Apple Pie Sourdough Focaccia Bread
My original sourdough focaccia bread recipe is such a versatile recipe and I love using it to make so many different flavors. Today I want to share my apple pie sourdough focaccia bread. It is sweet, buttery and cinnamony.
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What I love about this apple pie sourdough focaccia bread? I love the ease of making something so flavorful and decadent with minimal effort. Its honestly what I love about making sourdough in general. There is a lot of inactive time that is involved. Time that the dough just sits. The biggest thing you will need is patience.
Get my apple pie sourdough focaccia bread recipe below~
Apple Pie Sourdough Focaccia Bread Recipe
This amazing apple pie sourdough focaccia bread recipe is a glorious take on my regular sourdough focaccia bread. It is light and airy with a sweet and cinnamon spiced apple topping and elevated even more with the addition of a cream cheese icing drizzle.
Ingredients
- 3.5 oz active sourdough starter
- 1 1/2 cups water (plus 3 tbsp) also 400g
- 3 tbsp honey
- 2 tsp salt
- 4 cups bread flour
- 2-3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil for the bowl
- 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil for the bread ( you can use less or more as needed)
Toppings (all optional)
- 2 tbsp melted butter
- 3-4 green apples peeled and diced
- flakey sea salt pinch
- 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 3 tsp ground cinnamon
Cream Cheese Icing Drizzle
- 3 tbsp softened cream cheese
- 3 tbsp softened butter
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 4-5 tbsp milk more or less depending on how runny you want the icing
- 1-2 cups powdered sugar
Instructions
- First, you need to get a large mixing bowl. It can be plastic or glass but not metal. Metal can react to the starter. I like to use a glass bowl and transfer it all into my proofing container with a lid when its time for its bulk fermentation.
- Take your sourdough starter and water and mix them in the bowl(it does not need to be warm water). I like to use a digital scale to measure these out. Once they are combined, add your honey, salt and bread flour(you can use all purpose flour but i prefer bred flour). Mix this until it is well combined. I like to use my danish dough whisk but you can use a wooden spoon. At a certain point it will become easier to mix it with your hands, and this is exactly what I do.
- Once it is combined well, cover the bowl with a towel or plastic wrap and let it sit for about 30 minutes. After about 30 minutes, you want to do your first knead. With wet hands, take the dough from one of the sides of the bowl, lift it, and fold it over the dough. Repeat this, rotating the bowl and raising the dough and laying it across itself. I do this to all sides and then let it rest. This should be a very wet dough. If it is tough, add a bit more water to it. Only 1 tablespoon at a time.
- Its time to let the wild yeast do its thing. You can let it sit at room temperature to let it bulk ferment, but if I have time I will make sure to repeat the kneading process a couple more times. If I make it in the evening, I have plenty of time to do this since there is not a lot of active work, it only takes about 10 minutes of my evening to get my dough going.
- If you want to bake your bread the next morning I would recommend leaving it out on your counter at room temperature, covered.If you want to wait and bake it the next evening, I would put your dough in the fridge to allow the yeast to slow down overnight. I have woken up to dough that has burst the lid and it spilling over the side of the bowl. If you choose this route, you simply need to take the dough out a couple hours prior to baking
- So for ease with these instructions, I will be going with the first option which is what I usually do(bulk fermenting on the counter overnight). With either option you want to cover bowl with plastic wrap to prevent the dough from drying out.
- In the morning, the dough should have at least doubled in size, mine often quadruples in size. This is from the longer fermentation process. This long rise is what will give your bread its amazing flavor.
- Oil the counter and gently let the dough drop out of the bowl or container onto your countertop. You want to try to avoid popping all those bubbles. I gently spread the dough, pulling the corners to make it larger. I will then fold the dough over itself once or twice. Then I will make sure to oil my 9 by 13 cake pan with a 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil or use nonstick spray.
- Transfer dough carefully in the sheet pan and gently pull it so that it starts to fill the pan. You do not to stress about it too much because it will spread and once we poke those holes in it, it will fill the entire pan.
- At this point I like to cover the pan with a towel and let the dough rise once again until it doubles its original size. This can take about 1-2 hours. It will totally depend on how active your starter was.
- PREHEAT YOUR OVEN TO 425 DEGREES F
- While the dough is rising in the pan, lets prepare our apple topping. Peel and finely dice your green apples. Add your butter, lemon and apples to a sautee pan and let them sautee on medium heat for about 4 minutes. Add your maple syrup, cinnamon and salt. Stir and let it simmer on low for about 5 minutes. Dont let it cook down too much and lose that maple syrup liquid. You want it to be thicker but not too thick.Once the apples are softened but not mushy, turn off the heat and let it cool for a bit while the dough finishes rising.
- When the dough has risen and doubled in size, it is time to poke those holes in the focaccia bread. I like to spread 1/2 of the apple mixture all across the top of the dough carefully, and then with clean hands, gently poke your fingers into the dough dimpling it. This will encourage the sauce and apples to sall into the dimples. Last, add the rest of the apple mixture and the sauce.
- Put the bread in the hot oven and bake on the middle shelf for about 25-30 minutes. You are looking for a nice darker golden brown color on the top and the bottom will be nice and crispy.While it is baking you can prepare your icing glaze (this is optional).
- When it is done, take the focaccia out of the oven and let it cool slightly. Drizzle the icing over the top of the apple spiced focaccia bread. You could also serve this with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. It is also amazing at room temperature all by itself!
- Cut and enjoy! You can enjoy this warm or room temperature. Cover with plastic wrap to store.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
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The combination of the light and airy chewy focaccia bread with the tart apples, sweet and cinnamon sauce atop it are the ultimate combination.
This can be made for a summer party, shared with family and friends, keep it all to yourself, or make it for someone in need. It is such a delicious sweet treat. The bread balances the flavors perfectly.
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