Fouace (or fougasse or fogassa) is a very ancient kind of leavened semi-sweet cake. Its name derives from the Romans’ panis focacius (‘bread of the hearth’). It is found in various versions in many regions of France, from Caen and Chinon to Périgueux and Nice. Chapter XXV of the first book of Rabelais’ Gargantua et Pantagruel describes how Gargantua’s countrymen were so fond of fouaces that they forcibly seized ‘four or five dozen’ cakes from the ba