Integrative Assignment #2: Focaccia

Brooke Cohen

Integrative Assignment #2: Focaccia

1. Assumption

I assumed that focaccia was a really complicated recipe to make and I could not figure out how chefs attained the unique texture of the focaccia bread: dense, crispy, with no large air holes! Now that I have taken this cluster, I understand the chemistry behind the bread recipe and now understand the texture. I now understand that what makes this bread so unique is the addition of the olive oil to the flour before the water, we will talk more about this later!

2. Dish

Focaccia is a a type of flat Italian bread made with yeast and olive oil and is commonly flavored with herbs.

3. Chemical Analysis

Olive oil is the central ingredient in focaccia and it is what gives the bread the unique texture it has. Olive oil is added to the all purpose flour mixture before most of the water is, thus the olive oil coats the proteins in the flour and prohibits gluten formation. With the small addition of water before the olive oil, there is still some formation of a gluten network in the dough. This allows for the unique texture that focaccia has, as it does not have as much gluten formed.

The other reasons that focaccia is so unique is it only rises for an hour, which limits the amount of carbon dioxide formed. This dough is also not kneaded, which further limits the gluten formation in the dough. The bread that results is dense because of the the lack of gluten formation, but it is also crispy, as large air pockets did not form in the bread. All of these factors contribute to the unique texture of focaccia bread.

4. Cultural Analysis

Focaccia is essentially a flatbread and has morphed into a “pizza type dish.” Part of its charm is its diversity, as each region that makes this dish adds their own spin on it. Focaccia can be topped with any local or regional ingredients, it can be simple with just olive oil and herbs, or it can be more complicated with the addition of onions, tomatoes, and other vegetables! “Medieval Italians continued to eat flatbreads or focaccia with whatever toppings they could get their hands on, usually salt, herbs, oil, lard, wild greens, mushrooms and, occasionally, some meat or fish (Helstosky, Kindle 156).”

Flatbreads, focaccias, and pizzas became popular food throughout Europe because it was inexpensive yet nourishing for the poorer classes. What was unique about these dishes is that they functioned as a meal and also a plate! Flatbreads, focaccias, and pizzas were essentially edible plates, they were delicious vessels for other ingredients to be served on! “Indeed, urban workers and rural peasants alike consumed flatbreads throughout the Italian peninsula and in Sicily: focaccia, schiacciata piadina, farinata and panelle were some of the most popular flatbreads (Helstosky, Kindle 177).”

5. Integration

As I mentioned in the cultural analysis, focaccia is an edible plate, but it cannot function as this if the dough is not made properly. In the chemical analysis I explained that focaccia has little gluten formation, from the addition of oil before water to prohibit gluten formation, which gives the bread its dense texture. This unique texture is what is needed for the bread to serve as an edible plate, as it has for centuries. The dough needs to be made correctly for the focaccia to serve its purpose and be the most delicious plate there is!

This is a picture of focaccia, and from this picture you can see that the bread is dense and has not risen much. You can also see that there are no large air bubbles in this bread, as there is little gluten formation.