sweet cinnamon focaccia;
This sweet focaccia is fluffy and bouncy, soft and sweet, with a cinnamon swirl and loaded up on top with cinnamon sugar. My sweet cinnamon focaccia bread takes my super easy homemade overnight focaccia recipe and stuffs it full of cinnamon sweetness. The top has a lightly crunchy crystallized cinnamon sugar crust, and works best as a thin 1-2” focaccia bread so you get sweetness in every bite.
I’ve been dying to make a sweet focaccia bread for a while and was inspired by a classic favorite in this household—cinnamon buns. Focaccia is light and airy but still has a satisfying chew so the texture is different than a classic cinnamon roll. But I knew I wanted a swirl inside the bread and of course a perfect crust.
This recipe may look a little intimidating, but I promise it’s really not. Use my classic super easy overnight focaccia bread recipe, then smear some cinnamon sugar filling into it, and top with cinnamon sugar. And optionally drizzle with icing. That’s it. Plus there’s a lot of waiting for the bread to rise, so you have leisurely time to make the filling and icing ahead of time.
This recipe has a lot of ingredients, but really it’s my easy overnight focaccia bread recipe spread with cinnamon sugar filling and topped with cinnamon sugar and icing. That’s it!
secret to success
We start with my classic focaccia bread recipe, which is a true staple in our household. Basically, kickstart the yeast, add in flour and a few other ingredients, coat in oil and let it sit in the fridge overnight. Easy, right? When I say kickstart the yeast, I simply mean bloom it in warm water with some sugar. “Bloom” just means let it sit there and reactivate by absorbing water and beginning to feed off some of the sugar.
Honey would work just as well as molasses in this recipe.
secret to success
In my original focaccia bread recipe I used honey as the sweetener. In the cinnamon focaccia I chose molasses because it seemed more “dessert-y”, but I honestly don’t think it made much of a difference. Honey would work just as well. Technically speaking, the type of sugar you use can affect moisture, browning, and flavor, but I didn’t notice any difference from my original. Of course, the deliciously overpowering scents and flavors of cinnamon might have something to do with that too.
Because this is a sweet cinnamon focaccia, I opted for a thinner focaccia. The original recipe suggests a high-sided sheet pan for a flatter focaccia—perfect for snacking. The other option is a smaller pan which will make the focaccia even taller, but that’s best for sandwiches, which I don’t think is needed with cinnamon focaccia.
When I use the sheet pan, my sweet cinnamon focaccia is usually an inch or more thick. I like to slice into breadsticks roughly 1” by 3-4”, or into cubes for optimal popping snackage.
Make sure to store in an airtight container and use in the first 3-5 days after baking or else your risk moldy cinnamon focaccia.
Secret to success
Keep in mind that this bread is moist. So make sure to store in an airtight container and use in the first 3-5 days after baking or else you risk your cinnamon focaccia becoming moldy cinnamon focaccia.
When it comes to the cinnamon part of cinnamon focaccia, it’s pretty standard cinnamon roll filling. Brown sugar, cinnamon, butter. Mix it together and then smear across your dough after the first rise. It will be hard to smear so just do your best. It’s fine if it’s uneven though, it just means you’ll get some of those delicious pockets of yummy goodness throughout your loaf.
And of course you have to have a cinnamon sugar crust on top. To achieve this I mixed together three kinds of sugar. Brown and white sugars both make an appearance but turbinado or raw sugar help get a little extra crunch. If you don’t have turbinado sugar on hand, then swap in extra brown sugar.
When it comes to icing, you have two options. You can make a traditional sweet glaze by mixing milk and powdered sugar together. This sweet icing is so simple, and it’s easier to make thicker—add more sugar; or thinner—add more milk.
Now I love me a cream cheese icing, but folks in my family don’t all agree on cream cheese icing. So if you are a fan, add a bit of softened cream cheese and blend it up. The cream cheese is, well, creamy so it’ll make for a slightly thicker icing, but one that has more flavor than just “sweet”. So cream cheese icing is my preferred topping, but I do have to admit there’s something supremely satisfying about drizzling a runny icing over this cinnamon focaccia.
secrets to success;
Want all the best tips and tricks to make this recipe a success? Check out the blog post above to find out more!
more recipes;
Looking for other bread recipes?
- Everyone loves banana bread, and my healthful chocolate chip banana bread is so moist and delicious and packed with plant-based fats that are so so good for you! Or try these banana bread cookies for a delicious, soft, grab and go breakfast!
- For a fun take on a fall cornbread, try this sweet corn mochi cornbread which is a chewy bread, but still packed with all of your slightly sweet cornbread flavors. Or ratchet your traditional cornbread up a notch with mexican cornbread which adds cheese and chilis to make your side dish extra scrumptious.
- Or for a savory meal, try making Japanese カレーパン (Japanese curry bread), where you stuff bread with homemade Japanese curry and fry it to a crisp, golden brown.
cinnamon foccacia bread;
Ingredients
focaccia bread;
- 2½ cups water lukewarm, for yeast
- 2¼ tsp yeast (1 packet)
- 2 tsp molasses
- 5 cups flour
- 1 Tbsp salt
- 6 Tbsp olive oil plus additional for coating hands
- 1 Tbsp butter unsalted
cinnamon swirl filling;
- ½ cup butter unsalted, softened to room temperature
- 1 Tbsp cinnamon
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ cup brown sugar
cinnamon sugar topping;
- 1 Tbsp sugar
- 1 Tbsp brown sugar
- 1 Tbsp turbinado sugar (alt. sub extra brown sugar)
- ½ Tbsp cinnamon
icing;
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 2-3 Tbsp milk
- 1 tsp vanilla
- ¼ cup cream cheese softened (optional)
Instructions
focaccia bread;
- In a measuring cup measure out 2½ c. lukewarm water and honey. Add yeast and allow to bloom approx 5 minutes.
- Add liquid to a large bowl. Add 5 cups flour and 1 Tbsp salt and mix with rubber spatula until the dough is cohesive and no dryness remains.
- Oil a large bowl with 4 Tbsp olive oil. You’ll want a bowl large enough to handle the rising. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate 8 hours or overnight until doubled in size.
- Using the Tbsp of butter, generously grease a 9" x 13" baking pan (best for sandwiches) or an 13” x 18" rimmed baking sheet (best for thin, snacking).
cinnamon swirl filling;
- In a small bowl, add ½ cup softened butter, 1 Tbsp cinnamon, ¼ tsp salt, ½ cup brown sugar and stir until evenly combined.
- Remove the dough from the fridge. Add to a greased, high-side baking sheet and stretch or roll out the dough. It will be elastic and may be hard to get the full surface area of the pan–that's ok.
- Using your fingers or a spoon, add globs of the cinnamon filling across the flattened dough, and smear across into a roughly even layer. Using a fork or your hands, fold the dough into thirds. Stretch out a little (close to the previous size as you layered the filling)
- Allow to rise 1½ – 4 hours uncovered in a warm, dry spot.
cinnamon sugar topping;
- In a small bowl, mix together your sugars and cinnamon to make your cinnamon sugar and set aside.
- Stretch the dough into the corners of the pan, then coat your hands in olive oil and dimple the focaccia all over with your fingers. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar and bake 20-30 minutes until golden all over.
icing;
- To make a classic icing, forgo the cream cheese, and just mix together ½ cup powdered sugar, 1 tsp vanilla, and 2-3 Tbsp of milk. Add more or less milk depending on if you want a thinner or thicker consistency.
- If opting for a cream cheese icing, add the cream cheese and blend with a hand mixer. It will be creamier and more spreadable than "drizzle-able".
