I have been so excited about sharing this cinnamon sugar focaccia recipe since the beginning of the year. I knew I wanted to make it, but it only seemed fitting to share in June. I have an Oprah moment during June and share recipes with my favorite flavors or types of food. Bread, obviously top of that list. I love cinnamon, and all things cinnamon roll or churro. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to make this a cinnamon roll focaccia as I have seen that done but I went for a more churro-esque style.
I grew up eating cinnamon sugar toast all the time. I was a toast for breakfast kind of gal. Peanut butter toast, toast with jam (or an English muffin toasted with butter and freezer jam.. omg yum). Cinnamon sugar toast is still something I enjoy as a snack. Think of this cinnamon sugar focaccia as like a grown up boujee version. I have made (and love making) dessert/sweet focaccias so I needed to add one more to my repertoire!
This cinnamon sugar focaccia was adapted from my popular Easy Same Day Small Batch Focaccia, like my Sweet Cinnamon Apple Focaccia. Cinnamon, while excellent in bread, DOES inhibit yeast so you have to be careful with it. Instead of just dumping it in with the rest of the ingredients, first we let the dough have a little time to start forming gluten before introducing any cinnamon. Then when we do our stretch and folds, we add a layer of cinnamon sugar, leading to subtle swirls of it throughout the bread. Then before baking AND after baking, we top the dough with more.
The result is heavenly. This cinnamon sugar focaccia IS a little bit reminiscent of a churro because it’s got a slightly crisp exterior but soft doughy center. Not exactly the same, but it made my churro loving heart sing. Also, just purely for flavor, most of the oil in this dough is substituted with butter. There is about 1 tbsp of oil used in the initial dough mixing. I used almond oil which does have a mild taste, but you could easily use canola or vegetable as they are very neutral tasting and won’t impart any flavor.
Cinnamon Sugar Focaccia Key Ingredients
- Cinnamon – I will always stress that whatever cinnamon you have is fine, as long as it is fresh. That being said, I love Vietnamese cinnamon as it tends to have the strongest flavor.
- Neutral Oil – Canola, Vegetable, Avocado are all fine. Only a small amount of oil is being used. You could use olive oil, however it may impart a slight flavor.
- Butter – Instead of olive oil, we grease the pan and dimple the dough with butter. This pairs with the cinnamon sugar beautifully and leaves the wonderfully rich flavor.
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Ingredients
- 280 g Bread flour 2¼ cup
- 1½ tsp Instant yeast
- 255 g Water 1 cup + 1 tbsp, warm
- 36 g Granulated sugar 3 tbsp
- ½ tsp Sea salt
- 1 tbsp Almond oil divided
- 3 tbsp Salted butter divided
Cinnamon Sugar Mix
- 2 tbsp Granulated sugar
- 2 tbsp Dark brown sugar
- ½ tbsp Cinnamon
Instructions
- In a medium-large bowl, combine your flour, salt, yeast, sugar, water, and ½ tbsp of almond oil. Mix until combined into a wet shaggy dough.
- Pour an additional half tablespoon of almond oil over the dough, and smooth over and turn the dough in the bowl, coating it in oil. Cover and let rest for 30 minutes.
- After 30 minutes, uncover your bowl and sprinkle a generous amount (about 2 tbsp) over the top of the dough. Then push your fingers underneath the top edge of the dough at the 12 o'clock position. Pull the dough up towards you, stretching it and fold it in towards the center/opposite side of the bowl.
- Turn your bowl a quarter turn, and repeat. Do this an additional two times until you have stretched and folded all sides of the dough in, for a total of four folds.
- Recover your dough and allow to rest for another 30 minutes.
- Repeat sprinkling cinnamon sugar over the top and then your stretch and fold process, and then recover your bowl and let rest for 30 more minutes.
- If your dough is in a warm spot, after this, your dough should be puffy and bubbly, roughly having doubled in size. If it has not grown in size allow to continue proofing until it has done so.
- Using either a 8×8" square cake pan or a 9" round cake pan, pour 1 tbsp of melted butter oil into the bottom of the pan and grease your pan, making sure to get the corners and sides. I find a pastry brush the most helpful.
- When your dough is ready, dump into your prepared pan, as well as any leftover oil from the bowl. Cover your dough and allow to proof for an additional 30 minutes.
- While your dough is in its final proof, preheat your oven to 425°F.
- After your dough has filled the pan to the edges and is puffy, melt your remaining 2 tbsp of butter and drizzle over the top of the dough. Sprinkle a small amount of cinnamon sugar over the top (leaving a little bit left of your mix), then dimple the dough. Make sure to press your fingers all the way to the bottom of the pan, creating deep dimples and lots of bubbles.
- Bake for about 22-25 minutes. At about 15 minutes check the bread, because of the sugar the top may brown much quicker than usual. If you see it starting to get too brown, cover with aluminum foil for the rest of the bake. As soon as the bread comes out of the oven, sprinkle the remainder of your cinnamon sugar over the bread. Remove from pan and onto a cooling rack. Allow to cool for at least 20-30 minutes.
- Bread can be kept in an airtight container for about 3 days but is best enjoyed on the day it is baked. Enjoy!
