Traditional Focaccia Bread {Focaccia Genovese} (2023)

FAQs

How is focaccia bread traditionally eaten? ›

Focaccia can be eaten as it is, warmed up, toasted or in other recipes. It can be cut into a variety of shapes, including squares, long skinny rectangles or triangles. It can be sliced in half and used for making sandwiches and is also a tasty addition to a bread basket or an accompaniment to a bowl of soup or a salad.

Focaccia is baked at 475 degrees Fahrenheit, while the baking temperature for traditional bread is 248 degrees Fahrenheit. Focaccia does not get stale easily due to the high quantity of olive oil and other herbs, while traditional bread does. Regular bread is less expensive and has less gluten than focaccia.

Focaccia is basically a yeasted flat bread. This is why it is also known as Italian flat bread. The dough of a focaccia is flavoured with olive oil and can sometimes be topped with herbs, vegetables and other toppings. Just like pizza dough, focaccia dough is made with flour, oil, water, yeast and salt.

Focaccia is best eaten warm, but not hot; leave to cool on a wire rack for about 10 minutes before serving, or leave to cool completely.

But though pizza can stand in for a meal, focaccia is more of a snack, or at most an appetizer. In Italy, it's a popular walking-around food. Also, though cold pizza may have a certain raffish charm, focaccia really needs to be eaten when it's hot to be at its best. It goes stale very quickly.

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 an olive oil-rich Italian bread we can't decide is better described metaphorically as a sponge or a springy mattress. It's crispy and golden on the top and bottom crusts, and inside, it has an airy crumb (meaning there are tons of air holes, big and small, that squish in the best way possible).

In the case of focaccia, I would say that it is the method of preparation (kneading, leavening, forming, baking) in general and the abundant use of olive oil in particular that distinguishes focaccia from bread.

Pizza has more Calcium, Phosphorus, and Selenium, however Focaccia has more Vitamin B12, Folate, Iron, Vitamin B2, Vitamin A RAE, and Vitamin B1. Pizza's daily need coverage for Saturated Fat is 18% more. Pizza has 5 times more Calcium than Focaccia. Pizza has 188mg of Calcium, while Focaccia has 35mg.

As a general rule of thumb, a classic Italian-style pizza crust will be less than half an inch thick while most focaccia will be at least three-quarters of an inch thick. Also, focaccia is most commonly served at room temperature — though you can also eat focaccia bread cold or toasted.

Is focaccia bread just pizza dough? ›

Pizza vs Focaccia

The primary difference is how much yeast is added to the dough and therefore how much the dough is able to rise. Focaccias use more yeast, which gives it a lighter, fluffier texture than a traditional pizza dough and is more closely resembles leavened bread.

It's so good that locals even eat it at breakfast and dip it in milk or cappuccino! It's recognizable from its typical finger-sized holes filled with olive oil and salt. If you want to try this at home, you can find the step-by-step recipe here.

focaccia, traditional Italian bread with many variations. A precursor of pizza, focaccia is one of Italy's most ancient breads. It is thought to have originated with the Etruscans. The earliest focaccia were unleavened flatbreads made from flour, water, and salt.

Texture: Focaccia has a lightweight, cake-like consistency that is similar to pizza dough. On the other hand, ciabatta has a dense consistency and a chewy texture. Baking: Focaccia is baked as a flatbread, while Ciabatta is baked as loaves.

The cheeses that go well with focaccia are mozzarella cheese, parmesan cheese, asiago, or any other Italian cheese of your choice. You can use this cheese to spread inside your bread when you make a sandwich or you can use them to top your focaccia bread.

You can eat the focaccia alone – at home, we always devour half of it as soon as it comes out of the oven, even if we know that it's better to allow it to cool down… – or serve it with sauces and dressings for dipping.

Enjoy bread oven-hot, or cut from the leftover loaf just before eating. Like many foods, focaccia peaks when it's hot and right out of the oven. Of course, you won't always eat a whole sheet then and there, especially if you've made a large one.

The best side dishes to serve with focaccia are tomato bisque, pasta puttanesca, an antipasto platter, shakshuka, or a Caprese salad. You can also make a sandwich with roasted chicken or meatballs. Or serve a dip such as olive tapenade, baked feta, or Italian hummus.

Reheating focaccia in a toastie maker

This is my favorite way to heat up focaccia. You can make your sandwich and toast it all together, or simply toast the bread by itself. It crisps up the outside really well and takes almost no effort.

Whilst the bread is still hot, drizzle over 1-2 tbsp olive oil. Cut into squares and serve warm or cold with extra olive oil, if you like.

Do Italians eat focaccia? ›

Italian Tradition

Focaccia is one of the great Italian street foods, perfect when eaten freshly baked, either plain or stuffed with vegetables, sausage or cheeses, depending on the regional version.

The name of this tasty bread is derived from the Roman words “panis focacius.” This simply translates to fireplace bread or center bread. Linguists believe that this refers to how the bread was originally made, over the ashes of a fireplace in the center of early homes.

