Sweet focaccia bread made with your favorite seasonal toppings is such a treat! Once you discover how easy this homemade bread is to throw together, it’s sure to become a go-to!
At the bakery we have always loved focaccia bread! We use it every week for our favorite Breakfast Sandwiches. One of the greatest discoveries we have made is that focaccia is not only an amazing savory classic Italian bread, it always makes an amazing, sweet bread. Today I am going to share my favorite multi-purpose focaccia recipe along with my favorite toppings to create a perfect desert or breakfast accompaniment. This easy focaccia bread is delicious with fresh raspberries, balsamic peaches, chocolate, creamy brie cheese, and so many more of your favorite sweet toppings. These topping may not be traditional, but I promise they are such a treat!
Worried You’re Not a Bread Baker?
Focaccia is SO EASY! Not a bread baker? Or avid cook? Kitchen Lover? This is the easiest recipe for first time bakers. Everyone loves a delicious and flavorful bread, and they’re going to love this sweet focaccia bread. And this recipe is so simple with minimal hands-on time. The only skill you really need to make focaccia is patience. Now, like any yeast recipe, it takes time to rise and mature, and this particular recipe relies on slow fermentation to develop a beautiful depth of flavor and texture.
Mixing Sweet Focaccia Dough
To make the dough for your sweet focaccia bread, we’re going to start by placing your dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Mix your dry ingredients together and make a well in the center. To this we add the water and olive oil and mix together with a Danish whisk or your fingers until you no longer see dry flour bits. You’ll notice that a very shaggy dough forms, and it may not form into a ball but that’s okay. Continue to stir your sticky dough with your dough whisk, dough hook on a mixer, or your hands for a couple of minutes. Next, allow the dough to rest for thirty minutes.
This period of rest gives the flour time to fully absorb the water before you begin working it. Gluten is only able to form when flour absorbs water. Giving the flour a chance to fully hydrate will allow for better gluten development. After the thirty minutes is up, you will begin to strengthen the focaccia dough by stretching and folding it.
How to Stretch and Fold Sweet Focaccia Dough
Focaccia dough is a very wet dough and can be a little tricky to work with. Because of this, we are not going to knead the dough as you might be used to. We are going to develop the gluten through a series of stretch and folds. Stretching and folding bread dough is a gentle way of developing a good gluten structure that doesn’t require any kneading. Another thing to keep in mind is to leave your dough in a warm place for optimal rise.
Place your Focaccia Dough on the pan it will bake in.
Your delicious sweet focaccia is going to bake on either a cookie sheet pan, square pan or a 9×13 baking dish. Whichever you use, go ahead and oil your pan with olive oil and dump the dough out onto the baking sheet. Next, place a little bit of extra virgin olive oil on your hands so they won’t stick, and pat your dough gently into a rough rectangle. Look at your dough and see that it has four sides. Beginning at the side farthest from you, pinch the back two corners and lift the dough up away from the pan.
At this point, your dough has very little gluten development and it should be very stretchy. Raise the dough about a foot in the air, the bottom portion of the dough should not lift off the pan. Fold the dough over two thirds of itself, as if you were folding a letter, and press the corners down to seal. Now take the bottom two corners of your rectangle and lift up, stretching the dough about a foot. Fold the dough backwards over two thirds of the dough, sealing the corners by pressing them down into the dough.
Stretching and folding is SO much easier than kneading!
Repeat this process from left to right, starting with the two left corners and stretching and folding to the right. After finishing with the right side, you should have a nice, smaller, chubbier rectangle. Lift the dough and flip it over so that all seams are on the bottom. Spread some more olive oil on the surface of the dough and cover the pan with plastic wrap. Allow the dough to rest for 30 minutes.
After thirty minutes, repeat the stretch and fold process. The dough will have puffed up and spread out a bit as it begins to rise and form air bubbles. The great thing about stretching and folding the dough is that you are developing the gluten without getting rid of those nice air bubble you’re creating. As you perform the second round of stretching and folding, you’ll notice the dough is a little tighter. It does not stretch as far, and the dough is a little smoother. Finally, place the dough with the seams down, cover with plastic wrap, and allow to rest for one hour.
Dimpling the Focaccia Dough
The trademark of Focaccia is the dimpled surface of the dough. This dimpling creates a light and airy bread and a perfect foundation for pizza toppings! After allowing it to rest for thirty minutes to one hour, your dough will have risen and puffed up nicely. Next, remove the plastic wrap and oil your fingers so they do not stick to your dough. Working from the center out, begin pressing all fingers into the dough, pressing down and out to spread the dough out towards the four corners of the pan. Your fingers should press down towards the bottom of the pan but should not break through the dough. Then, continue dimpling until the dough covers at least three quarters of the pan.
Overnight Fermentation
Time is critical to good focaccia bread, and overnight fermentation is the best way to develop a full flavored, perfectly textured focaccia. After dimpling the sweet focaccia bread dough, cover the pan with plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator overnight and wake up to it the next day. It can stay in the fridge for up to five days. While the waiting may seem like an inconvenience, once you embrace the slow process of this recipe, it can actually become a wonderful way to have an amazing weekend dinner made ahead and ready to go! When Friday comes around, I pull my focaccia dough out of the fridge two to three hours before I want to bake it. At this point the dough rises prior to going in the oven. Now I have a quick meal that everyone loves!
