Easy Apple Cinnamon Sourdough Focaccia

ByLaRee Colburn
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This apple cinnamon sourdough focaccia recipe is filled with a delicious cinnamon sugar and apple filling, baked to perfection and then drizzled with a sweet glaze.  Apple pie and apple fritters are both some of my favorite fall flavors and it's all wrapped up one in this beautiful focaccia bread that is perfect for a cozy fall day, along with a cup of tea or coffee.  

Simple and easy to make, this is one of my family’s favorite fall treats that I can make with minimal effort.  Similar to my artisan sourdough bread, this recipe is perfect for a batch of sourdough that may have accidentally gotten over-fermented. If that happens to you, like it does to all of us sometimes, just turn it into a delicious focaccia. Don't let fall pass you by 

apple cinnamon focaccia close up
pan of apple cinnamon focaccia

Why You'll Love This Recipe

  • Similar To Apple Pie – who doesn't love apple pie?  And all of those apple pie flavors wrapped up into a sweet sourdough focaccia?  What's not to love!!
  • Healthy – made with long fermented sourdough for the maximum gut health benefits.  I also like to use my home canned apples that we've grown in our orchard.  
  • Delicious – of all the sweet things that I make, sweet focaccia treats are always pretty quickly.
  • Snack or Dessert – this sweet sourdough focaccia makes a great snack or the perfect dessert for a fall picnic.
  • Quick and Easy – If you’re needing a last minute bread for an evening meal, you can quickly whip up a focaccia in the morning using discard from your refrigerator, and have it baked in time for supper.


What Are The Health Benefits Of Sourdough?

Anytime you add a fermented element like sourdough to a recipe, it becomes more nutritious because it contains live probiotics and good bacteria that help with gut health and digestion.  Gluten and phytic acid are naturally present in wheat, and are usually what is to blame for people not being able to digest gluten well.  When the grain is fermented through the sourdough process, the gluten and phytic acid are broken down, making it easier to digest.  A lot of people that struggle with gluten intolerance (not people with celiac), can digest food made with sourdough without any issue, especially if the recipe is allowed to sit out for a few hours and “long ferment”.   

In addition, phytic acid is an anti-nutrient that blocks absorption of the nutrients found in wheat. During the sourdough fermentation process, the phytic acid gets broken down and the nutrients are more bio-available to the body. This is why baking with sourdough is so important for our health.

Ingredients

  • Flour- I like to use bread flour when making sourdough bread, but all-purpose flour works just fine too.  I prefer to source my flour from Azure Standard, but I can sometimes get good quality flour from Sam’s club as well.  You can also use whole wheat flour, but I prefer to mix it 50/50 with all purpose flour.
  • Apple cider or apple juice- This will give an extra apple flavor to the bread.
  • Salt- I prefer to use Redmond Real Salt, but use whatever you have available.
  • Sourdough Starter- Sourdough discard works just fine for making focaccia, but you can use active sourdough starter if that’s all you have available.
  • Maple syrup-This gives a slight sweet taste to the bread and adds more of the delicious fall flavor we all love
  • Brown Sugar- Combine with cinnamon and apples to make the filling of this pumpkin sweet focaccia.  You can also use cane sugar or regular sugar, but brown sugar has the best flavor in my opinion.
  • Cinnamon- Gives some added cinnamon sugar flavor that is absolutely delicious.  
  • Apples- I like to use my home canned apples, but you can also use fresh apples.  Just chop them small so they turn soft while baking.  Tart apples taste especially good with the cinnamon sugar filling in this sweet sourdough focaccia recipe.
  • Butter- I like to use butter on this focaccia instead of oil because it gives it a richer flavor.
  • Powdered Sugar- Powdered sugar and milk makes a delicious glaze for an apple cinnamon focaccia.
  • Milk

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Tools

How To Make Apple Cinnamon Sourdough Focaccia

Mix Ingredients

In a large bowl, add water, sourdough starter, maple syrup and flour.  Mix until it comes together into a shaggy dough using a danish dough whisk.  You can add the salt now, or when you do the first stretch and fold.  It doesn’t really matter for focaccia.  Leave it for 15-30 minutes to “autolyse”.  This just means you’re giving the flour a chance to absorb the water and the starter. Do a set of stretch and folds or a coil fold just to make sure the ingredients are well mixed.

ingredients for apple cinnamon focaccia

Bulk Fermentation

Cover bowl with a loose fitting lid like a plate and leave it in the bowl at room temperature for 3-8 hours to let the dough rise in a bulk ferment.  It doesn’t matter if it over ferments, in fact that’s really what you want for focaccia.

mix into a shaggy dough

Make The Filling

Combine brown sugar and cinnamon.  

adding filling to sourdough apple cinnamon focaccia

Melt butter and grease the bottom of the pan, saving about half of the butter for the top of the dough.

