Focaccia

Focaccia bread with rosemary garnish.

Focaccia (pronounced like foe-ca-cha) (IPA pronunciation: [fo'kaʧːa]) is a flat oven-baked bread, which may be topped with onions, herbs or other foodstuffs, related to the pizza. The word is derived from the Latin focus meaning “centre” and also “fireplace”; the fireplace was in the center of the domestic house, and this was a bread baked in the hearth.

The basic recipe is thought by some to have originated with the Etruscans or ancient Greeks, but nowadays it is particularly known as a delicacy of the Ligurian cuisine. The local specialty "focaccia col formaggio" (focaccia with cheese) is made in Recco, near Genoa. However, other than the name, the Recco delicacy bears no resemblance at all to other focaccia varieties.

Focaccia is quite popular in Italy and is usually seasoned with olive oil and herbs, topped with cheese and meat or flavored with a number of vegetables. Focaccia doughs are similar in style and texture to pizza doughs consisting of high-gluten flour, oil, water, sugar, salt and yeast.

Homemade Focaccia with Olives and Herbs

Focaccia is used extensively as a sandwich bread outside of Italy.

It is typically rolled out or pressed by hand into a thick layer of dough and then baked in a stone-bottom or hearth oven. Bakers often puncture the bread with a knife to relieve bubbling on the surface of the bread. Also common is the practice of dotting the bread. This creates multiple wells in the bread by using a finger or the handle of a utensil to poke the unbaked dough. As a way to preserve moisture in the bread, olive oil is then spread over the dough, by hand or with a brush prior to rising and baking.

Focaccia can be used as a side to many meals, as a base for pizza or as sandwich bread.

Etymology

In earlier times, focaccia were cooked on flat stones or griddles in a house's fireplace or central hearth: the "focus". Interestingly, the Italian translation of both "focus" and "fire" is the word "fuoco". As the tradition spread, the different dialects and diverse local ingredients resulted in a large variety of bread (some even may be considered cake). In Burgundy, focaccia is called "foisse" or "fouaisse", and in Provence and Languedoc it's "fogassa" or, more commonly, the French "fougasse". The Spanish call it "bogaza".

External links

• Illustrated Focaccia Recipe with step-by-step pictures
• The history of Focaccia Bread
• Genovese and Naples Focaccia Recipes
• Schiacciatta Tuscan Focaccia