Sourdough Cinnamon Roll Focaccia

Cinnamon rolls are such a fun, classic breakfast treat, but you do end up using the better part of a day to make them from scratch. Focaccia, on the other hand, is a bread you can make at home with a relatively quick rise and timetable. The idea of mixing the two together into a cinnamon roll focaccia was floating around the internet earlier this year. I decided to try it for myself with my sourdough focaccia recipe as the base, and it came out beautifully. This fun, new breakfast bread that will disappear as soon as you take it out of the oven! 

Sourdough focaccia is a staple in our home and forms the base of the recipe. If you have made focaccia before, the process for cinnamon roll focaccia is the same with the simple addition of a cinnamon sugar filling, cinnamon sugar glaze, and cream cheese icing. If you haven’t made focaccia before, the process is straightforward and very achievable! I’ll walk you through it step-by-step. With only 3 hours needed from start to finish, this recipe is perfect for your next mid-morning brunch or breakfast for dinner!

To make the focaccia, you will need about a cup of sourdough discard. Remember, discard is your sourdough starter that has risen and then fallen and is no longer active. This will add all of the sourdough flavors and nutrients to the bread, but the yeast we add will do the heavy lifting of making the bread rise. Let’s dive into the step-by-step.

Our first step is to mix together the dough. In a large bowl, measure out 240g of sourdough discard and 390g of lukewarm water. Whisk together with a dough whisk and then sprinkle 8g of instant yeast on top. Let the mixture sit for just a minute and you will notice the yeast beginning to activate. Add in 10g of salt and 550g of flour and stir until a dough forms. Cover the bowl and let it rest for 15 minutes.

Just like bulk fermentation when making sourdough, we now alternate resting the dough and folding. This builds strength and elasticity while the dough rises and grows. After the 15 minute rest is complete, uncover the bowl.

To make one full fold, you will fold each of the four sides of the dough over onto itself. Get your hands slightly wet so that the dough does not stick to you. With a damp hand, slide your hand under the top edge of the dough, lift up, and then fold the dough back down onto itself. Again on the left side, slide your hand under the edge of the dough, lift, and fold the dough over onto itself. Repeat this on the bottom side and on the right side of the dough. This makes one complete fold. Cover the bowl and let the dough rest again for 15 minutes. Repeat this process until you have done 3 complete folds with rests in between. After the final fold, cover the dough and let it rest for 30 minutes. 

For all of bulk fermentation you will follow this schedule: 
15 min rest + fold + 15 min rest + fold + 15 min rest + fold + 30 min rest

While the dough is resting and rising, take this time to mix together the cinnamon sugar filling and prep the pan. This is as simple as whisking or stirring together 1 tablespoon of cinnamon and 1 tablespoon of sugar in a small bowl. For your pan, you will ideally like to have a metal 9×13 pan. If you need to, you can use glass, but focaccia is more likely to stick to a glass pan than a metal pan. Melt 3 tablespoons of butter and add it to the bottom of the pan and spread evenly. 

Once the dough has finished resting, gently dump the dough into the prepared pan. Carefully pull and stretch the dough until it fills the pan. Sprinkle all of the cinnamon sugar filling evenly on the top of the focaccia. Now we are going to fold the dough so that the cinnamon sugar makes a nice filling on the inside. Imagine the dough as three sections; gently lift the left third of the dough and fold it over to cover the middle third.

Next lift the right third of the dough and fold it back over to cover the middle section of dough as well. To make sure the folds don’t come undone, we will rotate and flip the dough. To do this, lift the dough, flip it over so that the seam side is now facing down, and then rotate the dough 90 degrees to better fit in the pan. Gently pull and stretch the dough so that it flattens to fill the size of the pan. Cover the pan with plastic wrap and let it rise for 1 hour or until doubled in size. 

About halfway through the final rise, preheat the oven to 450 degrees. You can also take this time to make the cinnamon sugar glaze and cream cheese icing. For the glaze, melt 5 tablespoons of butter and then stir in two teaspoons each of cinnamon and sugar. If this hardens at all while you are waiting for the bread to rise, simple re-melt it and stir well before adding to the bread. To make the cream cheese icing, combine the softened butter and cream cheese in a bowl and beat with a mixer. Mix in the vanilla, salt, and powdered sugar and then set to the side until needed. 

