I remember the first time I tasted truly delicious Foccacia bread on a trip to New York’s Little Italy neighborhood with my wife. It was so simple, seasoned with extra virgin olive oil, sea salt and fresh thyme and we couldn’t get enough.. We even returned to the same restaurant the next night just to have more of that delicious bread. Similar to a pizza dough but made with more leavener, foccacia should be a bit thicker and have indentations on the top to help with the bubbling of the dough during the baking process. Olive oil is brushed on top before the dough rises in order to preserve moisture and give the bread a soft texture with slightly crisp top. When I want to make variations to the original recipe, I like to add thinly sliced tomatoes, Italian olives, sliced pepperoni or caramelized onions with garlic and fennel seed (see recipe below) on top before baking. Cut into big squares for your dinner bread basket, split length-wise and use for sandwiches, or cut into cubes, toast and use as croutons in salads. Any way you like…Tutti Mangia!
Dishing with
Brian Emmett