Restaurant brings focaccia sandwich tradition to São Paulo

By Bruna Galvão ? A restaurant has been dedicated for a year to spreading in São Paulo, home to the largest community of Italian descendants in the world, the Italian tradition of creating sandwiches with focaccia, a typical bread of the "Belpaese." With a branch in Pinheiros and plans to open a second store in November in Itaim Bibi, Toscana Focacceria offers a menu dominated by focaccia, from starters to dessert and including about 10 snack options.

"The general public in São Paulo is still discovering what a focacceria is," one of the brand's partners, João Carlos Ortali, told ANSA, explaining that it's common to hear people who pass by the establishment ask, "What is focaccia?" "Many people still don't know what it is," the businessman added.

Baker Aurino Silva said that the bread recipe uses "type 00 Italian flour, olive oil, honey, salt and yeast" and requires about five hours of preparation, including mixing the dough, letting it ferment and stretching it, before putting it in the oven for 10 minutes.

According to him, the ideal focaccia is "airy, soft on the inside, and crispy on the outside." "It's perfect for a snack, very tasty," Silva added.

Ortali, who plans to turn Toscana Focacceria into a chain, said he discovered the focaccia sandwich in 2019 while on vacation in Tuscany. While visiting some focaccerie in the region, he came across the All'Antico Vinaio chain, a leading Italian chain that also has locations in the United States and Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

"I discovered that almost no one in Brazil worked with focaccia, so in 2024, we opened Toscana," said the businessman at one of the tables in his establishment, which displays images of famous Florence landmarks, such as the Cathedral and Ponte Vecchio, as well as a sink inspired by Italian fountains and an angel holding a focaccia, the "house mascot."

Amidst this evocative setting, around 10 types of sandwiches are offered, all made with ingredients that value "Made in Italy." Among the most popular flavors are the Bologna (filled with pistachio pesto, Italian mortadella, and burrata stracciatella), the Parma (with Parma ham, Parmesan cream, marinated sun-dried tomatoes, buffalo mozzarella, and arugula), and the Capri (buffalo mozzarella, tomato, pesto, basil, and arugula), the only vegetarian option on the menu.

Focaccia also shines as an antipasto (appetizer) and dessert. In the case of the former, the customer finds the bread in its classic shape topped with fresh cherry tomatoes, olives, oregano, and a drizzle of Italian olive oil, a preparation inspired by the Puglia region in the south of the peninsula.

Dessert is a focaccia "that resembles a cake," with an orange filling. "We want people to feel like they're in a little piece of Italy," Ortali said.