. I know Target’s Good & Gather Gluten Free Flour Blend is very close to Bob’s Red Mill. If you want to try a different gluten-free flour, I would suggest making sure your blend uses mostly lighter flours (like rice flour and starches) and includes xanthan gum. I don’t think a bean-based flour blend would work with this recipe. But if you’re up for experimenting, give it a try! 

The dough really does look more batter-like when you first mix it together, so don’t panic. This is how it’s supposed to look. Resist the urge to add more flour. Just let it rest and rise and then be gentle with it when you transfer it to the prepared pan. The end result is absolutely delicious. 

Don’t skimp on the olive oil. It is key to getting that delicious texture on the exterior of the focaccia. 

Be careful not to underbake this bread. You want it to be a nice, deep golden brown on top. If you pull it out of the oven too early, the texture will be limp and sad and the exterior won’t have the crunch you want in a good focaccia. So let it get nicely golden. (Full disclosure: I wish I had let mine bake for another 3-4 minutes. It was still good, but I know it could have been better.)

Other Low-key Ideas To Observe Yule

In addition to making this focaccia, there are a few things I like to do at the seasonal holidays to mark the passage of time and connect to the changes in nature. 

1. Go for a long nature walk. I’m lucky to have quite a few walking trails and paths in the Salt Lake Valley to choose from but even a walk through our neighborhood, if done mindfully and intentionally, can really help you tune into the rhythms of nature. Leave your phone in your pocket and take the time to notice the natural world and what it’s doing at this time of year. 
2. Watch the sunset and/or sunrise. This is fairly easy to do on the winter solstice/Yule since the sun rises so late and sets so early. But I love taking the time to start my day watching the sun rise (even for a few minutes) and then witnessing the sun setting at the end of the day as a way to really connect to this shortest day of the year. 
3. Light a candle or fire. Fire is a traditional way to symbolize the return of the sun after the longest night of the year. And while I would love to light a bonfire that burns all night long, that’s just not so practical. Instead, I’ll light a fire in my fireplace or even just light a candle as a way to welcome the return of the sun on a much smaller scale. 
4. Baking. I do a LOT more baking in wintertime anyway. So baking is naturally a fun way to observe Yule, too. In addition to the winter focaccia, I like to bake cookies. Particularly ones that highlight the traditional spices of winter. Whether it’s chai-spiced chocolate chip cookies or chewy ginger molasses cookies, I can’t resist cookie season. 

Other Posts You May Like…

Quick & Easy Fresh Cranberry Salsa

Gluten-Free Chai Spiced Chocolate Chip Cookies

Gluten-free Spring Herb Focaccia Recipe

Gluten-free Winter Focaccia With Pear, Pistachio, & Rosemary

This easy gluten-free winter focaccia recipe is the perfect low-key way to celebrate Yule. Topped with pear, pistachios, and rosemary, it’s a fun seasonal recipe.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Course Bread

Servings 10

Ingredients

  

• 1 ¼ cups lukewarm water
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 21 grams (1 tablespoon) honey*
• 13 grams (1 tablespoon) instant yeast
• 255 grams (2 ¼ cups) gluten-free flour**
• 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
• 1 ⅛ teaspoon salt

For Topping

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2-4 tablespoons fresh rosemary
• 1 pear cored and thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons roughly chopped salted pistachios
• Flaky sea salt

For Serving

• Ginger honey or regular honey

Instructions

 

• In a small bowl, add the warm water, yeast, sugar, and olive oil. Stir to combine. Let the yeast mixture sit for about 5-10 minutes, or until the yeast is activated and the mixture looks foamy on top.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, stir together flour, salt, and baking powder. Pour the yeast mixture over the dry ingredients and mix on low speed for 5 minutes to fully saturate the flour. The dough will look more like a thick batter at this stage.
• Cover the bowl with a clean dish towel and place it somewhere warm to rise for about 40 minutes or until it has doubled in size.
• Preheat the oven to 375° F and line a quarter-size (9” x 13”) baking sheet with parchment paper. Drizzle a bit of olive oil on the parchment paper to help the bottom of the focaccia crisp up while baking.
• Gently guide the dough/batter onto the prepared baking sheet. You want to deflate it as little as possible. Drizzle it with a tablespoon of olive oil and, using the tips of your fingers, gently press it into a rectangle or oval about ¾-inch thick. You want some nice, deep indentations throughout so be firm but gentle.
• Drizzle with the remaining tablespoon of olive oil and then top with the sliced pears, chopped pistachios, and rosemary. Finish by sprinkling with a bit of salt.
• Bake for 30-35 minutes until it’s a beautiful golden brown.
• Remove from the oven and let cool for about 10 minutes. Drizzle with honey, slice, and enjoy.
• It’s best eaten the day it’s made but it will store for a couple of days at room temperature in an airtight container.

Notes

*You can use sugar or maple syrup in place of the honey to make it vegan.

**I used Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-free 1:1 Baking Flour. I haven’t tested this recipe with any other gluten-free flour alternatives. However, I know that Target’s Good & Gather Gluten Free Flour Blend is very similar to Bob’s Red Mill and should work well. I’d suggest avoiding bean-based flours as they’ll likely be too dense and heavy.