Cinnamon Roll Focaccia
The love child of a fluffy buttery focaccia and a warm gooey cinnamon roll
I saw these cinnamon roll focaccia pop up on my feed a few weeks ago and I couldn't stop thinking about them… I tried making them this past weekend and… let me tell you… they were as amazing as I thought they would be. Over the past few days, I have been testing out some small changes to perfect the recipe, and now I am so excited to share it with you.
This is a very simple recipe, I promise! It’s much easier than the traditional cinnamon roll but tastes just as good. You only need a handful of ingredients and you’ll get the most fluffy golden focaccia with a soft pillowy inside swirled with brown sugar and cinnamon.
This recipe makes a small-ish focaccia, about 8x8 inches/ 6-8 servings, but you can easily double or triple it if needed.
INGREDIENTS:
Dough:
3/4 cup warm milk
1 1/2 tsp yeast
1 tbsp brown sugar
2 cups flour
2 tbsp butter, melted
Cinnamon topping:
3 tbsp butter, melted
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
extra butter for brushing
Cinnamon filling:
1 tbsp melted butter
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
Glaze:
1/3 cup powdered sugar
1 tbsp milk
DIRECTIONS
1. In a large bowl, add all the ingredients for the dough (warm milk, yeast, sugar, flour, and melted butter). I like to use dairy milk for extra richness and flavor, but you can substitute this for non-dairy milk or water in a 1:1 ratio. Make sure the butter and milk are not too hot, or else the yeast will die. It should be just barely warm to the touch. Then mix until a shaggy dough forms. Cover and let it sit for 30 minutes. The dough does not have to be smooth at this point.
2. Come back after 30 minutes and knead the dough until it becomes elastic. If it's too sticky, add a tbsp or two of flour. Cover and let the dough rest again.
3. Punch down the air and gently knead the dough again. Then place the dough in a generously oiled baking tray. Cover the dough and let it rise again in a warm spot for about 1-2 hours, or until doubled in size.
4. In the meantime, prepare the cinnamon sugar mixture by mixing together melted butter and brown sugar.
5. When the dough has doubled in size, drizzle a generous amount of melted butter onto the surface. Then sprinkle on your cinnamon sugar mixture. Oil your hands, then use your fingers to dimple the surface, making sure to push all the cinnamon sugar buttery goodness into the dough.
6. Cover and let the dough rest for 30 minutes while we preheat the oven to 400°F.
7. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until golden brown.
8. While the focaccia is baking, prepare the glaze by whisking together powdered sugar and one tbsp of milk at a time until it reaches the consistency that you like. Feel free to replace dairy milk here with water or non-dairy milk.
9. Prepare your cinnamon filling by mixing together the remaining cinnamon, sugar, and melted butter, then add it to a piping bag or a zip lock bag with the end snipped off.
10. Once the focaccia is done, use a chopstick or form to poke a few small holes into the focaccia, then pipe in the cinnamon filling. This way, you will get some gooey sweet filling with every bite.
11. Lastly, drizzle on the glaze and spread it over the entire loaf (to the corners and edges!!). Then you're done!
