Cinnamon Sugar Focaccia

Sep 24

MAKES

one 9 inch / 23 cm square loaf

TAKES

Prep time: 14 hours 5 minutes (includes rise times)
Cook time: 30 minutes
Total: 14 hours 35 minutes (includes rise times)

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✻ ABOUT THIS RECIPE

My introduction into the world of sweet focaccias was this simple cinnamon sugar riff. It’s sweet, fragrant, and butter - it’s so incredibly delicious, and will make your house smell incredible while you bake it, too. Serve it warm for cinnamon bun vibes, or let it cool completely and turn it into an amazing ice cream sandwich.

INGREDIENTS

Focaccia Dough

360 g / 3 cups bread flour (see Note)

106 g / ½ cup light or dark brown sugar

8 g / 2 teaspoons fine sea salt

2 g / 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

6 g / 1 ¾ teaspoons instant dry yeast

340 g / 1 ½ cups warm water (around 110°F / 45°C)

45 g / 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

14 g / 2 teaspoons honey

Finishing

42 g / 3 tablespoons salted butter, melted

66 g / ⅓ cup granulated sugar

6 g / 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Make This Recipe With Me:

METHOD

1. Twelve to 48 hours before you want to bake the focaccia, make the dough: In a large bowl, stir the flour, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, and yeast together. Add the water, olive oil, and honey and mix until thoroughly combined, 1 to 2 minutes. The dough will be very wet and sticky. Cover the bowl and let rise at room temperature for 30 minutes.

2. Use a dough scraper or damp hands to gently reach under the dough, folding the bottom portion of it over onto the top. Repeat this process 4-5 times, working your way around the bowl. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least 12 hours, and up to 48 hours.

3. When ready to make the focaccia, bring the dough to room temperature for 30 minutes.

4. Grease a 9 x 9 inch / 23 x 23 cm pan generously with olive oil. Add the dough to the pan and gently turn it over so both sides are lightly oiled. Cover the pan and let the dough rise until it nearly doubles in size and almost fills the pan, 30 minutes to 1 hour.

5. Use your fingertips to gently stipple the dough - this will even out the thickness of the dough, spread it out over the base of the pan, and add texture to the surface. Cover and let rest while you preheat the oven.

6. Preheat the oven to 450°F / 235°C with an oven rack in the center.

7. Brush the surface of the dough with melted butter - it will pool in the dimples. In a small bowl, stir the sugar and cinnamon together to combine. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar generously over the surface of the dough.

8. Transfer to the oven and bake until the focaccia is deeply browned, 25-30 minutes.

9. Cool the focaccia in the pan for 5 minutes, then unmold onto a wire rack. Serve warm, or cool to room temperature.

NOTES:

I prefer to use bread flour in my focaccia, however - this recipe is flexible enough that you can use all purpose flour if it’s all you have on hand, and it will still work!