Simple Snacks For Hosting: Focaccia and Za’atar Dough Balls

How many of you scramble, trying to think about what to prepare when people come over to your place? I know it can be stressful to think about what to serve. This is why I have created this multi-part series: ‘Simple Snacks For Hosting’. This series is here to help give you ideas and easy recipes for when you invite people over, especially when you have limited time to prepare it all! The first of this series is my delicious dough ball recipe.

Dough balls are finger foods, and so easy to serve. Fluffy, buttery, moist and decadent, these dough balls are made with a olive oil focaccia in mind and spiced with za’atr.

A super easy recipe that will take you 15 minutes to put together. I hope you use this when you’re hosting for the holidays!

Focaccia and Za’atar Dough Balls

The Veggie Wifey

Flavourful dough balls made with za'atar

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Servings 8 dough balls

Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Total Time 45 minutes mins

Equipment

• 1 Weighing Scale
• 2 Mixing bowls
• 1 Mini Cupcake Baking tray
• Parchment Paper
• 1 Spatula

Ingredients

• ▢ 200 grams flour strong bread flour is best and all-purpose is ok. See notes (below) if you want to add almond flour to this.
• ▢ 10 grams sugar I use granulated organic cane sugar
• ▢ 1/4 tsp salt use a measuring spoon for this. I use Himalayan pink salt
• ▢ 5 grams active dry yeast
• ▢ 32 grams water room temperature
• ▢ 100 grams olive oil extra virgin olive oil or virgin olive oil is ok
• ▢ 1/4 tsp vinegar apple cider or white vinegar will do
• ▢ 2 tbsps za'atar a Middle Eastern spice mix

Instructions

• Pour the flour, sugar and salt together in one bowl. Mix with your spatula until it is all combined. You can add in the za'atar in here or sprinkle it on top before it goes into the oven!
• Mix the active dry yeast with the water until the yeast is fully dissolved.
• Add the oil and vinegar to your yeast mixture. Mix well.
• Add this oil yeast mixture to the flour mixture and combine until you have a shaggy dough.
• Pre-heat oven to 175 degrees Celsius
• Use your fingers to gently combine all the ingredients together until you reach a sticky dough consistency. This should take no longer than 1 minute.
• Gently split the dough into smaller pieces to fit your mini cupcake baking tray. Roll each piece of dough into a perfect sphere. Place it in the tray ready to bake! If you have not added your za'atar in the dough already, you can sprinkle it on top of the dough balls here, before it bakes in the oven. You can sprinkle more on top too!
• Bake this in the middle rack of your oven, for 30 minutes. Your dough balls should be golden brown before you take it out. If you see it slightly lighter, keep it in for another 5 minutes before switching off the oven. Keep checking as it may be golden brown a littler sooner than 30 minutes too!
• Once baked, carefully remove the dough balls from the oven and let it slightly cool for 15 minutes before you remove them. It can crumble if you remove them too soon, so be patient!
• You can store this bread for up to 1 week (7 days) in an airtight container to contain its freshness.
• Enjoy this with sun-dried tomato pesto, or my fresh pesto sauces:

  Thai Basil Pesto

  White Truffle Italian Basil Pesto

  Chilli Garlic Pesto

  Classic Pesto

  Avocado Hummus

Notes

1. If you want to add almond flour to this recipe, add 180 grams of all-purpose flour and only 20 grams of almond flour. This ratio keeps the texture in tact.
2. You can use different oils to mix around the flavours!

Variations:

• You can add raisins, herbs, chocolate or nuts in this recipe! Go wild.
• In order to keep the texture in tact, I would recommend using no more than 1/2 a cup of the raisins, chocolate or nuts. You can go as herby as your palate allows.
• I would recommend crushed nuts instead of whole nuts to keep the texture.