10 Savory Bread Recipes to Make at Home

Savory bread is a type of bread that incorporates flavorful entrée-friendly additions like veggies, cheese, and herbs. Savory breads are different from sweet bread recipes, which contain sweet ingredients to make dessert, breakfast, or brunch-friendly side dishes. Conversely, savory loaves—from pesto bread to garlic naan—make extra-flavorful accompaniments to main meals.

Here are some savory bread recipes that you can incorporate into your culinary repertoire.

1. 1. Beer bread: Owing to the addition of tangy, yeasty light beer, this type of savory quick bread makes a dense, moist canvas for various savory ingredients. Incorporate scallions and pepper jack cheese into malty beer bread for a complex loaf with minimal prep time.
2. 2. Cornbread: Commonly prepared in the Southern United States, cornbread is a quick bread containing cornmeal that many people enjoy for its tender, crumbly texture. Southern cornbread traditionally calls for little to no sugar and a higher cornmeal-to-flour ratio, often incorporating savory ingredients like sharp cheddar cheese, scallions, and jalapeño peppers for spice.
3. 3. Garlic bread: Garlic bread is a loaf of bread—usually French bread or a baguette—toasted with a topping of butter or olive oil, garlic, herbs, and sometimes cheese. Derived from Italian bruschetta, diners typically eat garlic bread alongside Italian foods like pasta, lasagna, or pizza. Enjoy this classic Italian-American staple as a side dish, use it as a vessel for flavorful spreads, or employ it as extra-flavorful sandwich bread.
4. 4. Garlic naan: Garlic naan is a popular variation of Indian naan bread, a leavened flatbread commonly served at restaurants or celebrations. Plain yogurt gives the dough a pillowy, stretchy crumb, and cooking it over high heat gives naan bread its signature glossy, blistered surface. This garlic naan recipe adds a topping of garlic butter for an additional savory kick.
5. 5. Olive sourdough: Requiring little more than whole wheat or all-purpose flour and some patience, classic sourdough bread is one of the most popular sandwich breads. Its hearty texture and slightly tangy flavor make the perfect canvas for various savory additions, like sliced olives. Incorporate pitted and sliced black or green olives into a classic sourdough recipe for a briny, flavorful take on a classic.
6. 6. Pretzels: A pretzel is a baked bread product made from dough and shaped into a distinctive twisted knot. Bakers dip the dough in alkaline water before baking, giving it a golden-brown crust and a signature savory flavor. Sprinkle soft homemade pretzels with Asiago cheese, and serve them with a mustard dipping sauce.
7. 7. Rosemary focaccia: Another Italian contribution, good focaccia has a crispy golden-brown exterior and a chewy interior. Since it doesn’t require much kneading, this savory flatbread is also suitable for beginners. It also makes a popular canvas for flavorful savory ingredients like cheese, tomato sauce, and rosemary. Rosemary focaccia incorporates fresh herb leaves to imbue this salty bread with an extra fresh, herby flavor.
8. 8. Savory Irish soda bread: Soda bread is a quick bread traditionally made with flour, baking soda, salt, and sour milk or buttermilk. The “soda” in the name comes from the baking soda used to leaven the bread, unlike yeast breads which are made with dry yeast or fermented bread starters. Like cornbread, soda bread can be either sweet or savory and is also an accessible starting point for new bakers. Add shredded cheddar, scallions, or rosemary to your Irish soda bread batter for an extra-flavorful take on this classic side dish.
9. 9. Savory monkey bread: Monkey bread is a sweet dish consisting of rolls of sugary yeast flour baked together in a bundt pan with a cinnamon-flavored syrup. To make a savory twist on this popular pull-apart bread, use your favorite dinner roll recipe to make the dough, and bake the rounds together in a bundt pan with a garlic butter mixture and your favorite cheeses.
10. 10. Zucchini bread: Typically a sweet recipe, home bakers can prepare this dish as a savory quick bread. Shredded summer squash gives zucchini bread a moist, dense texture, and additions like herbs, olives, and nuts make for the perfect dinner side dish.

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