Ree Drummond’s Arty Bread ‘Looks Like a Piece of Art Every Time’

If you’ve ever admired focaccia bread art and wished you could make one of your own, now Food Network star Ree Drummond makes it possible, the easy way.

The star of The Pioneer Woman shows home cooks how to make their own Arty Bread and, as she says, it’s “a really easy thing.”

Drummond says ‘bread counts as salad in my world’

In her recent cookbook The Pioneer Woman Cooks―Super Easy!: 120 Shortcut Recipes for Dinners, Desserts, and More, Drummond says of the bread art fad, “Bread counts as salad in my world! There’s a trend in food these days that involves pressing edible items — usually a mix of vegetable pieces, herbs, and olives — onto bread dough to form recognizable scenes. The bread bakes and looks like a piece of art every time.”

Drummond also praised one of her culinary colleague’s bread art creations, adding, “I’ve seen flower gardens, rainbows, wheelbarrows—heck, my Food Network friend Molly Yeh even made bread art depicting her young daughter, Bernie! I find it all beautiful (and very delicious).”

Ree Drummond says ‘there’s no right or wrong’ when it comes to bread art

In her cookbook, Drummond’s recipe for her Arty Bread calls for halved red and yellow cherry tomatoes, pitted olives, fresh sage leaves, small rosemary sprigs, a thinly sliced red onion, olive oil, flaky sea salt, grated Parmesan cheese, and frozen white bread dough, thawed.

The dough is stretched out onto an ungreased 13 x 9 sheet pan and “dimpled” with fingers. Drummond calls it “focaccia-esque fun!” She suggests arranging the tomato halves and olives on the dough: “Upside down, right side up — there’s no right or wrong method!”

The sage and rosemary are arranged between the tomatoes and olives, along with the red onion slices. It’s all brushed with olive oil, sprinkled with sea salt and Parmesan cheese, and baked in a 450-degree F oven for about 25 minutes.

Drummond recommends slicing it “into squares” and savoring “every bite. Abstract art has always been my preference!”

The Food Network star sings the praises of frozen bread dough

As her best-selling cookbook is all about taking shortcuts in the kitchen, Drummond celebrated the many ways that frozen bread dough can save the day or, at least, a meal. Thanks to the frozen dough, the chef put together her Arty Bread in a minimum of time.

“Frozen bread dough is a staple I can’t imagine being without,” she says in her cookbook. “It’s sold in two forms: standard loaves and individual dinner rolls. It usually requires a good three to four hours for it to thaw and rise, but I just move the dough from the freezer to the fridge at night. By dinnertime the next day, it’s thawed and ready to make your favorite carby recipes.”

The culinary host highly recommends stocking up on frozen dough for homemade pizza, calzones, breadsticks, and more.