Sweet Corn Vegan Cornbread Focaccia
Crispy, crumbly cornbread + rich, fluffy, chewy focaccia is the bread mash-up of your dreams! This cornbread focaccia is the best of both worlds, with the fluff and chew of focaccia, and the texture and flavor of cornbread. Top it off with a generous sprinkling of sweet corn and flaky salt on top, and you’ll have the ultimate summer bread.
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The Beauty of Focaccia Bread
You don’t have to be a baker to make focaccia- it’s a super simple bread to make, and an especially delicious one to eat. Focaccia is an Italian style of bread that is enriched with olive oil. It is fairly flat, with a dimpled surface. You can make a simple one with just a sprinkling of salt on top, or you can go all out with herbs, vegetables, and more decorating the surface. Some people even use focaccia as a canvas to make focaccia art out of different veggies. Focaccia is a “flat bread”, but not a flatbread. It is physically fairly flat, but unlike tortillas, pita or other flatbreads it is a risen bread, meaning it is made with yeast (either commercial yeast or a sourdough). Because of that it takes a little time, but is generally an unfussy bread that is very forgiving. My favorite use for focaccia is as a sandwich bread, or paired with a pot of brothy beans, but most of the time it doesn’t make it that far. My partner and I stand over the hot oven, cutting piece after piece of the warm bread until we’ve consumed an embarrassing amount of focaccia.
Looking for Breads? Try one of these!
- Sweet and Simple Vegan Dandelion Bread
- Burst Intestine Vegan Savory Halloween Bread
- Champagne Grape Almond Butter Swirl Bread
- Curry Leaf Vegan Garlic Bread
- 4 Ingredient Fluffy Easy Flatbreads (Vegan, G.F. Optional)
- Garlic Yeasted Savory Zucchini Bread
- Garlic and Herb Vegan Nettle Breadsticks (Urtica dioica)
- Just Flour and Water Flatbreads (Oh, and Salt…)
Got Cornmeal? Try one of these Cornmeal Recipes!
- Sweet or Savory Vegan Pawpaw Cornbread
- Crispy Cornmeal Vegan Milkweed Pod Poppers
- Apricot Vegan Cornbread with Whipped Maple Miso Butter
- Vegan Cornbread with Roasted Tomatoes
- Baked Chile Relleno Cornbread Casserole
Cornbread Focaccia Tips and Tricks
- After cutting the corn kernels off the cob, you can extract even more corn flavor by “milking” the cob. Run the back of your knife down the corn cob and collect the pulp that comes out. Add it to the bread along with the kernels.
- Making deep indentations in the dough will help the corn stick to the surface of the bread. You don’t want your fingers to go completely through the dough, but getting pretty close is great!
- You can use your instant pot to help the dough rise faster. Add a little water to the bowl, and set it to the yogurt setting. Add your dough inside another bowl on top- it doesn’t need to fit inside or to fit the lid on top. I find that I can usually cut my prove time in half this way.
- Serve with a juicy tomato salad for a simple summer meal.
Sweet Corn Vegan Cornbread Focaccia
Ingredients
- 2 cups vegan milk
- 2 1/4 tsp. active dry yeast (one package)
- 1 tsp. granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup olive oil, divided
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup cornmeal
- 1 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1 ear corn, kernels cut off the cob (or about 3/4 cup corn kernels)
- Flaky salt, for sprinkling
Instructions
- Gently heat your milk so it is warm, but not hot. Add to a stand mixer, along with the yeast and sugar. Let sit for a few minutes, until frothy.
- Add 1/4 cup olive oil and give a quick stir. Next add the flour, cornmeal, and salt and stir to bring the dough together. You want to be able to form a somewhat sticky dough- add a small amount of flour or water if your dough seems to dry or wet. Use a dough hook in your mixer to knead the dough for five minutes.
- Transfer your dough to a lightly oiled bowl, cover with a damp towel, and move to a warm place to prove. Let rise for about 60-90 minutes, until the dough has doubled in size. Punch down the dough.
- Use about one tablespoon of your remaining 1/4 cup of olive oil to grease a 9x14" metal baking tray. Transfer your dough onto the baking tray, gently stretching it out to cover the tray evenly. Place the corn kernels on top of the dough, pushing it down into the dough with your fingers. Cover again with the damp towel, and let rise for another 30-60 minutes.
- During this time, preheat the oven to 425F (220C). After the dough has proved and the oven is heated, use your fingers to poke deep indentations into the dough. Top with the remaining three tablespoons of olive oil and a sprinkling of flaky salt. Place in the oven and bake for 25 minutes, until golden brown.
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Excellent recipe! I let the dough proof overnight just because I made the dough last night and baked this morning. It turned out delicious. The corn kernels made it taste very fresh. Thanks for the recipe!
So glad you liked it Pia, and thanks for the comment!