Unlike traditional focaccia, this mashup is not leavened with yeast but with baking soda. It takes about 10 minutes to assemble, less than 15 minutes to cook, and once honeycombed and brushed with olive oil, it will give you all the focaccia vibes in a fraction of the time.
Get the recipe: Soda Bread Focaccia
The idea was inspired by a recipe from a booklet my mother-in-law shared in her class at the Ballymaloe Cookery School in Ireland. At the time, I was developing recipes for my upcoming book of Easy Savory Bakes, and the recipe was the very definition of such baking.
Soda bread dough is very lean and therefore benefits enormously from bathing in oil. By being generous with a flavorful seasoned oil, you transform this bread with its soft crumbs and crispy top into a truly appetizing treat.
Below, I explain how — and why — soda bread focaccia’s wonderfully short ingredient list differs and is similar to yeast focaccia, and share some techniques for making it perfectly every time.
Flour: Traditional soda bread requires all-purpose flour and while you can make soda bread focaccia with just that, we like to add a little bread flour to the mix. Not only is protein-rich bread flour often an ingredient in traditional focaccia, but it also adds structure, chew and height to this hybrid, which offers a more focaccia-like texture and appearance. a focaccia.
Sugar: Don’t worry about the inclusion of sugar: it seasons the dough and helps it brown, but doesn’t actually make the bread sweet. Sugar is a surprisingly important ingredient in savory baked goods, especially when making muffins and tea loaves, because it adds moisture, contributes to browning, and also helps season the dough.
Leaven: Traditionally, soda bread is leavened only with baking soda, hence the name. But adding a little baking powder helps to lift and give a lightness to the crumb which is more difficult to obtain without the round shape of a ball.
Buttermilk: Soda bread traditionally calls for buttermilk, which imparts tenderness and tanginess and helps to leaven the bread by activating the baking soda. In a pinch, you can substitute whole milk and 1¾ teaspoons distilled white vinegar for the buttermilk.
Seasoned oil: A traditional soda bread contains no fat – no eggs, oil or butter – except for the small amount in buttermilk. So the oil you choose to dip, brush and drizzle over the dough should not only be used generously, but also be flavorful. My recipe calls for pantry-safe dried thyme as well as garlic and onion powders, but if you prefer fresh herbs and fresh minced garlic, by all means use them.
Variants: In addition to playing with the flavors of your seasoned oil and sprinkling the bread with flaky sea salt, black pepper, and crushed red pepper flakes before baking, consider sprinkling the bread with chopped olives, sliced anchovies or caramelized onions. And after cooking, a sprinkling of parmesan will enhance the umami notes.
Get the recipe: Soda Bread Focaccia
