Small batch garlic green onion focaccia - Delicious and easy focaccia with an Asian twist - inspired by the flavor of Chinese scallion flatbread! Perfect for 2 people!
When my husband and I visited San Fransisco, I made sure we stop by Chinatown. When I walked into a Chinese bakery to pick up some egg tarts, I couldn't resist the smell of freshly made scallion flatbread. I ended up enjoying the scallion flatbread way more than the egg tart! And this focaccia is inspired by the flavor of Chinese scallion flatbread.
Focaccia vs. Chinese scallion flatbread
Focaccia is an Italian flatbread made with flour, yeast, olive oil, and herbs. You knead and rise the focaccia dough and bake it in the oven with plenty of olive oil.
Chinese scallion flatbread is also made with flour, yeast, and oil. But it uses neutral-tasting oil instead of olive oil. And it's flavored with scallion, ground Sichuan pepper, and sesame seeds.
The most significant difference between focaccia and Chinese scallion flatbread is how it's cooked. For Chinese scallion flatbread, the dough is flattened, sprinkled with scallion and Sichuan pepper, rolled, swirl into a disk, and pan-fried. Due to such a cooking process, you are able to achieve a tasty and chewy texture.
How to make garlic green onion focaccia
- Sauteed minced garlic and chopped green onion in avocado oil. This process flavors the oil and gets rid of the pungent rawness of the garlic and green onion.
- Add the cooked garlic and green onion to the flour with a yeast mixture.
- Knead until the dough forms.
- Transfer to a bread pan with plenty of oil.
- Let the dough rise for at least an hour.
- Bake until it's golden brown on top!
How to store focaccia
- Store the focaccia in an air-tight container or a plastic bag. It can keep at room temperature for up to 2 days.
- You can store focaccia in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
- Focaccia can be frozen in the freezer for up to a month. To prevent freezer burn, wrap the focaccia pieces with plastic wrap first and place them in a freezer-safe bag.
Helpful tips on making small batch garlic green onion focaccia
- Make sure to coat the entire loaf pan with oil. This will prevent the focaccia to stick to the pan.
- Use neutral-tasting oil instead of olive oil. Neutral tasting oil such as avocado oil or canola oil won't compete with the flavor of garlic and green onion.
- When infusing garlic and green onion in oil, add the minced garlic and chopped green onion in the oil without heat first. Then slowly increase the heat to cook the garlic and green onion. I find this method to be the most effective way to flavor the oil without burning the garlic.
- Use black sesame seeds for color contrast.
- Sprinkle sea salt flakes on top of focaccia before baking in the oven.
What to serve with garlic green onion focaccia
- Pasta - Pasta and focaccia just go together so well. There is something very comforting about eating carbs on carbs, no?! hahaha.
Small Batch Garlic Green Onion Focaccia
Small batch garlic green onion focaccia - Delicious and easy focaccia with an Asian twist - inspired by the flavor of Chinese scallion cake! Perfect for 2 people!
- Prep Time: 70 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Yield: 1 loaf 1x
- Category: Appetizer
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: Italian-Inspired
- Diet: Vegan
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- ½ cup of lukewarm water
- 1 and ½ teaspoon dry active yeast
- ¼ cup avocado oil, divided (or any neutral-tasting oil)
- ⅓ cup chopped green onion
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 and ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon sesame seeds (I use black sesame seeds)
- Some sea salt flakes
Instructions
- In a bowl, dissolve the sugar into ½ cup of lukewarm water. Add the yeast and let it bloom (about 10 minutes).
- In a small size non-stick pan, add the chopped green onion, minced garlic, and 2 tablespoons of avocado oil without turning on the heat.
- Turn on the heat and cook the mixture on medium heat with frequent stirring for 2 to 3 minutes. The green onion should soften and smell the garlic. Make sure the garlic is not brown. Do NOT burn the garlic. Take the garlic and green onion off the heat and let it cool.
- In a large bowl, add the rest of the ingredients except the oil. Give it a quick stir to mix everything.
- Add the cooled garlic and green onion to the flour mixture. Make sure to scrape all the oil from the pan. Add the bloomed yeast mixture. Stir with a rubber spatula to mix.
- When you can no longer mix with a spatula, start kneading the dough by hand until it comes together.
- In a bread pan (that you will be using to bake the focaccia), add the rest of the oil and coat the pan. Make sure to coat the side of the pan as well.
- Transfer the kneaded dough to the pan and spread it to cover the bottom of the pan. Use your fingertips to spread the dough. Flip the dough a couple of times to make sure it is completely covered with oil.
- Loosely cover the pan and let the dough rise for at least an hour until it doubles its size.
- Once the dough has risen, preheat the oven to 400F.
- While the oven is preheating, sprinkle the top with sea salt flakes. Bake the focaccia for 17 to 20 minutes until the top is golden brown.
Notes
- Make sure not to burn the green onion and garlic when cooking.
- Coat the loaf pan well (don't forget the sides) with oil.
- Every oven is slightly different so the time may vary a little. But usually, when the top of the focaccia turns golden brown, it's cooked.
- Please read the helpful tip section in the blog.
Keywords: small batch garlic green onion focaccia, garlic green onion focaccia, small batch baking, focaccia
Sylvia
Is this a 9 x 5 pan? Would love to try this!
George
Hi Sylvia!! I use a bread loaf pan. I think they are usually 9x5. Hope you enjoy the recipe!