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Many sources suggest that olive oil loses its distinctive flavors when heated to high temperatures (e.g., Can extra virgin olive oil be used for stir frying, roasting, grilling?). When olive oil is used in baking, however, it would typically stay at lower temperatures than it reaches in sauteeing or roasting. Do baked goods made with olive oil retain any of olive oil's distinctive flavors?

(For what it is worth, I am particularly interested in whether it is worthwhile to use olive oil in breads such as focaccia and in cakes made with oil.)

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  • Bread & pizza baked using olive oil, develop a kind of crunchy crust on the bottom that I find masks the flavor of the crest. Applying EVOO to the topping of pizza or focaccia will add some flavor, but not as much as dipping in EVOO.
    – Optionparty
    Dec 29, 2013 at 3:06

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There are some cakes (usually of Italian origin) specifically made with olive oil.

In breads, you can certainly use it, although there often is not enough olive oil for its flavor to truly be appreciated.

New York style pizza dough, for example, is traditionally made with some olive oil.

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  • I just made this one my first olive oil cake it turned out great except that my oranges weren't very good.
    – Jolenealaska ♦
    Dec 29, 2013 at 1:25
  • Is it possible to expand your answer by addressing whether olive oil makes a difference in the recipes that you mention? Given that many non-baking recipes call for olive oil even when it makes little difference, the fact that some baking recipes call for olive oil isn't completely convincing.
    – Chris
    Dec 30, 2013 at 14:57
  • For these particular cakes, yes the olive oil is a major flavor component. For the pizza, I have a hard time telling the difference.
    – SAJ14SAJ
    Dec 30, 2013 at 15:05
  • Having recently made a couple of olive oil cakes, I can testify to the fact that you DO taste the oil in the cakes, really good EVOO comes through loud and clear.
    – Jolenealaska ♦
    Mar 2, 2014 at 11:01

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