Focaccia bread contains 20.4 grams of carbohydrates per slice, 1 gram of fiber, and 1 gram of sugar and is considered a refined carbohydrate. It is not high in sugar (only 1 gram per slice), but may raise blood sugars more rapidly due to lack of fiber.

In northern Italy it is made with butter, and in central Italy, according to Mr. Bugialli, with olive oil. Whatever the fat, focaccia is supposed to be oily. When the oil is a distinctive olive oil, it is delicious; when it is something else, like soybean oil, the bread is just oily.

Most historians believe it originated with either the Etruscans of North Central Italy before the Roman Empire was formed, or in Ancient Greece at the beginning of the first millennium BC -- though flat unleavened flatbread similar to it has also long been made throughout the Middle East.

Focaccia (UK: /fəˈkætʃə/ fə-KATCH-ə, US: /foʊˈkɑːtʃ(i)ə/ foh-KAH-ch(ee-)ə, Italian: [foˈkattʃa]; Ligurian: fugassa [fyˈɡasːa]; Barese: fecazze [fəˈkattsə]) is a flat leavened oven-baked Italian bread, similar in style and texture to pizza; in some places, it is called pizza bianca ("white pizza").

Focaccia is an oven baked product made from a simple dough of flour, oil and water. In Italy, focaccia is used as a delicious alternative to bread and can be eaten at any time of the day or night, with the quirkiest combinations.

While the definition of Sicilian-style pizza as we know it today is debatable, the indisputable original Sicilian pizza is something called sfincione, a focaccia-like dough topped with onions, bread crumbs, and caciocavallo cheese. It's traditionally served on New Year's Eve.

Does focaccia have to rise twice? ›

Focaccia, just like most breads, needs to rise twice for about 1 hour each time. The second rise will give it a finer texture, more structured shape, and better bread flavor as the gluten continues to develop.

Do not skip the steps of punching down the bread dough to remove the air bubbles as that is how the bread would have few small air pockets when it is baked. Always oil the baking tray in which you will be baking the bread. The oil gets absorbed into the bottom of the focaccia, adding flavour and crunch.

Once the focaccia is almost done proofing, preheat your oven to 450 degrees F or 232 degrees C. Now it's time to dimple your focaccia. One of the purposes of dimpling is that it helps the dough to have a more even oven spring. If you don't do this, it will rise really high in the center and create a dome.

Bread Flour – Using bread flour gives the focaccia a chewy texture; you can substitute all-purpose flour without ruining the recipe, but your bread will be significantly lighter and missing that characteristic texture.

Focaccia is more traditionally served as the "side dish" sort of bread -- usually placed directly on the tablecloth or napkin, incidentally -- while bruschetta and crostini (and pizza) are primi piatti (first plates) or appetizers, if not light meals, and are served on plates.

ground cumin, garlic clove, parsley leaves, crushed red pepper flakes… kosher salt, tomato paste, chopped fresh basil, small yellow onion… granulated sugar, light brown sugar, canola oil, ground allspice…

Having breakfast with a focaccia bread dipped in cappuccino is a Ligurian tradition. Outside of the region, almost no one understands the charm of this specialty. Here's how to figure out the Ligurian way and how to enjoy the best breakfast in La Spezia.

Focaccia is a simple Italian bread very similar to pizza crust. It's made with flour, yeast, olive oil, and salt before it's baked in a cast iron pan or rimmed baking sheet. The end result is a flat piece of fluffy on the inside, crisp on the outside sandwich or pizza bread.

1. Focaccia. Out of all the famous breads of Italy, the Focaccia is one of the most loved. Often packed the flavour and seasoning, the Focaccia takes its name from the Latin word for 'hearth'.

What is the national bread of Italy? ›

8 Types of Focaccia Sorted by Popularity - TasteAtlas.

Fougasse is baked on a hot stone (like a pizza stone), which traditionally was the hearth, whereas focaccia cooks in a deep, oiled pan. So this Provencal bread – fougasse – ends up being crispier than it's Italian “cousin.”

Focaccia is an Italian flatbread made with flour, water, extra virgin olive oil, yeast and salt.

Also, focaccia is most commonly served at room temperature — though you can also eat focaccia bread cold or toasted. Another difference between the two is the ingredients.

It was used as a dipping bread, usually torn apart by hand and dipped into salty soups made from water, vinegar, and possibly olive oil (essentially what you get served at most Italian restaurants as you wait for your meal these days, minus the water component of course).

Pizza vs Focaccia

The primary difference is how much yeast is added to the dough and therefore how much the dough is able to rise. Focaccias use more yeast, which gives it a lighter, fluffier texture than a traditional pizza dough and is more closely resembles leavened bread.

The traditional dimples you see on focaccia are there for a reason. They reduce the air in the dough and prevent the bread from rising too quickly. After proper kneading and proving there will be plenty of large bubbles in the dough.

Do not skip the steps of punching down the bread dough to remove the air bubbles as that is how the bread would have few small air pockets when it is baked. Always oil the baking tray in which you will be baking the bread. The oil gets absorbed into the bottom of the focaccia, adding flavour and crunch.