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Apple Cider Cinnamon Focaccia

Pillowy cinnamon focaccia built on an apple cider dough, layered with diced apples and spiced sugar, then baked hot and finished with a crunchy cinnamon-sugar crust.

Details
Source Adapted from a shared recipe
Cuisine American / Italian-inspired
Servings 12 (one 9x13" pan)
Prep Time 30 minutes active
Rise Time 5½ hours (30 min rest + 2 hours stretch & folds + 1 hour bulk rise + 2 hours proof)
Cook Time 18-20 minutes
Storage Best day of • Room temp 2 days in an airtight container • Reheat 5 min at 350°F / 175°C

Ingredients

Focaccia Dough

Ingredient Imperial Metric
Active dry yeast 2¼ tsp 7 g
Brown sugar, packed ¼ cup 50 g
Apple cider, warm (105-115°F / 41-46°C) 1¾ cups 415 ml
Olive oil 2 tbsp 30 ml
All-purpose flour 4 cups 480 g
Salt 1½ tsp 9 g
Ground cinnamon 2 tsp 5 g
Butter, melted, for the pan 4 tbsp 57 g

Apple Filling + Topping

Ingredient Imperial Metric
Apples, peeled, cored, and diced ½ lb 225 g
Granulated sugar ⅔ cup 135 g
Brown sugar, packed ⅓ cup 65 g
Ground cinnamon 2 tsp 5 g
Ground cardamom (optional) 1 tsp 2 g
Ground nutmeg ½ tsp 1 g
Salt ¼ tsp 1.5 g
Butter, melted, for brushing 2 tbsp 28 g

Instructions

Make the Dough

  1. Whisk the yeast, brown sugar, and warm apple cider together in a large bowl. Let sit 10 minutes, until foamy. Stir in the olive oil.
  2. Add the flour, salt, and cinnamon. Mix into a soft, sticky dough. Cover and rest 30 minutes.

Stretch & Fold

  1. Do 4 rounds of stretch and folds, resting 30 minutes between each round. To do a round, grab one edge of the dough with a wet hand, stretch it up, and fold it over the center; rotate the bowl a quarter turn and repeat until you have gone all the way around.
  2. After the final round, cover and let rise 1 hour, until doubled and bubbly.

Fill and Shape

  1. Mix the granulated sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, and salt in a small bowl. Butter a 9x13" (23x33 cm) pan generously with the 4 tbsp melted butter.
  2. Add the dough to the pan and gently stretch it to the edges.
  3. Scatter the diced apples over the top and sprinkle with one third of the cinnamon sugar.
  4. Fold the dough in half, rotate it, return it to the pan, and gently stretch it back out to the edges.
  5. Cover and proof 2 hours, until very puffy and jiggly.

Bake

  1. Heat the oven to 450°F (230°C).
  2. Brush the dough with the 2 tbsp melted butter and sprinkle with another one third of the cinnamon sugar.
  3. Butter your fingers and dimple the dough all the way down to the bottom of the pan.
  4. Bake 18-20 minutes, until puffed and golden.
  5. Immediately sprinkle with the remaining cinnamon sugar. Cool slightly before serving.

Notes

  • Cider vs. juice. Both apple cider and apple juice work. Cider is a little less sweet, which balances the cinnamon sugar better; juice makes a sweeter loaf. Use whichever you have.
  • Liquid temperature matters. Cider hotter than 115°F (46°C) will kill the yeast. If it does not foam in 10 minutes, the yeast is dead — start over.
  • Apple choice. Firm, tart apples (Granny Smith, Honeycrisp, Braeburn) hold their shape and cut the sweetness. Soft apples turn to mush in the bake.
  • Dimple all the way down. Pressing only the surface gives you a domed bread instead of focaccia. Push your fingers to the bottom of the pan.
  • The final sprinkle must be immediate. Cinnamon sugar added to the hot, buttery top melts into a thin crackly shell; added after it cools, it just falls off.