Focaccia - Focaccia Bread - Focaccia Recipe - Rasa Malaysia (2024)

FAQs

What are the two types of focaccia? ›

Venetian focaccia is sweet, baked for Easter and resembles the traditional Christmas cake panettone. Sugar and butter are used instead of olive oil and salt. Focaccia barese, which is common in Puglia in southern Italy, is made with durum wheat flour and topped with salt, rosemary, tomatoes or olives.

Focaccia: The two focaccias were very different. The one made with bread flour was taller, airier, had much more open bubbles in the crumb, and browned nicely. In the mixer, the all-purpose dough never seemed to come together as a cohesive whole in the same way as the bread flour dough.

Now, focaccia uses plenty of olive oil, not only in the dough, but for kneading, proofing, in the baking pan, and on the bread's surface before baking. All this fat means the texture is light, moist and springy, the crust emerges golden and crisp, plus the center stays soft for days afterwards.

Benefits for your figure and your health

Rather, focaccia provides complex carbohydrates that slowly give the body energy and help better regulate blood sugar levels,” Schirò explains. If it's made with whole wheat flour then it's got an extra edge. “It provides a greater amount of vitamins, minerals and fiber.

Focaccia is the epitome of summer. The perfect one should be moist but airy, its crumb sandwiched between thin but ultra-crunchy top and bottom crusts, thanks to the generous amount of olive oil used in its making.

So why does it tend to be more expensive to purchase? Friends who have worked in the restaurant industry had some thoughts: Focaccia requires a lot of olive oil, which is pricey (though some other breads call for butter and eggs, which pencil out to more in my own Kirkland-brand-olive-oil kitchen).

Why is my focaccia not fluffy or chewy? It could be the type of flour you used. The best flour to use to make focaccia bread is bread flour which gives you fluffy baked bread. Or, it could also be because you did not knead the dough enough for the gluten to form a structure which can result in flat or dense bread.

This dough will be very, very wet – almost like cake mix. If you can, wet your hands (to stop them sticking) and fold the dough over a little, just to see what a dough of this wetness (or 'hydration') feels like.

Cover with a silicone lid or plastic wrap and chill until dough is doubled in size (it should look very bubbly and alive), at least 8 hours and up to 1 day. If you're in a rush, you can also let it rise at room temperature until doubled in size, 3–4 hours.

Put the pan in the oven and bake for 20–30 minutes, until the top is a lovely golden and the internal temperature is 190-210°F (88–99°C). When your timer sounds, verify the internal temperature with your Thermapen ONE. Continue to cook if the temp is not high enough.

Can you proof focaccia too long? ›

If you have left a loaf too long before baking and it has over proofed then you can easily rescue it by tipping the dough into a well oiled tray, sprinkling over your chosen topping and baking it straight away and pretend that you meant to make focaccia all along.

Why is my Focaccia dense and tough? Not allowing the focaccia to proof long enough in the fridge will prevent enough gluten from being formed. This causes flat and dense focaccia once baked.

Serving: Focaccia is incredibly versatile and can be served as an antipasto, appetizer, table bread or snack. In contrast, ciabatta serves as a delicious sandwich bread.

Whole Grain Bread

Thanks to their high fiber and nutrient content, breads made with whole grains, including whole wheat, are generally the go-to healthiest breads that dietitians recommend. “Most people need more fiber in their diets, so finding high-fiber bread is often a good idea,” Dodd says.

Schiacciata and focaccia are Italian flatbreads that may seem similar to an untrained eye but differ slightly in texture. Tuscan schiacciata is more thin and chewy, while focaccia is spongy and tall. The difference comes down to the water content and the rising technique.

In fact, traditional focaccia requires a double leavening process: the first one as a block, the second one, after many hours, when the dough is spread out on the tray. Spianata, instead, requires only one leavening: once the dough rises, it is immediately spread out and baked.

In Florence, the bread of choice is schiacciata. It's a thinner, slightly chewier version of focaccia. This bread is perfect for sandwiches because it's sturdy enough to hold all of the fillings, but with a light texture and flavor that doesn't take away from all the goodies inside of it.