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Transfer dough to a greased pan like a 12” cast iron skillet or a 9” x 13” pan.

Cover the focaccia dough with half of the brown sugar/cinnamon filling.  Fold one side towards the center, and the other side towards the center, fully enclosing the filling.  Flip the whole batch of dough over and gently spread it back out. Allow to rise for an hour or two in a warm spot, or in the refrigerator overnight for the second proof (depending on the temperature of your house).

fold dough over the filling for apple cinnamon focaccia

Chop the apples into small pieces so they will turn soft while baking, or use home canned apples.  

Drizzle melted butter over the top of the dough and spread the remainder of the cinnamon sugar mixture and chopped apples over the top of the dough.  

pouring butter over apple cinnamon focaccia

Dimple the surface of the dough with wet fingers (see video).  This will allow the rest of the filling to be fully incorporated into the dough.

adding apples and filling to apple cinnamon focaccia

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Bake

Bake at 425 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.

Glaze

Combine powdered sugar and milk in a small bowl to make a thick glaze and drizzle over the top of the warm focaccia.

adding glaze to apple cinnamon focaccia

Slice and Enjoy

For best results, wait until the focaccia is cool to slice.  Sometimes I can’t wait that long, and slice it sooner.   You’ll never eat anything more delicious!

Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week.

If you make this recipe, be sure to come back and give a 5-star rating so others will know to try it too.  Happy baking friends!

slice of apple cinnamon focaccia

FAQ

Sourdough starter is a fermented mix of flour and water that has captured the wild yeast that is in your environment.  It uses this yeast to raise your bread so you don’t have to purchase store bought yeast.  As long as you have access to flour, water and salt, you can make bread and other delicious recipes like this sourdough focaccia.

Sourdough focaccia is more flat than a regular loaf of sourdough bread, and can be made either sweet or savory.  A lot of focaccia’s are made savory with herbs, vegetables and salt, or sweet with fruit, sugar and usually a powdered sugar glaze.

Yes, you can. Since we’re not worried about building structure in the dough and creating a really open crumb like we do in a regular sourdough loaf, then discard works just fine.  In fact, I usually make focaccia with discard.

Yes!  And in fact, I do that a lot.  If you happen to over ferment your sourdough into a sticky dough, just turn it into a focaccia by spreading it out in a greased pan, dimpling it and adding in some sweet or savory toppings.

Yes, long fermented sourdough focaccia is healthier than yeast bread because of the phytic acid that is broken down during the fermentation process.  A lot of people that are gluten intolerant can eat long fermented sourdough bread without any digestion issues.  Sourdough bread also has a lower glycemic index than regular yeast bread and when eaten with a meal it actually lowers the glycemic level of the entire meal. This is really important for people that are diabetic.  More information on the glycemic level of sourdough bread here.

All purpose flour works just fine for making sourdough focaccia.  You can use any kind of flour you want though, it really is a flexible recipe.  

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More Recipes Like This

apple cinnamon focaccia close up

Easy Apple Cinnamon Sourdough Focaccia

This apple cinnamon sourdough focaccia recipe is filled with a delicious cinnamon sugar and apple filling, baked to perfection and then drizzled with a sweet glaze.  Apple pie and apple fritters are both some of my favorite fall flavors and it's all wrapped up one in this beautiful focaccia bread that is perfect for a cozy fall day, along with a cup of tea or coffee.  
Prep Time 8 hours
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 8 hours 30 minutes
Serving Size 10 people

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Equipment

  • 1 Large Mixing Bowl
  • 1 Measuring cups
  • 1 Danish whisk
  • 1 Bench scraper
  • 1 Small bowl
  • 1 12” cast iron skillet or 9” x 13” glass pan

Ingredients

  • ½ cup sourdough starter (discard)
  • 1 ¼ cups warm water
  • ¼ cup maple syrup
  • 3 ½ cups cups flour
  • 1 tablespoon salt

