Sweet Apple Cinnamon Focaccia

Horizontal slices of Apple Cinnamon Focaccia with Brown Sugar Butter Sauce and simple glaze with some slices turned on the side to show the fluffy apple cinnamon interior.

5 from 1 vote

Sweet Apple Cinnamon Focaccia

This Sweet Apple Cinnamon Focaccia is made with cinnamon sugar coated diced apples folded into a classic focaccia bread with a brown sugar butter sauce and simple sweet glaze.

Prep Time1 20

Cook Time28

Rise Time1

Total Time2 48

Course: Appetizer, Side Dish

Cuisine: Italian

Servings: squares

Calories: 176kcal

Author: Lauren Skardal

Ingredients

Focaccia

364 g warm water
7 g honey
7 g instant yeast
30 g extra virgin olive oil
10 g salt
455 g bread flour

Apple Mixture (to fold in during the last stretch and fold)

1 large apple, diced small Cosmic Crisp or Honeycrisp
1 tablespoon brown sugar light or dark
¼ teaspoon cinnamon

Brown Sugar Butter Sauce (to pour on top before baking)

106 g brown sugar (½ cup) light or dark
56 g butter (¼ cup) + more for buttering the pan

Glaze (optional - to drizzle on the finished sweet focaccia bread)

56 g powdered sugar (½ cup)
1 tablespoon water

Instructions

Mix Ingredients and Let Rest: In a large bowl, combine the warm water and honey. Stir to dissolve. Add the yeast, extra virgin olive oil, and salt and stir. Add the flour and mix to combine. The mixture will be fairly wet. Cover the bowl and let it rest for 20 minutes.
First Set of Stretch and Folds: Complete the first set of stretch and folds. You will do three of these sets of stretch and folds spaced out 20 minutes, with the last set incorporating the diced apples.
To do the stretch and folds, rinse your hand under water and with a wet hand (this prevents sticking), grab and lift a portion of the dough at the edge of the bowl straight up. Then fold it over the remaining dough in the bowl.
Continue around the bowl, repeating this stretch and fold technique about 6-8 times until all the dough has been worked this way. Cover and let rest for 20 minutes.
Second Set of Stretch and Folds: Perform the second set of stretch and folds the same way you did the first set of stretch and folds. Cover and let rest another 20 minutes.
Butter a 9x13 metal baking dish, including the bottom and all the way up the sides.
Third Set of Stretch and Folds: In a small bowl, combine the apples, 1 tablespoon brown sugar, and ¼ teaspoon cinnamon. Add half of the apples to the top of the dough, pressing them in slightly.
Then complete the third set of stretch and folds, incorporating the apples as you stretch and fold the dough. Some apples may fall to the side. That’s okay. Just press them back in.
Transfer the dough to the buttered 9x13 baking dish. Stretch the dough slightly into roughly the shape of the baking dish. It does not need to go to the edges, just roughly stretch it into a rectangle.
Rise Time: Cover the dish with plastic wrap and let rise for approximately one hour. Preheat the oven to 450° at least 30 minutes prior to baking and ensure that there is a rack in the lower third of the oven.
Brown Sugar Butter Sauce: In a small saucepan, add the butter and brown sugar and bringto medium heat, stirring occasionally. Once the mixture starts to bubble, remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly.
Dimple and Add Sauce: Once the dough has roughly doubled in size, wet your hands again, pressing dimples into the dough. Press all the way to the bottom (the dough should not deflate or tear). Add the remaining cinnamon sugar apples. Gently pour the brown sugar butter mixture over the dough, trying to avoid the edges to prevent the sugar from sticking to the sides of the pan.
Bake: Place the dish in the bottom third of the oven and bake for 15 minutes.
After 15 minutes, cover the top with aluminum foil to prevent the sugar on the top of the dough from burning. Bake for another 10 minutes.
Remove the aluminum foil and bake for about 3 more minutes to ensure a nice browned top. Watch closely and do not allow the top to burn.
Glaze: Remove and let cool slightly. Mix the confectioners’ sugar and water to make a simple glaze. If needed, adjust the amount of confectioners' sugar or water if it is too thin or thick.
Drizzle over the focaccia. Cut into slices and serve.
**Note: Detailed images of each of the steps of this recipe, including the stretch and fold technique, can be seen in the post above.

Notes

Measurments: This recipe is best made by measuring the ingredients by weight in grams. Methods for measuring flour in a cup are not universal or standardized, which produce variable results when baking.
Rinsing Hands with Water: Rinsing your hands with water before handling the dough helps to prevent the dough from sticking to your hands.
Warm Space to Rise: The dough will rise much faster in a warm environment than a cold one. If you're house is cold, consider putting the dough in front of a sunlit window, or at the back of the stove with the oven on (not the stove on), or in the microwave with a mug of boiling water beside it (do not microwave the dough).
Oven Temperature: All ovens are different, some run hotter or colder, and some take upwards of 30 minutes to fully preheat (even when the oven indicates it has preheated), and some maintain their heat differently during the baking process. Keep this in mind and adjust accordingly based on your oven and how your focaccia looks.
Incorporating Inclusions: Through the process of recipe testing, I've found that the best time to include the diced apples is during the third set of stretch and folds. This helps to incorporate the apples evenly throughout the middle of the dough.
Glaze: If the glaze is too thick add a few drops of water. If it is too thin add a tablespoon of powdered sugar.

Nutrition