Technological evaluation of focaccia breads made with short and long fermentation

Focaccia is a soft, flat Italian bread similar to pizza dough. The term focaccia derives from the Latin panis focacius, which means 'hearth bread', as it was traditionally baked in wood-fired ovens. It is known for its soft and slightly crunchy texture. The objective was the development and technological evaluation (color and texture) of focaccia breads of short and long fermentation. Two formulations were elaborated: F1 long fermentation (48 hours) and F2 short fermentation (1 hour). The poolish was prepared with the addition of water, wheat flour and yeast in the proportion 1:1:0.04, respectively. Wheat flour, water, olive oil, salt and previously prepared poolish were used to prepare the dough, resulting in a dough with 75% hydration. Initially, flour and water were homogenized, without kneading the dough. The formulations were taken to the refrigerator for the autolysis process. After this process, the other ingredients were homogenized in a planetary mixer, and 3 folds were made. After preparation, F1 remained in the refrigerator (8±2oC) and F2 in the oven (30±2oC). The loaves were baked in a conventional oven at 230±2oC for 18-20 minutes. The color results showed that there was no significant difference (T test – p ≥0.05) for the parameters L, a*, b*, c* and h* when the samples were compared with each other, both for the shell and for the core. The peel showed a more intense yellow color with a tendency to brown, while the core showed a color tending to cream