Focaccia is undoubtedly having a second on Instagram, and we’re right here for it. Whereas making a selfmade batch is straightforward as will be (see our recipes for basic homemade focaccia, roasted garlic focaccia, and olive-rosemary focacccia), I can’t say I’m all the time able to hop off the sofa and prep a batch for the oven—happily good store-bought focaccia isn’t laborious to search out. Whereas good high quality selfmade focaccia or store-bought focaccia is satisfying by itself, there are myriad methods to decorate it up. After all there are lots of savory spins on focaccia (olive, tomato, and onion are a few of my favourite add-ins), however it’s the candy takes which can be significantly piquing our curiosity now.
As soon as we noticed this post utilizing focaccia as a vessel for an ice cream sandwich, I and the remainder of the Critical Eats staff began furiously brainstorming different methods to show this usually savory bread right into a candy deal with. Listed here are only a few of our favourite candy spins on focaccia.
Critical Eats / Yasmine Maggio
Ice Cream Sandwich
Utilizing slices of focaccia as an alternative of cookies for an ice cream sandwich is genius, so we needed to embody it right here. It’s so simple as scooping your favourite ice cream and smushing it between two items of focaccia. I attempted plain focaccia with vanilla ice cream in addition to with espresso ice cream, and each have been scrumptious, however I can see this working effectively with different ice cream flavors, so mess around with it—you by no means know what new combos you’ll uncover. Rosemary focaccia with honey or peach ice cream is one we wish to attempt quickly.
Because the common slice of focaccia is generally fairly thick, I recommend chopping it down the center to create two items. For max smushing capability, it’s greatest to go together with un-toasted focaccia right here; a heat piece will lead your ice cream to soften quickly, and a crisp one is a straightforward path to your sandwich falling aside sooner than your life….
Critical Eats / Yasmine Maggio
Nutella, Pistachio Cream, and Different Candy Spreads
Good focaccia is extra flavorful than your common piece of toast, which makes it the best vessel to your favourite spreads. Something goes right here: a chocolate-hazelnut unfold resembling Nutella, dulce de leche, and pistachio cream are nice decisions, however I significantly favored the straightforward mixture of salted butter and a drizzle of honey. Whichever unfold you select to slather in your focaccia, a sprinkle of flaky sea salt is a perfect of entirety.
This can be a nice possibility for a fast candy snack, however should you’re entertaining, you may additionally lower the focaccia up into bite-size items after which toast them within the oven earlier than including your unfold of selection, within the vein of baguette toasts.
Bread Pudding
In case your focaccia is nearing the tip of its freshness or is already stale, going the bread pudding route is a good way to make use of it up. You should use any bread pudding recipe and sub focaccia for the listed bread. As soon as blended with the opposite substances and baked, the focaccia will tackle a gentle, spoonable texture—a super dessert to scoop right into a bowl and comfy up with on the sofa.
French Toast
One of many nice issues about French toast is how adaptable it’s—you can also make it with many several types of (ideally stale) bread, together with white bread, challah, brioche, and, sure, focaccia. Since focaccia tends to be thick, we suggest leaving it within the egg bathtub barely longer than you’d with thinner bread to make certain it soaks it up effectively. Another choice is to slice the focaccia into thinner items earlier than putting it within the eggy combination. Nonetheless you do it, senior culinary editor Leah Colins, who first hatched this concept for focaccia French toast, recommends including a little bit of vanilla.
Bread & Fruit Dessert Salad
Panzanella, however make it candy? Don’t thoughts if we do! This concept from culinary editor Genevieve Yam is actually a fruit salad with bread. You’ll wish to lower up the focaccia into bite-size items and toss with no matter fruit you’d like (grapes and berries are my private favorites), then season with a very good high quality olive oil, sea salt, and a few citrus zest.
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