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Focaccia
Heather asks: A lot of restaurants serve focaccia bread, but when they do they make it seem as if it's something special. It reminds me of garlic, bread, but to tell you the truth I'd rather eat regular garlic bread. What is it, anyway? Tom sez: Focaccia (the name indicates that it's baked in a hearth, so it's been around awhile) is indeed growing in popularity. It's essentailly the same as pizza dough, although it usually includes more olive oil in the mix, as well as herbs and even Parmesan cheese. The difference is that it's rolled out after the first rise, and the second rise takes place in the flat form. (Pizza would be left in a ball for its second rise, and would be punched down afterwards.) Frankly, I think one of the main reasons for the rise of focaccia is that a frozen dough for making it can be bought easily from a food distributor. So all the restaurant has to do is bake it. The lighter versions are the ones most likely to be made in house. Revised 3/10/08 Copyright © 2008 Tom Fitzmorris. All rights reserved. |
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