Everyone Loves Focaccia, featuring Samin Nosrat
3/30/202644 min
With its fluffy crumb, dimply dough, and endless spins, focaccia has stolen the heart of countless bakers — including us. So we decided to dedicate a whole episode to it.
Jessica and David dissect the current focaccia moment and how this simple bread has evolved from its Italian origins to something truly showstopping. Then Samin Nosrat stops by the show to share the story behind the viral salt-brined focaccia from her TV show Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat and dish on her latest focaccia recipe, found in her newest cookbook Good Things. As always, Jessica and David answer your big...
Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsJessica Battilana· Host0:00
And people really lost their minds about that.
Samin Nosrat· Guest0:02
It wa- the power of visual, of like, of soft light pho- [laughs] Like, beautiful.
Jessica Battilana· Host0:08
Don't. [upbeat music] From King Arthur Baking Company, this is Things Bakers Know. I'm Jessica Battaglini, King Arthur staff editor.
David Tamarkin· Host0:18
And I'm David Tamarkin, King Arthur's editorial director. And today, we're talking about a bread that has captured the imagination of Americans everywhere. [laughs] Actually, people worldwide.
Jessica Battilana· Host0:29
Wow, okay.
David Tamarkin· Host0:29
It is focaccia.
Jessica Battilana· Host0:31
[upbeat music] Focaccia.
David Tamarkin· Host0:36
Yeah.
Jessica Battilana· Host0:36
You know, it's interesting 'cause I don't think regular people, that is to say, people that don't work in a baking company, aren't thinking a lot about trends.
David Tamarkin· Host0:45
Mm-hmm.
Jessica Battilana· Host0:45
Right? Trends in baking.
David Tamarkin· Host0:47
They're not hyper-focused on baking trends- They're not hyper-focused [laughs] ... like we are.
Jessica Battilana· Host0:50
They're not laser-focused on baking trends- Right.
David Tamarkin· Host0:52
Yeah ...
Jessica Battilana· Host0:52
the way we are.
David Tamarkin· Host0:53
Yeah.
Jessica Battilana· Host0:53
But we think about them a lot.
David Tamarkin· Host0:56
Yeah.
Jessica Battilana· Host0:57
And I think one of the things that we noticed was that, like, focaccia went from a bread that used to be just, like, a sort of fixture of the bread basket of a certain type of mid-priced Italian restaurant- Mm-hmm ... of the '90s.
David Tamarkin· Host1:10
[laughs] Mm-hmm, yes. This is very specific, yes.
Jessica Battilana· Host1:13
[laughs] It is. To a bread that has really captivated bakers, including us.
David Tamarkin· Host1:18
Mm-hmm.
Jessica Battilana· Host1:18
And you see versions now all over the place.
David Tamarkin· Host1:20
Yeah. It's become a real, uh, canvas, I would say, focaccia- Yeah ... a new canvas for creativity. And I think it's a great, uh, entry