Is focaccia just pizza?

In which we consider one of life's existential questions

When my wife recently had surgery, I took to Reddit. Normally a place I visit to see what the bread bros are up to, this time I read about how to best prepare myself to be her support person extraordinaire. (Even when it comes to mundane things like caretaking, I like to be the best.) One Redditor had this suggestion: You’re going to need a lot of pillows, bro.

OK! I went to Goodwill and got the softest pillows I could find, which turned out to be Squishmallows. In the end she didn’t really need all that many pillows (bro), but I have gotten weirdly attached to the hideous turquoise one I bought, which is in no way aesthetic but in every way plush and comforting.

Sadly, my Squishmallow is not a selection from their “Food Squad” collection, like Maudi the Blueberry Marbled Cupcake (or, uh, muffin?).

The gravitational pull of plush and comforting things can explain the popularity of focaccia, which is the subject of this week’s Things Bakers Know. David Tamarkin and I have a lot to say about this olive oil-rich Italian bread, but we also get an assist from our guest, the inimitable Samin Nosrat. She and I laugh a lot and look back on the focaccia that took over America after it appeared on Samin’s Netflix show. (Our producer cut our impassioned all-purpose flour weight debate from the episode, but for the record: 120 grams.) One thing Samin and I do agree on: Use lots of good-tasting olive oil in your focaccia, because that’s what makes it delicious. Lately in my kitchen I’ve been using this Séka Hills Arbequina olive oil, which is made with California-grown olives grown by members of the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation.

At King Arthur headquarters, my colleague Martin Philip has also been thinking about focaccia as he attempts to emulate the maximalist focaccia that’s served at Radio Bakery in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. With an assist from Radio’s co-owner and pastry chef Kelly Mencin, he finally cracked the code on the dough, then sent me this message on Teams: “It’s ethereal. A crunchy shell with nothing inside.” Can’t wait to make it myself, but wait we must: Recipe (and video!) will drop in June. (I’ll keep you posted.)

Martin’s version of Radio Bakery’s focaccia: in a word, ethereal.

At Radio, Kelly piles her focaccia with toppings, which brings us to the inevitable question: Is focaccia pizza? This is not the first time I have considered the question; we spent two years working on our pizza book, aptly named The Book of Pizza, which publishes next week, on April 7th. (Signed copies, you ask? Available for preorder now from our local indie, Norwich Bookstore.) The book includes 12 distinct dough styles, from thin to thick and everything between. There’s a recipe for very fluffy, puffy (and yet also crispy!) pizza alla pala, aka focaccia in pizza’s clothing, inspired by the one made at the famous Bonci in Rome. Here’s a sneak peek:

I mean …

So is it focaccia? Is it pizza? Is it something else — a hybrid that deserves its own category? The answer is: Who cares? Look at it! It’s plush. It’s comforting. And hopefully one day soon, it’s dinner.

Yes, you should make this flatbread.

Bake of the Week

Also in the pizza family (it’s a big family!): The final recipe of our Big Month of Bread. These Za’atar Manakeesh, chewy Lebanese flatbreads that are made with bread flour, are topped with fragrant za’atar, with the option of adding cheese, too. The recipe comes from Maureen Abood, author of the terrific book Lebanese Baking: More Than 100 Recipes for Sweet and Savory Baked Goods.

Follow these crumbs

• I’m on the record as hating white chocolate, but not even I can resist these adorable chocolate lambs from L.A. Burdick.

• If not serving chocolate lambs, how about one of these 14 bakes for Easter?

• Dorie Greenspan says we should make chocolate mousse, so we make mousse.

• In honor of the Final Four, I’m urging you to revisit to the biscuit episode of our podcast. What do basketball and biscuits have in common? Listen and find out.

Until next time,

Jessica