- Focaccia
Focaccia (pronounced|foˈkatːʃa "foe-CAH-cha") is a flat oven-baked Italian
bread , which may be topped with herbs or other ingredients. Focaccia is related topizza , but not considered to be the same. Focaccia is quite popular inItaly and is usually seasoned witholive oil andherbs , topped with onion,cheese and meat, or flavored with a number ofvegetable s. Focacciadough s are similar in style and texture topizza doughs consisting of high-gluten flour, oil,water ,salt andyeast . It is typically rolled out or pressed by hand into a thick layer of dough and then baked in a stone-bottom or hearthoven . 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 and regional variants
In ancient
Rome , "panis focacius" was a flat bread baked in the ashes of the fireplace, ("focus" in Latin). The word is derived from the Latin "focus" meaning “centre” and also “fireplace” -- the fireplace being in the centre of the house. In English, it is sometimes redundantly referred to as "focaccia bread".As the tradition spread, the different dialects and diverse local ingredients resulted in a large variety of bread (some even may be considered cake).The basic recipe is thought by some to have originated with the
Etruscans or ancientGreeks , but it is now known as a delicacy of theLiguria ncuisine .Due to the number of small towns and hamlets dotting the coast of Liguria, the focaccia recipe has fragmented into countless variations (from the biscuit-hard focaccia of
Camogli to the oily softness of the one made inVoltri ), with some bearing little resemblance to its original form. The most extreme example is the specialty "focaccia col formaggio" (focaccia with cheese) which is made inRecco , nearGenoa .Other than the name, this Recco version bears no resemblance to other focaccia varieties, having a
caillé and cheese filling sandwiched between two layers of paper-thin dough.Regional variations also exist, such as "focaccia dolce" (sweet focaccia) popular in some parts of northwestern Italy, consisting of a basic focaccia base and sprinkled lightly with sugar, or includingraisin s,honey or other sweet ingredients.In Burgundy, focaccia is called "foisse" or "fouaisse", and in Provence and Languedoc it's "fogassa" or, more commonly, the French "fougasse". In
Argentina , it is widely consumed under the name "fugazza", derived from "fugassa" in the native language of Argentina's many Ligurian immigrants. The Spanish call it "hogaza".Focaccia is present in many variants in Italy itself, for example the "focaccia alla genovese", originated inGenova , the "focaccia alla barese", fromBari , or the "focaccia alla messinese", fromMessina .TheSicilian-style pizza must also be considered to be a variant of focaccia.Focaccia is used extensively as asandwich bread outside of Italy.ee also
*Fougasse
*Tomato pie
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