Adding toppings to your Homemade Focaccia Bread
Crafting sweet focaccia bread is so much fun and the options are as endless as your creativity! I think the key is making sure the crust of the focaccia bread is generously covered with both white sugar and turbinado sugar. This combination results in a beautiful caramelization as well as amazing crunch and texture. I also ALWAYS add a sprinkling of coarse salt to a sweet focaccia to balance everything out just perfectly. Below are some of my favorite flavor combos that are sure to impress!
Classically Caramelized
- 1/4 cup white sugar
- 1/4 cup turbinado or coarse sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
- Directions: Right before baking, sprinkle the dimpled focaccia bread with the sugars and salt. Bake as directed. If the crust becomes dark before the bread is done baking, decrease the oven temperature to 425 degrees and continue baking.
Roasted Grape with Rosemary
- Start by following the directions for the classically caramelized focaccia to get the perfect base for your sweet focaccia.
- Press black grapes deep into the dough, evenly across the focaccia.
- Bake as directed, and finish with a sprinkling of fresh rosemary.
Balsamic Roasted Peach and Feta Cheese
- To make the balsamic roasted peaches: Add 1/2 cup of balsamic vinegar to a saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Continue to simmer until the vinegar has reduced to 1/4 of its original volume, or until it is thickened to coat the back of a spoon. This should take about five minutes. Add 2 cups of sliced peaches, lemon zest from 1/2 of a lemon, 1/4 teaspoon of salt, and 1 tablespoon of brown sugar. Simmer five minutes longer, until peaches are slightly softened.
- Prepare your focaccia bread following the directions for the classically caramelized focaccia.
- Press crumbled feta deep into the dough, evenly across the focaccia.
- Top with the balsamic roasted peaches and bake as directed.
- After the sweet focaccia bread is removed from the oven, sprinkle with chopped basil and enjoy!
Cinnamon Sugar Focaccia Bread with Apples, Pears and Brie
- Slice and peel 2 medium apples and 2 medium pears thinly and allow the slices to soak in water for one hour. Drain and pat dry with a paper towel.
- Prepare your sweet focaccia bread following the directions for the classically caramelized focaccia, adding 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon to the granulated sugar to make a cinnamon sugar mix.
- Spread brie cheese across the focaccia bread by pulling chunks off of a wheel and pressing them deep into the dough. One eight ounce wheel will cover the focaccia nicely.
- Top with the pears and apples, spreading the slices evenly across the surface.
- Drizzle with honey for the final touch, and bake according to the directions
Tips for Keeping your Toppings From Scorching
- Choose toppings that do not burn easily, such as fruits with a high liquid content and melty cheeses.
- Avoid adding shredded cheeses until the final 2 minutes of baking.
- Fresh herbs burn easily and should be added after the focaccia is removed from the oven.
- If your toppings are starting to burn, decrease the temperature of the oven by 25 degrees or cover the crust with aluminum foil.
- When possible, press ingredients deep into the dough to shield them from the high heat.
- Remember, baking your focaccia at a high temperature helps it to rise properly in the oven and gives the crust a beautiful crunch, so avoid decreasing the oven temperature during the first five minutes of baking.
More Bread Recipes
Banana Bread with Crumb Topping
Homemade Sweet Focaccia Bread Recipe
Serving Size: 6-8 Time: -2 days, 30 minutes hands on Difficulty: Easy
Ingredients
- 5 cups bread flour (works better than all purpose flour)
- 2 teaspoons instant yeast
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 cups water
Directions
- Place the flour, salt, and yeast in a large bowl and stir together with a Danish Whisk, your hands, or a stand mixer. Make a well in the center and add in your olive oil and water. Stir about three minutes or until all of the flour is hydrated. This is a very wet dough and may not pull away from the sides of the bowl. Allow the dough to rest for 30 minutes.
- Coat a cookie sheet with olive oil. Next, transfer the dough to the dish and pat it into a rectangle of sorts. Working on each side, pull the dough up and away from the sheet pan to stretch it about a foot in the air. Then fold it back over about two thirds of the dough, as if you were folding a letter, and press it together. Repeat this process with each side of the dough, 4 times. Then flip the dough so that the seams are facing down, coat the top with olive oil, and cover it with plastic wrap. Allow to rest for 30 minutes.
- After thirty minutes you will notice that the dough has puffed up and spread on the sheet pan. Uncover it and perform another series of stretch and folds. The dough should be smoother and have a little less give than last time. Once again, flip the dough seam side down, oil the top, and cover with plastic wrap. Allow to rest for thirty minutes to one hour.
- At the end of the hour the dough should be ready to be dimpled. Using all of your fingers, begin pressing the dough from the center out towards the edges of the pan. Press your fingers all the way towards the bottom of the pan without breaking through the dough. When you’ve covered 3/4’s of the pan, you are ready to cover it with plastic wrap and stick it in the refrigerator overnight or up to five days.
- Take the focaccia dough out of the refrigerator about 2 hours before you want to bake it. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. You’ll notice that it has risen in the refrigerator, and it will continue to puff up as it comes to room temperature. Prior to topping, repeat the dimpling process, using your fingers to gently deflate the focaccia dough and spread it from the center out towards the edges of the pan.
- Finally, top your sweet focaccia bread as desired. Bake on 450 degrees for 15-20 minutes. The crust should be golden brown, and an instant read thermometer should read 200 degrees.
- Once the bread is out of the oven, let it rest five minutes before slicing. Serve to a happy crew!
