Sourdough Apple Focaccia
Soft, chewy, and delicately sweet, this Sourdough Apple Focaccia is a delicious twist on the classic Italian bread. Topped with cinnamon-spiced apples and a drizzle of vanilla icing, it’s the kind of bake that turns simple ingredients into something irresistible. Whether you're new to cinnamon apple sourdough focaccia or already obsessed, this recipe is one to save and bake on repeat.
Ingredients
Sourdough Focaccia Dough:
- 260 g strong white bread flour with at least 12% protein content
- 170 g water
- 110 g active sourdough starter 100% hydration
- 5 g salt
- 5 g caster sugar or granulated sugar
- 25 ml olive oil
Cinnamon Apples:
- 2 -3 medium apples cored, peeled and cut into small cubes
- 40 g caster sugar or granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- a squeeze of lemon juice
Icing:
- 100 g icing sugar
- 15 g butter
- ½ teaspoon vanilla bean paste
- 1-2 tablespoon milk
- a pinch of salt
Instructions
DAY 1:
- First thing in the morning, feed your sourdough starter and leave it in a warm spot to at least double in volume. We typically feed our starter in a ratio of 1 part starter: 1 part water: 1 part flour, and it doubles (or even triples) within 4 hours.
Fermentolyse and Mixing The Dough
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine flour, water and active sourdough starter. Mix the dough in a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment for a few minutes on low speed, until the flour is hydrated. Cover the bowl with a damp tea towel and leave the dough to fermentolyse (a type of sourdough autolyse where sourdough starter is added too) for an hour.
- After an hour, scatter the salt and sugar on top of the dough. Drizzle the olive oil all over, and using your hands, squish the salt and oil into the dough, aiming to distribute it evenly.
- TIP: Don't be tempted to just mix the oil in by running the stand mixer – the dough will split, separated by oil layers.
- Once incorporated, run your mixer on medium speed for 10-12 minutes, until you have a very smooth and elastic dough. It will be wet, but it should start gathering around the dough hook attachment.
Coil Folds, Bulk Fermentation, Cold Retardation
- Scoop the dough into a lightly oiled bowl (we like to use a heavy shallow dish – it helps with coil folds later). Cover the dough with a damp tea towel or cling film (plastic wrap) and leave it in a warm spot for 30 minutes.
- Over the next 3 hours, at 30-minute intervals, perform a set of coil folds, using wet hands. See the coil folding video below.
- After all 6 sets of coil folds are completed, cover the dough and let it finish its bulk fermentation undisturbed for 1.5-3 hours, depending on the temperature of your kitchen.
- Place the dough in the refrigerator for 8-24 hours (or simply overnight).
DAY 2:
- The next day, line a baking tray (approx 23x23cm) with parchment paper. Brush it with olive oil.
Second Rise
- Take the dough out of the fridge and very carefully transfer it into the prepared baking tray, trying not to deflate it too much. Stretch it out into the corners of the baking dish.
- Cover it again and leave it in a warm spot to proof for another 1-2 hours. It will increase in volume, puff up and have very noticeable blisters across the surface.
Prepare the Apples
- In the meantime, place the cubed apples, sugar, cinnamon and a squeeze of lemon in a medium saucepan. Once the apples release their juices, cook for 5 minutes, stirring often. You want the apples to soften slightly, but don't let them turn mushy.
- Set the apples aside to cool down.
Topping and Baking
- Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F).
- Gently spread the cinnamon apple mixture across the surface of your sourdough focaccia.
- Oil your fingers and dimple the top of the dough all over, pressing the apples into the dough.
- Bake the sourdough apple focaccia for 20-25 minutes. Cool it for at least 15 minutes before taking it out of the baking tin.
Icing
- In the meantime, prepare the icing by mixing melted butter, icing sugar, vanilla paste, a pinch of salt and milk together and stirring to a smooth paste.
- Drizzle your sourdough focaccia with the icing and tuck in! Alternatively, use it as a dip for your focaccia.
Video
Nutrition
Calories: 227kcalCarbohydrates: 43gProtein: 4gFat: 4gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0.1gCholesterol: 4mgSodium: 229mgPotassium: 58mgFiber: 2gSugar: 18gVitamin A: 59IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 18mgIron: 0.4mg
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