Reader Seth C. writes in with a good question as to why the focaccia recipe below calls for either poolish preferment or starter. The answer is that the two — at least in my little corner of the bread baking world — work equivalently. Both (again, at least the way I formulate them) are made […]
READ ONFor all you pistachio lovers out there (and I count myself as one…they’re pretty much my favorite nut) the bad news is that the FDA has recently issued a recall of some pistachios (specifically those made by the California-based Setton Pistachio of Terra Bella) due to risk of contamination by salmonella bacteria. (Wasn’t the peanut […]
READ ONDana A. writes in with this observation about “authentic” focaccia: I’d be wary of anyone who claimed that it’s potatoes that make a truly authentic focaccia. Don’t potatoes come originally from the new world? And if they do, how is it possible that Etruscans ate them (unless they had space ships/time machines)? Though I wouldn’t […]
READ ONFluffy, salty and redolent of aromatic olive oil and fresh rosemary, these little hunks of bread are great as casual appetizers, simple snacks, or as substitutes for dinner rolls (man, I should be writing ad copy). Begin by combining your ingredients in the bowl of a mixer. Add about 5-6 ounces of the water, and […]
READ ONNo, and no garlic, no olives and no cheese filling. I bring up these specific items because depending on who you talk to, one or more of them is absolutely essential for an authentic focaccia. I’m sure I’m missing many others. However as I wrote yesterday, there are as many different “authentic” focaccia recipes as […]
READ ONThere are several possible ways to go with focaccia, depending on the texture you like. Here’s my base recipe, and I’ll do my best to show you how to vary it. 16 ounces bread or high-gluten flour (substitute durum flour for up to half of it) 16 ounces poolish (a double recipe) or starter. 1/4 […]
READ ONWhy, a flat bread. An Italian flat bread, to be more specific. An Italian flat bread that hails from the extreme northwestern coastal region of Liguria, to be more specific still. Flat breads have a very long history in Italy, dating all the way back to the Etruscans, a mysterious ancient people who dominated the […]
READ ONHere’s one that will barely fill a day — much less and entire week — of my usual nonsense. But hey, a request is a request! Focaccia is an area of baking into which I fear to tread for the same reason I feared to tread into biscuits and pie. Simply, because there are so […]
READ ONThere’s almost no limit to what can go on focaccia, but like pizza, the sparer you are with your toppings, the better the result. Salt, herbs and oil is the classic combo, and the herbs can be whatever you like: rosemary, thyme, basil, parsley, oregano, chives, sage, tarragon, chervil…either by themselves or in combination. Roasted […]
READ ONGot a fair number of responses to my “Gypsy arm” request, and they broke down into two basic categories. The first I’ll call the “pragmatic”, exemplified by this note from Mexico Bob: You don’t have to go all the way to Spain for the answer. Mexico is much closer. It is called Gypsy arm because […]
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