Focaccia: an oily, salty bread with no studies of its own

We found no study in people where the test food was focaccia, so everything here comes from close relatives. The largest body of evidence is a systematic review of 25 randomized trials in 542 people, which found no clear consensus that sourdough bread is healthier than yeast bread. It pooled no numbers, and the authors say the microbes, fermentation, cereals and flour differ too much from one bread to the next. Focaccia is made both ways, so the rise alone tells you little. The olive oil does not make it a lighter bread. Per 100 g the US dietary survey database gives plain focaccia 7.89 g fat against 3.59 g in white bread and 561 mg sodium against 450 mg, with slightly less energy, 249 calories against 267. Recipes vary a lot in how much oil and salt sit on the crust, and these are single database entries. A 2 oz (57 g) slice works out at about 142 calories, 4.5 g fat and 320 mg sodium, calculated from the 100 g values.

The numbers, per 3.5 oz (100 g)

As people eat it, per 3.5 oz (100 g)

How much is actually in it

• Per 100 g, plain focaccia in the US dietary survey database carries 249 calories, 7.89 g fat, 561 mg sodium, 1.8 g fiber and 175 ug DFE folate. — Focaccia, Italian, plain as coded in FNDDS 2021-2023 Evidence E source
  249 calories, 7.89 g fat, 561 mg sodium, 1.8 g fiber, 175 ug DFE folate per 3.5 oz (100 g)

What a real portion looks like

• One slice of focaccia is 57 g in the US dietary survey database, so it carries about 142 calories, 4.5 g fat and 320 mg sodium. A whole 12-inch focaccia is 285 g. — household measures for Focaccia, Italian, plain in FNDDS 2021-2023 (n = 6 household measures) Evidence E source
  1 slice 57 g: 141.9 calories, 4.5 g fat, 319.8 mg sodium; whole 6-inch 114 g, 12-inch 285 g, 16-inch 456 g

What your body absorbs

• In a randomized trial in healthy men, bread baked with olive oil did not give a significantly lower glucose response than bread without fat. Only coconut oil bread was lower than the fat-free control. — healthy men eating five test breads in random order: no added fat, butter, coconut oil, grapeseed oil or olive oil Evidence B source
  No significant difference between fat types; coconut oil bread lower than control (P=0.016); olive oil bread formed more amylose-lipid complexes than butter or grapeseed bread

What cooking and storage change

• Making Neapolitan pizza dough with seawater instead of salt cut its sodium chloride by about half without changing glucose or insulin response in a randomized crossover trial of 12 volunteers. — 12 healthy volunteers, one standard and one seawater pizza in a balanced crossover (n = 12) Evidence B source
  About 50% less NaCl; 3-h sodium balance +1.6 g after standard vs +0.5 g after seawater pizza (p = 0.002); no difference in glycemic or insulinemic response

Safety, limits and interactions

• In an Italian exposure model for children aged 3 to 9, focaccia baked from flour with 172.3 ug/kg deoxynivalenol kept mycotoxin intake below the EFSA tolerable daily intake, but heavy consumers of bread, focaccia and other wheat bakes together exceeded it by 117%. — children aged 3 to 9.9 years, Italian consumption data, products baked from flour with 172.3 ug/kg deoxynivalenol Evidence D source
  Each single product below the TDI of 1000 ng/kg bw/day; cumulative exposure at the 95th percentile exceeded the TDI by 117%

What people believe that the data does not support

• Focaccia is sometimes seen as a lighter olive-oil bread, but per 3.5 oz (100 g) it has more than twice the fat of white bread (7.89 g vs 3.59 g) and more sodium (561 mg vs 450 mg), with slightly less energy (249 vs 267 calories). — Focaccia, Italian, plain and Bread, white as coded in FNDDS 2021-2023 Evidence E source
  Fat 7.89 vs 3.59 g, sodium 561 vs 450 mg, energy 249 vs 267 calories per 3.5 oz (100 g)

Who this works differently for

• A Cochrane review found that wheat flour fortified with folic acid raised plasma folate by 27 nmol/L in adults eating fortified bread rolls, but fortified flatbread did not change hemoglobin in 334 children. — adults eating folic acid fortified wheat flour bread rolls (1 study, 30 participants); children eating fortified wheat flour flatbread (cluster-randomized, 334 participants) (n = 30 and 334) Evidence A source
  Plasma folate MD 27.00 nmol/L (95% CI 15.63 to 38.37), very low certainty; hemoglobin MD 0.00 (95% CI -2.08 to 2.08), anemia RR 1.07 (95% CI 0.74 to 1.55), low certainty
• US law requires enriched bread, rolls and buns to contain 0.43 mg folic acid per pound, along with thiamin, riboflavin, niacin and iron. — enriched bread, rolls and buns sold in the United States Evidence E source
  Per pound: 1.8 mg thiamin, 1.1 mg riboflavin, 15 mg niacin, 0.43 mg folic acid, 12.5 mg iron

What is still unknown

• A systematic review of 25 randomized trials in 542 people found no clear consensus that sourdough bread is healthier than yeast bread, although specific strains and fermentation conditions improved glucose response in some trials. — 25 randomized trials, 542 participants, sourdough vs yeast bread; 15 trials measured glucose response (n = 542) Evidence A source
  No clear overall benefit of sourdough over yeast bread; improvements only under specific strains and fermentation conditions

