This Sweet Focaccia bread is delicious with a cup of coffee or tea in the morning or a tall glass of cold milk later in the day. With minimal effort, you can create a wonderful treat for your family or company.
You probably think of something savory when you think of focaccia. Instead, think cinnamon roll focaccia. This fluffy bread layered with cinnamon and brown sugar and drizzled with a light icing is the latest viral from TikTok – make it and you’ll have deliciousness for days!
Sweet Focaccia Bread Recipe
One of the reasons I love focaccia bread is that it is so forgiving. Who has time to make something that won’t turn out? I know I don’t!
This sweet focaccia recipe turns out so pretty and the flavor is incredible, with the perfect balance of sweetness. It’s great for a family treat on a holiday and guests will swoon over it!
I just love the warm spices in this sweet bread. I always want to have something sweet around when my kids are visiting, like my coffee cake with cinnamon streusel, sweet potato muffins, or baked apple fritters.
What Is Focaccia?
Focaccia is an Italian flatbread that’s soft, airy, and slightly chewy with a crisp, golden exterior. A staple in Italian bakeries, it’s similar to pizza dough but typically thicker and baked plain or topped with simple ingredients.
What Goes In Sweet Foccacia
Here’s what you’ll need to make this delicious sweet focaccia bread. Be sure to check your spices, yeast, and flour for expiration dates. It does matter!
How to Make Sweet Focaccia Bread
Pour the flour into a large mixing bowl and make a well in the center. Add warm water (under 115°F so not to kill off the yeast) and sprinkle the instant yeast over the water. Slowly stir, mixing the flour into the yeast mixture until a rough dough forms.
Add in the olive oil and salt, mixing together into a sticky dough. Don’t miss the sides of the bowl. Turn the dough out onto a very lightly floured surface.
As this dough is really sticky, use the pull and fold method until it is mostly sticking to itself instead of your hands. Simply wet your hands and pull the dough upward, folding it back over the middle. Turn the bowl a quarter turn and repeat until you’ve stretched on all sides. This takes about 5-7 minutes.
Let the dough rest by placing it into a lightly oiled bowl and covering it with a damp towel or plastic wrap. You’ll want the dough to rise to double its size, which will take 60-90 minutes, depending on how warm your home is. Check it after 60 minutes.
While the dough is rising, you can prepare the focaccia toppings. Add the brown sugar and cinnamon to a small bowl and mix. Set aside 2 tablespoons of the mixture.
Add melted coconut oil to the remaining sugar mixture, stirring into a paste. Note: If you don’t have coconut oil, melted butter works, too.
Prepare a 9”x13” pan with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, spreading it out so it’s even along the bottom of the pan. Place the dough in the pan, pressing it into the corners using your fingers.
Spread about half of the cinnamon sugar paste on top of the dough. Fold the dough in half, stretching it to the edges of the pan again.
Add the remaining cinnamon sugar mixture on top. Cover again and let the dough rise until it’s about one and a half times its original size. This should take 30-60 minutes. Heat the oven to 425°F while waiting.
Dip your fingers in oil and use them to push lots of dimples into the focaccia dough. Sprinkle on the cinnamon sugar you set aside.
Bake the focaccia for 20-22 minutes until the top is golden brown and very firm to the touch. Allow it to cool in the pan for about 10 minutes.
Add powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and oat milk to a bowl and stir until a smooth, pourable icing forms.
Pour the vanilla icing over the top of the bread. Allow it to cool for at least another 20 minutes or so before you cut and serve it. If you have time to let it cool completely, it will keep the insides more moist, as cutting it will allow moisture to escape.
This easy focaccia bread is really best the same day, but it can be stored for up to 3 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
A great way to keep the fluffiness of the focaccia intact is to pop individual pieces in a preheated oven for 5-10 minutes the next day, and each time you serve it after that. Placing the entire focaccia in the oven each time will create a tougher bread.
Tips
- Reminder: Water that is too warm will kill the yeast. The water should be lukewarm, under 115°F.
- Rise time will vary depending on humidity and ambient temperature. It’s tempting to proof in the oven, but keep in mind that though high temperatures lead the dough to rise faster, it can also result in too much air or less spring. Lower temperatures are better for slower rises, though it takes longer. I think the dough is more flavorful with a slower rise.
How to Serve Sweet Focaccia
Serve this as a breakfast option or as dessert with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream.
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Pour the flour into a large bowl and make a well in the center. Add warm water (under 115°F so not to kill off the yeast) and sprinkle the yeast over the water. Slowly stir, mixing the flour into the water until a rough dough forms.
-
Add in the olive oil and salt, mixing together into a sticky dough. Turn the dough out on a very lightly floured surface.
-
As this dough is really sticky, use the pull and fold method until it is mostly sticking to itself instead of your hands. Simply wet your hands and pull the dough upward, folding it back over the middle. Turn the bowl a quarter turn and repeat until you’ve stretched on all sides. This takes about 5-7 minutes.
-
Place the dough into an oiled bowl and cover it with a damp towel or plastic wrap. You’ll want the dough to rise to double its size, which will take 60-90 minutes, depending on how warm your home is. Check it after 60 minutes.
-
While the dough is rising, you can prepare the focaccia toppings. Add the brown sugar and cinnamon to a small bowl and mix. Set aside 2 tablespoons of the mixture.
-
Melt melted coconut oil and add to the remaining sugar mixture, stirring into a paste.
-
Prepare a 9”x13” pan with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, spreading it out, so it’s even. Place the dough in the pan, stretching it out to the corners using your fingers.
-
Spread about half of the cinnamon sugar paste on top of the dough. Fold the dough in half, stretching it to the edges of the pan again.
-
Add the remaining cinnamon sugar mixture on top.
-
Cover the dough again and allow it to rise until it’s about one and a half times the original size. This should take 30-60 minutes. While the focaccia is rising, heat the oven to 425°F.
-
Dip your fingers in oil and use them to push lots of dimples into the focaccia dough. Sprinkle on the cinnamon sugar you set aside.
-
Bake the sweet focaccia for 20-22 minutes until the top is golden brown and very firm to the touch.. Allow it to cool in the pan for about 10 minutes.
-
Add powdered sugar, vanilla, and oat milk to a bowl and stir until a smooth, pourable icing forms.
-
Pour the vanilla icing over the focaccia. Allow it to cool for at least another 20 minutes or so before you cut and serve it. If you have time to cool it completely, it will keep the insides more moist, as cutting it will allow moisture to escape.
-
This Sweet Focaccia is really best the same day, but it can be stored for up to 3 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Rising time will vary depending on humidity and ambient temperature. It’s tempting to proof in the oven, but keep in mind that though high temperatures lead the dough to rise faster, it can also result in too much air or less spring. Lower temperatures are better for slower rises, though it takes longer. I think the dough is more flavorful with a slower rise.
Serving: 1 | Calories: 287kcal | Carbohydrates: 48g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Sodium: 296mg | Potassium: 79mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 16g | Vitamin A: 5IU | Vitamin C: 0.03mg | Calcium: 23mg | Iron: 2mg
