let’s make something Naughty
Salted Maple Cinnamon Roll Focaccia
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Ingredients
Serving Size: 8-10 people
For the Same-Day Focaccia Dough
1 ¾ cups (420 ml) warm water, around 105 to 110°F
1 ½ tsp instant yeast (6g or 1 packet)
1 tsp honey
1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
4 cups (500 g) white bread flour
2 tsp fine sea salt (10g)
More olive oil as needed
Focaccia base adapted from Lacey Ostermann’s Same-Day Focaccia recipe on The Happy Foodie.
For the Cinnamon Brown Sugar Swirl
5 tbsp unsalted butter, very soft
¾ cup packed dark brown sugar
1 ½ tbsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla extract
¼ tsp kosher salt
1/2 tbsp heavy cream
For the Maple Cream Cheese Glaze
4 oz cream cheese, softened
2 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
¾ cup powdered sugar
3 tbsp pure maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp heavy cream or whole milk
Pinch of kosher salt
Instructions
Make the Focaccia Dough
In a large bowl, whisk together the warm water, yeast, honey and 1 tablespoon olive oil. Add the bread flour and fine sea salt and mix thoroughly until no dry patches remain.
Cover and let rest for 15 minutes.
Wet your hand and perform a series of stretch-and-folds: grab one side of the dough, stretch it upward, then fold it over the center. Work your way around the bowl until the dough begins to tighten.
Cover and rest another 15 minutes, then repeat the stretch-and-fold process.
Cover and let proof at room temperature for 1 to 1 ½ hours, until nearly doubled, bubbly and jiggly.
Make the Cinnamon Filling
Mix the softened butter, dark brown sugar, cinnamon, vanilla, heavy cream and salt until you have a thick, spreadable paste.
Preheat the oven to 430°F with the rack toward the bottom of the oven, as in the original focaccia method.
Transfer & Second Proof
Line a 9 x 13-inch metal baking pan with parchment. Spread the remaining 3 tablespoons olive oil over the parchment and sides.
Gently transfer the dough to the pan.
Add half of your cinnamon filling to the top and spread evenly.
Fold one side toward the center, then fold the opposite side over it, almost like folding a letter into thirds. Rotate the dough so it runs lengthwise in the pan and flip it seam-side down.
Cover and proof for another 1 to 1 ½ hours, until very puffy, bubbly and jiggly.
Dimple & Swirl
Once the dough has finished proofing, gently stretch it toward the edges of the pan if necessary.
Dollop about the rest of the cinnamon brown sugar mixture all over the surface.
deeply dimple the dough, pressing your fingers almost all the way to the bottom of the pan. As you dimple, push some of the cinnamon mixture down into those pockets.
Don't completely mix it in. You want distinct pockets and ribbons of cinnamon sugar that caramelize as the focaccia bakes.
Bake
Bake for approximately 20 to 25 minutes (I had to bake for 30 mins bc my oven doesn’t run as hot) until the focaccia is deeply golden, puffed and cooked through in the center. With the added butter and sugar, I’d start checking around 18 minutes and tent the top loosely with foil if the cinnamon sugar is getting too dark.
Make the Maple Cream Cheese Glaze
Beat the cream cheese and butter until completely smooth.
Whisk in the powdered sugar, maple syrup, vanilla and salt. Add heavy cream, 1 tablespoon at a time, until you have a thick but drizzleable glaze.
Generously drizzle the glaze over the warm focaccia and spread it out to cover.
Finish with flaky sea salt.
I’d go pretty restrained with the salt, just enough that you get a little salty hit every few bites.
This is what happens when cinnamon rolls and focaccia decide to become one very good thing. The focaccia stays fluffy, chewy and crisp around the edges, but gets layers of buttery cinnamon brown sugar folded into the dough and spread over the top so you get those caramelized pockets in every bite. Once it’s out of the oven, it gets covered in a maple cream cheese glaze and finished with flaky salt to balance out all that sweetness. Basically, cinnamon rolls with a little more texture and a lot less work.
bread, focaccia, dessert, cinnamon roll