Filling/Topping

  • 2 cups brown sugar
  • 2 Tbl cinnamon

Additional Ingredients

  • ½ cup melted butter
  • 4 cups chopped apples

Glaze

  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 2 tablespoon milk

Instructions

Mix Ingredients

  • In a large bowl, add water, sourdough starter, maple syrup and flour.  Mix until it comes together into a shaggy dough using a danish dough whisk.  
    You can add the salt now, or when you do the first stretch and fold.  It doesn’t really matter for focaccia.
     Leave it for 15-30 minutes to “autolyse”.  This just means you’re giving the flour a chance to absorb the water and the starter.
    Do a set of stretch and folds or a coil fold just to make sure the ingredients are well mixed.

Bulk Fermentation

  • Cover bowl with a loose fitting lid like a plate and leave it in the bowl at room temperature for 3-8 hours to let the dough rise in a bulk ferment.
     It doesn’t matter if it over ferments, in fact that’s really what you want for focaccia.

Make The Filling

  • Combine brown sugar and cinnamon.  
    Melt butter and grease the bottom of the pan, saving about half of the butter for the top of the dough.
    Transfer dough to a greased pan like a 12” cast iron skillet or a 9” x 13” pan.
    Cover the focaccia dough with half of the brown sugar/cinnamon filling.  Fold one side towards the center, and the other side towards the center, fully enclosing the filling.  Flip the whole batch of dough over and gently spread it back out.
    Allow to rise for an hour or two in a warm spot, or in the refrigerator overnight for the second proof (depending on the temperature of your house).
    Chop the apples into small pieces so they will turn soft while baking, or use home canned apples.  
    Drizzle melted butter over the top of the dough and spread the remainder of the cinnamon sugar mixture and chopped apples over the top of the dough.  
    Dimple the surface of the dough with wet fingers (see video).  This will allow the rest of the filling to be fully incorporated into the dough.
    Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Bake

  • Bake at 425 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.

Glaze

  • Combine powdered sugar and milk in a small bowl to make a thick glaze and drizzle over the top of the warm focaccia.

Slice and Enjoy

  • For best results, wait until the focaccia is cool to slice.  Sometimes I can’t wait that long, and slice it sooner.   You’ll never eat anything more delicious!
    Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week.
    If you make this recipe, be sure to come back and give a 5-star rating so others will know to try it too.  Happy baking friends!

Notes

Anytime you add a fermented element like sourdough to a recipe, it becomes more nutritious because it contains live probiotics and good bacteria that help with gut health and digestion.  Gluten and phytic acid are naturally present in wheat, and are usually what is to blame for people not being able to digest gluten well.  When the grain is fermented through the sourdough process, the gluten and phytic acid are broken down, making it easier to digest.  A lot of people that struggle with gluten intolerance (not people with celiac), can digest food made with sourdough without any issue, especially if the recipe is allowed to sit out for a few hours and “long ferment”.  

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I'm a homeschool Mom of 5, living out my dreams of growing a simple, sustainable life on our Nebraska homestead. I'm passionate about gardening, preserving, cooking from scratch and baking with sourdough. I enjoy milking Jersey cows and making our own dairy products. Come along with me as I share with you the skills you'll need to be successful at homesteading and frugal living.

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Recipe Rating




3 Comments

  1. This recipe doesn't have a leavening agent. I used sourdough discard and I'm now realizing the recipe probably meant active starter. And just one set of stretch and fold? I'm going to try and add some yeast to save all the ingredients I used in this. 🤷 Thank goodness I don't need it for two days. 🤦‍♀️

    Reply

    1. No, there is no leavening agent needed even if you use discard. If given enough time to rise, even discard will leaven a recipe. However, for this recipe it doesn't really need to rise much because it's a flatter bread. Hope that makes sense. If you added yeast, that's fine, but it may make the bread rise too fast. The original recipe is correct.

      Reply

  2. 3 stars
    This was tasty but I only used half the filling and half the butter and I'm glad I made that choice. When I first made the recipe as written I realized after a few hours it wasn't rising at all and needed fresh yeast. I added a couple of teaspoons of yeast activated in a little water with a touch of maple syrup and blended it into the dough. Finally a few hours later I got rise! The finished dish was a hit at Bible study.

    Reply