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Dough is a bakers canvas
Bakers give a beautiful twist to bread as focaccia gardens come to life across the world during lockdown. Chef’s tell us all about it.
The aroma of freshly-baked bread is too tempting to resist and clubbing them with food art, is sure to make it all the more appealing and delightful. Living this dream are food connoisseurs from across the world, who are baking and sharing pictures of focaccia bread spruced with edible flowers and herbs. And the experience is not just limited to taste, as bakers claim that the process is therapeutic
in nature.
Focaccia essentially is a flat oven-baked Italian bread product, quite similar to pizza dough. However, the trending version of this bread looks like a garden after being dotted with vegetables and flowers.
Massachusetts-based home baker Teri Culletto was the first to experiment with this food art by baking artisan bread. “When everything is not going well, I can go make this beautiful magic with just a few grains of yeast and some flour. Making any kind of bread can be relaxing...play some nice music and create something that truly comes to life in your hands and gives life,” she says.
Indian chefs second the thought. “These breads are trending because the process
of making them is therapeutic and also it is made with a certain ease. It can be done over any flatbread, be it
pita, sourdough or a pizza dough,” suggests Chef Nishant Choubey.
Experts suggest using a range of products – thyme, bell peppers, tomatoes, beetroot, capsicum, rosemary, celery, parsley or garlic – to decorate the bread. Edible flowers such as citrus blossom, daisies, clover, dandelions, hibiscus, honeysuckle, lavender and sunflowers, among others can also be added to it.
But is it just a good-looking bread or do they taste good as well? “I definitely think they taste great! They’re dressed up for Instagram but if made well, it would taste good. And it’s bread! Bread is always delicious,” says food blogger Shivesh Bhatia.
