Focaccia Breadsticks (2024)

FAQs

What makes focaccia bread different? ›

Focaccia is a type of Italian bread made with yeast and a strong, high-gluten flour (like bread flour) and baked in flat sheet pans. Unlike pizza dough, it's left to rise after being rolled out before going in the oven.

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.

The shapes and sizes of these loaves symbolize the two countries' culture and heritage and thus, have unique features. Take the French baguette, for instance. It comes in a long and thin form and has rounded edges. In contrast, the Italian focaccia bread is baked in a flat and round shop.

"Focaccia is about the bread. Pizza is about the crust." Nor should cooks confuse focaccia with bruschetta, those toasted, rowboat-shaped slices of French or Tuscan bread: Focaccia is flat and thin; bruschetta is plump and crunchy.

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.

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.

The worst bread for your health

This is mass-produced shop-bought white bread. Approximately 876 million loaves of white bread are sold every year in the UK, and it accounts for 71 percent of all bread eaten. But why is white bread bad for your health? Dr Lee explained: “It's an ultra-processed food.

Like croissants and brioche buns, focaccia is high in calories and fat. Most people aren't aware of it, but it contains a lot of olive oil, which in excess has the same effect. To lose weight, people should choose whole-grain or rye bread, which has more fibre and is lower in fat and calories.

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.

Schiacciata is a kind of bread traditionally made in the regions of Tuscany and Umbria, in central Italy. It tastes a lot like focaccia, but unlike the focaccia made in Genoa, Schiacciata does not require a very lengthy process and it can easily be made at home as the dough is really forgiving.

What is another name for focaccia bread? ›

Focaccia is basically a deconstructed sourdough loaf. So it's the same ingredients but with a different shape, and you don't actually need to put any effort into shaping it like a traditional sourdough loaf. And an added bonus... there's no need to knead this dough.

Because it creates the kind of focaccia that I like, light and fluffy instead of fine crumbed and cakey. Focaccia is all about olive oil, on the dough, in the dough, in the topping, and finally a little drizzle when it comes out off the oven nice and hot. It may SEEM like a lot but it's a big bread we're making here!

Focaccias use more yeast, which gives it a lighter, fluffier texture than a traditional pizza dough and is more closely resembles leavened bread. Focaccia dough is also usually punctured, which helps the bread to retain more of its moisture compared to pizza dough.

Focaccia is basically a deconstructed sourdough loaf. So it's the same ingredients but with a different shape, and you don't actually need to put any effort into shaping it like a traditional sourdough loaf. And an added bonus... there's no need to knead this dough.

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.

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. If you are short on time, preform some stretch and folds as this mimics the kneading process, helping to develop the gluten structure.