After the final rise, pre-cut the dough into 12 (or more if desired) sections with a bench scraper. This will make it super easy to separate once its baked. Then, using the tips of your fingers, carefully poke the dough to create dimples across the surface. Pour the cinnamon sugar glaze over the dough. Bake at 450 for 20-25 minutes or until lightly golden brown. 

Once baked, let the bread cool for about 10-15 minutes and then frost with the cream cheese icing. I do think focaccia is best the first day when it is fresh, so invite all of your friends to enjoy it with you! If you have leftovers, store them in an airtight container and reheat for a few seconds. 

Hope you love this one!

Anna

Print Recipe

Sourdough Cinnamon Roll Focaccia

A fun twist on our favorite breakfast treat; this cinnamon roll focaccia will have you coming back for more!

Source: Anna Reid

Course: Breakfast

Prep Time: 2 hr 20 min

Cook Time: 25 min

Total Time: 2 hr 45 min

Yield: 12

Serves: 1 Scale Update

Ingredients

• Focaccia
• 240 g sourdough discard
• 390 g lukewarm water ~105 degrees
• 8 g instant yeast
• 10 g salt
• 550 g flour all purpose or bread flour
• 3 tablespoons butter melted
• Cinnamon Sugar Filling
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• Cinnamon Sugar Glaze
• 5 tablespoons butter melted
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• Cream Cheese Icing
• ¹⁄₄ cup unsalted butter softened
• 4 oz cream cheese softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• ¹⁄₈ teaspoon salt
• 1 ¹⁄₂ cup powdered sugar

Directions

1. In a large bowl, measure out 240g of discard and 390g of lukewarm water and whisk together. Sprinkle 8g of instant yeast on top and let sit for just a minute. You will see the yeast begin to activate. Add in 10g of salt and 550g of flour and stir until a dough forms. Cover the bowl and let rest for 15 minutes.
2. For bulk fermentation, we now alternate resting the dough and folding. After the 15 minute rest, uncover the bowl. Get your hands wet so that the dough does not stick to you. To make one full fold, you will fold each of the 4 sides of the dough over onto itself. With a damp hand, slide your hand under the top edge of the dough, lift, and fold the dough down onto itself. On the left side, slide your hand under the edge of the dough, lift, and fold the dough over onto itself. Repeat this on the bottom side and on the right side. This is one complete fold. Cover the bowl and let the dough rest for 15 minutes. For all of bulk fermentation you will follow this schedule: 15 min rest + fold + 15 min rest + fold + 15 min rest + fold + 30 min rest
3. While the dough is resting, mix together the cinnamon sugar filling and prep the pan. In a small bowl, whisk together 1 tablespoon of cinnamon and 1 tablespoon of sugar. To prep the pan, melt 3 tablespoons of butter and spread evenly in the bottom of a metal 9×13 pan.
4. After the rest, gently dump the dough into the prepared pan. Carefully pull and stretch the dough until it fills the pan. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar evenly on the top. To fold the dough, imagine the dough as three sections. Gently lift the left third of the dough and fold it over to cover the middle. Then lift the right third of the dough and fold it back over to cover the middle section. Flip the dough over so that the seam side is facing down and rotate the dough 90 degrees to better fit in the pan. Gently pull and stretch so that it spreads to fill the size of the pan. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 1 hour or until doubled in size. About halfway through the final rise, preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
5. During the final rise, make the cinnamon sugar glaze and cream cheese icing. For the glaze, melt 5 tablespoons of butter and then stir in two teaspoons each of cinnamon and sugar. If this hardens while you are waiting for the bread to rise, simple re-melt it and stir before adding to the bread. To make the cream cheese icing, combine the softened butter and cream cheese in a bowl and beat with a mixer. Mix in the vanilla, salt, and powdered sugar and then set to the side until needed.
6. After the rise, cut the dough into 12 (or more if desired) sections with a bench scraper. Then, using the tips of your fingers, carefully poke the dough down to create dimples across the surface. Pour the cinnamon sugar glaze over the dough. Bake at 450 for 20-25 minutes or until lightly golden brown.
7. Once baked, let the bread cool for about 10-15 minutes and then frost with the cream cheese icing and enjoy!

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