The bottom line

The oil does not blunt the blood sugar rise either. In a randomized crossover trial in healthy men, bread baked with olive oil gave no significantly lower glucose response than bread with no added fat, and only the coconut oil bread came out lower. The abstract does not say how many men took part, and the lab bread may hold a different share of oil than focaccia. Salt is easier to move. In 12 healthy volunteers, Neapolitan pizza dough made with seawater carried about half the sodium chloride of the standard dough with no change in glucose or insulin response, a single pizza meal tested on a dough close to focaccia and not identical to it. US focaccia carries 175 micrograms DFE of folate per 3.5 oz (100 g), which fits the US rule that enriched bread contain 0.43 mg folic acid per pound. That link is an inference from the rule. We did not read it off a focaccia label. In a Cochrane review, adults eating fortified bread rolls had plasma folate 27 nmol/L higher (95% CI 15.63 to 38.37), from one study of 30 people at very low certainty. Fortified flatbread did not change hemoglobin in 334 children, at low certainty. The caution we have concerns children and a mold toxin. An Italian exposure model for children aged 3 to 9 found that no single product, focaccia included, pushed deoxynivalenol intake past the EFSA tolerable daily intake. Heavy consumers of bread, focaccia and other wheat bakes together exceeded it by 117 percent. That is a model built on one batch of flour and home recipes, and nobody measured the children themselves. We found no card on focaccia and wheat allergy, celiac disease, pregnancy or medicines.

Sources

1. fcc-r6-06 · reference dataset
   Focaccia, Italian, plain - FNDDS 51108010 - Energy 249 KCAL - Total lipid 7.89 G - Sodium 561 MG - Fiber 1.8 G - Folate DFE 175 UG per 100 g
   USDA FNDDS 2021-2023, Focaccia, Italian, plain, food code 51108010 · checked 2026-09-29
2. fcc-r6-07 · reference dataset
   Focaccia, Italian, plain - FNDDS 51108010 - 1 slice 57 g - 1 whole (6" dia) 114 g - 1 whole (12" dia) 285 g - 1 whole (16" dia) 456 g - 1 surface inch 4 g
   USDA FNDDS 2021-2023, Focaccia, Italian, plain, food code 51108010 · checked 2026-09-29
3. fcc-r6-01 · randomized crossover trial
   There was a significant difference in glycaemic response between the different test breads (P=0·002), primarily due to COC having a lower response than CTR (P=0·016), but no significant differences between fat types were observed. ... The complexing index (CI), a measure of ALC formation, was significantly higher for COC and OLV compared with BTR and GRP (P<0·05).
   Br J Nutr, 2016 · checked 2026-09-29
4. fcc-r6-02 · randomized crossover trial
   SWP contained nearly 50% less NaCl and a larger amount of micronutrients compared with StP. No significant differences were detected between the two pizzas with regard to satiating power, pleasantness and glycemic and insulinemic response. However, a significant difference was found in the urine volume collected over the 3 h after the two meals (194 mL after StP vs. 292 mL after SWP, p = 0.018) and in the 3 h sodium balance (+1.6 g after StP vs. +0.5 g after SWP, p = 0.002).
   Nutrients, 2020 · checked 2026-09-29
5. fcc-r6-05 · exposure assessment
   set by the EFSA at 1000 ng/kg bw/day ... the consumption of none of these products led to an exposure that exceeded the TDI. ... in the case of strong consumers, an excess of TDI of 117% occurs.
   Toxins, 2023 · checked 2026-09-29
6. fcc-r6-08 · reference dataset
   Focaccia, Italian, plain (fdc 2707612) Total lipid 7.89 G, Sodium 561 MG, Energy 249 KCAL | Bread, white (fdc 2707598) Total lipid 3.59 G, Sodium 450 MG, Energy 267 KCAL, per 100 g
   USDA FNDDS 2021-2023, Focaccia, Italian, plain, food code 51108010 · checked 2026-09-29
7. fcc-r6-04 · Cochrane systematic review
   Adults consuming folic acid-fortified wheat flour bread rolls had higher erythrocyte folate (MD 0.66 nmol/L, 95% CI 0.13 to 1.19; 1 study, 30 participants; very low-certainty evidence) and plasma folate (MD 27.00 nmol/L, 95% CI 15.63 to 38.37; 1 study, 30 participants; very low-certainty evidence), versus unfortified flour. ... in a cluster-randomised trial among children, there were no significant effects of fortified wheat flour flatbread on haemoglobin concentrations (MD 0.00 nmol/L, 95% CI -2.08 to 2.08; 1 study, 334 participants; low-certainty evidence) or anaemia (RR 1.07, 95% CI 0.74 to 1.55; 1 study, 334 participants; low-certainty evidence), compared to unfortified wheat flour flatbread.
   Cochrane Database Syst Rev, 2019 · checked 2026-09-29
8. fcc-r6-09 · regulation
   Each such food contains in each pound 1.8 milligrams of thiamin, 1.1 milligrams of riboflavin, 15 milligrams of niacin, 0.43 milligrams of folic acid, and 12.5 milligrams of iron.
   21 CFR 136.115, Enriched bread, rolls, and buns · checked 2026-09-29
9. fcc-r6-03 · systematic review
   The 25 clinical trials included a total of 542 individuals. ... Overall, it is currently difficult to establish a clear consensus with regards to the beneficial effects of sourdough per se on health when compared with other types of bread because a variety of factors, such as the microbial composition of sourdough, fermentation parameters, cereals, and flour types potentially influence the nutritional properties of bread.
   Adv Nutr, 2023 · checked 2026-09-29