How bread making made quarantine bearable.
By Joey Harvey
Wen COVID-19 flipped our world upside down and forced us all inside, thousands of Americans attempted to find solace in bread. As a youthful kid from the generation of participation awards, I tried to maintain my individuality through taking an alternative route to bread baking. Although I never fell into the clutches of the hipster sourdough trend, I did fall prey to delicious, salty, crunchy Italian bread—successfully pulling me off my imaginary pedestal. With hopes of sparking creativity and recreating happy memories, I set sail on this culinary journey—one that resulted in much more than the highs and lows of bread baking attempts.
I first stumbled upon the salty, pillowy bread at a southern Italian restaurant called Civico 1845 in San Diego’s Little Italy. The crunchy yet fluffy bread paired with a delicious oil and herb mixture stole my heart. That was April of 2019. Fast forward to April of 2020, the world stopped turning, restaurants closed, and college students, including myself, were forced back home. Not only did I miss my friends, my school, and my newfound home, but I also missed all of the amazing restaurants and eateries I had become acquainted with. While there was no way I could learn how to make the Tonkatsu Ramen from Hiro Nori to fill the ramen-shaped void in my heart, I could attempt to make some delicious focaccia that once brought me tears of joy.
In hopes of filling the COVID-created void, I sought out the best recipe I could find to make focaccia. I truly had no clue where to start—my family is very Irish so I couldn’t pull out some ancient cookbook or call up my nonexistent nonna. I scoured through my extensive cooking show knowledge and remembered watching Chef Samin Nosrat make Ligurian Focaccia in her Netflix special Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat. Samin is an esteemed chef, writer, and an even better person–her bubbly personality sets her apart from the other mainstream, machismo, in-your-face chefs.
Samin teamed up with Brad Leone–the host of Bon Appétit’s “It’s Alive!”–to make Ligurian Focaccia at the BA Test Kitchen in New York City. After countless watch-throughs of Brad and Samin’s episode, I finally familiarized myself with the techniques to properly give it a shot. I bobbed and weaved through my local market to acquire all of the ingredients—I was able to snag the last packets of yeast and flour from my store (because everyone and their mother was baking).
As a first time bread maker, I was nervous. I had messed around with pizza dough a couple of times with mediocre results but I was confident that Samin and Brad would virtually guide me to glory. The dough was less difficult than expected. Everything combined perfectly and kneaded with great ease. This beautiful ball of dough sat out to rise overnight. Note to self: use bigger bowls. The dough was pressed tightly against the Saran wrap keeping the air in. I oiled up a baking sheet and spilled the dough out of the bowl. I let it rest for 30 minutes so the yeast could work its magic one final time. I lightly indented the dough with my fingers to create the dimples characteristic of focaccia. I quickly realized that I could dimple harder after I barely left a fingerprint with my timid initial attempts.
Then, I added the twist Samin threw in to make this focaccia stand out—once the dough is ready to be baked, spread a thin layer of salt water over it to create uniform saltiness. I threw that bad boy in the oven and within 25 minutes a delicious salty, fluffy, and buttery treat popped out—a new addition to my cooking repertoire.
Waiting for the focaccia to finish baking made time slow to a crawl. Near the 25-minute mark, I reflected on why I started making focaccia in the first place. Besides the natural yearning for delicious bread, I wanted to not only recreate something that was a part of my home in Southern California but a way to feel connected during a time of uncertainty and isolation. The world turned towards tending sourdough starters and sharing gorgeous loaves. While I was too stubborn to give in to the sourdough craze, posting stories of my focaccia endeavors created an unspoken sense of community with all of the other panicked cooks trying to hold onto their sanity in the midst of the pandemic.
My overthinking subsided as soon as the smells of olive oil and baked bread filled every corner of my house. My first attempt was a success! Those first few crackly bites brought me back to my beloved memories of over-eating focaccia while waiting to share a meal with one of my favorite people. It brought me back to the days I thought were completely lost. Reigniting the truth that, eventually, everything will be okay, and I will have many more opportunities to overindulge on pre-dinner breads with loved ones.
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Joey Harvey is a Brooklyn based food writer. As a California native, Joey brings a light hearted, tongue-in-cheek approach to his writing. He can be found meandering about New York City for the best single origin espressos and fried chicken sandwiches.
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