BLOOMS AND BAKES

In spring 2019, I attempted to grow edible flowers. I had never grown anything from seed before, but had become obsessed with using flowers in the kitchen. From jewel-toned micro orchids on lavender-flecked shortbread to edible micro dianthuses and marigold florets atop a blood orange poppy seed loaf, edible blooms punctuated my home-baked goods. They became my signature. I had been sourcing unsustainably — mostly from farms on the west coast — and I knew that had to change if I wanted to continue using flowers in food. I planted seeds in seven terracotta pots: nasturtium, pansies, violas, chives, bee balm, calendula, and borage. I then spent much of the summer away from home — overseas for several weeks, visiting family on the other side of the world; at an artists’ retreat; on weekend getaways with my daughter. By early fall, I had harvested but a handful of flowers; benign neglect hadn’t helped.

In early March 2020, I purchased six more packets of seeds, determined to try cultivating a flower garden again. On March 13, our lives changed as a pandemic roared across the state, and forced us indoors and inwards. Ten days later, our governor issued a shelter in place order, and my daughter and I planted those seeds, in the hopes of making our shelter a little greener. As the days and the weeks and the months began to expand and contract in meaningless ways, I measured the passage of time by watching my garden — first by counting buds, and then by observing flower heads as they turned and followed the sun across the sky.

It is now mid-summer. With any travel — save for essential trips to the grocery store or the occasional hike at a state park — verboten for the next several years, my garden has thrived. It’s in full bloom and has been an utter joy in these strange times. I harvest handfuls nearly every day, and I sometimes don’t know what to do with them!

I developed this recipe for peach, ginger, and tamarind focaccia last fall after a peach-picking outing with my mother and daughter. This sweet, spicy, tart bread is a showstopper without any flowers, but this year, I decided to top it with some additional tri-color viola adornment.

(Re)cipe: Peach, Ginger, and Tamarind Focaccia

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups (340g) warm water

3 tablespoons (35g) olive oil (for the dough); and an additional
2 tablespoons (25g) to drizzle into the pan

1 1/4 teaspoons salt

3 1/2 cups (418g) all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon instant yeast

2 peaches, sliced into 1/4-inch thick wedges

2 tablespoons (25 grams) granulated sugar

2 teaspoons (4 grams) ground ginger

2 tablespoons (60 grams) tamarind paste

10 – 15 edible flowers (see note)

Preparation

• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook and on low (or by hand), combine water, 3 tablespoons olive oil, salt, flour, and yeast. Continue mixing until the dough is almost completely smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes (in mixer) or 10 minutes (by hand). The dough will be very sticky.
• Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and leave it in a warm spot until it has doubled in size (45 minutes to 2 hours, depending on environmental conditions). Gently punch the dough down, and let the dough rise one more time, covered with plastic wrap, about 30 minutes.
• In a medium sized bowl, toss the peaches with 2 tablespoons sugar and ground ginger, and set aside.
• Drizzle 2 tablespoons olive oil onto a 9″ x 13″ pan and tip the dough onto the prepared pan. Use your fingers to gently stretch it to fill the pan. Allow the dough to rise, uncovered, in a warm spot until puffy, about 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
• Without deflating the dough, use fingers to make dimples all over the surface. Gently top the dough with the peaches, and brush with tamarind paste.
• Bake until golden brown, puffed and set, 25 to 30 minutes.
• Remove it from the oven, wait 5 minutes, then turn it out of the pan onto a rack. Decorate with edible flowers. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Note: The flowers are optional, though they are a showstopping touch. If you don’t have edible flowers, don’t be dissuaded from making this bread. It’ll be just as delicious.

Pooja Makhijani is a New Jersey-based writer and editor. She is the editor of  Under Her Skin: How Girls Experience Race in America (Seal Press), an anthology of essays, and the author of Mama’s Saris (Little Brown Books for Young Readers), a picture book.

Her bylines have appeared in The New York Times, The Village Voice, The Washington Post, NPR, Real Simple, The Atlantic, WSJ.com, The Cut, Teen Vogue, Parents, VICE, Bon Appétit, Saveur, BuzzFeed, and espnW, among others. Her essay, “The Path to an American Dream, Paved in Vienna Fingers,” was named Notable in The Best American Food Writing 2019.

Pooja is a self-taught baker, a love she found in the aftermath of a messy separation and subsequent divorce.