Sourdough Cinnamon Roll Focaccia Bread Recipe
Sourdough cinnamon roll focaccia bread is the ultimate fusion of soft, pillowy focaccia bread with sweet cinnamon and sugar for a fun twist on a bread that’s usually made savory.
“Absolutely delicious, 10/10 highly recommend! My husband and kids devoured this. Definitely going to be a staple in our home” -Evy
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New to Sourdough?
If you’re new to sourdough baking, these beginner-friendly guides will help you get started with confidence. Learn how to make a Sourdough Starter from Scratch, feed and maintain it with the Complete Sourdough Starter Guide, and bake your first loaf with this Easy Sourdough Bread Recipe. Together, these guides create a solid foundation for your sourdough journey.
This cinnamon roll focaccia sourdough recipe combines the flavor of traditional cinnamon rolls with sourdough focaccia bread for a bread that has the cinnamon goodness like my sourdough cinnamon rolls with the ease and lightness of sourdough focaccia bread.
This focaccia bread recipe is a high hydration dough, meaning it has a high ratio of water to flour by weight. Just like my sourdough ciabatta bread, this is a sticky dough and more slack than other traditional bread doughs.
Use an active sourdough starter and enjoy the benefits of a long ferment with easy overnight instructions. Short on time? Make sourdough cinnamon roll focaccia with discard for that same great sourdough tang utilizing commercial yeast for its lift. This option won’t utilize all of the health benefits of a long ferment, but your focaccia bread will have a slight sourdough flavor to add another layer of complexity and flavor.
What is Sourdough Focaccia Bread?
Focaccia bread is an oven-baked Italian flatbread made with flour, salt, and a generous amount of olive oil. It’s known for its soft, pillowy texture and crisp, golden crust. Traditional focaccia uses yeast to create its signature airy texture, while a sourdough focaccia gets its lift from the natural power of fermentation.
During fermentation, wild yeast and lactic acid bacteria break down the starches in the flour. As a by-product, the yeast produces carbon dioxide, which becomes trapped in the dough and creates its light, airy texture. The long fermentation process also helps break down phytic acid, making sourdough bread easier to digest.
Another option is sourdough discard focaccia, which combines sourdough discard for its tangy flavor with commercial yeast for reliable lift.
More Sourdough Recipes
- Sourdough Lemon Blueberry Focaccia Bread
- Rosemary Olive Parmesan Sourdough Bread
- Sourdough Croissant Bread
Why You’ll Love Focaccia Cinnamon Roll Sourdough
- Perfect Any Time of the Day – Enjoy this delicious sourdough recipe for breakfast, brunch, or dessert. Anytime is a good time to enjoy this simple sourdough bread recipe.
- Easy – This easy sourdough focaccia recipe is great for beginner bakers. With very little hands-on time to shape the dough, the majority of the time is just waiting for the dough to rise.
- Health Benefits – Anytime bread dough goes through a long fermentation, it greatly improves health factors, even when you’re making a sweet treat. Long fermentation not only lowers the gluten content but also makes the nutrients more available for the body to absorb and easier to digest than traditionally prepared breads.
- Flavor – Enjoy the sweet flavor of cinnamon rolls without the fuss of rolling out the dough.
Sourdough Focaccia Cinnamon Roll Ingredients
Focaccia Dough
- Active starter – Use a bubbly starter that has been fed and risen to its peak
- Flour – Use bread flour to build a strong gluten network from its higher protein content. You can use all-purpose flour, but reduce the water by 15-30 g since it has less protein in it.
- Water – Use warm water to help fermentation, especially during cooler months.
- Sugar – Sugar is a food source for the yeast, in addition to create a tender crumb.
- Salt – Flavors baked goods and helps create rise.
- Olive oil – Do not add to the dough. The oil is for shaping only.
Cinnamon Sugar Topping
- Melted butter – Use salted butter for a flavorful topping.
- Cinnamon
- Sugar
Tools You’ll Need
How to Make Cinnamon Focaccia Bread
Mix the Dough
Add the active sourdough starter, warm water, sugar, and salt to a large mixing bowl.
Use a Danish dough whisk to break up the starter in the water and distribute the salt and sugar. Next, add the bread flour and mix until it’s completely incorporated.
Cover the large bowl with a damp tea towel or a plate and let it rest for half an hour in a warm place to allow the flour to fully hydrate.
Strengthen Cinnamon Roll Sourdough Focaccia Dough
Stretch and fold the dough to strengthen it and build up the gluten.
Grab the side of the dough and lift it straight up before folding it over onto itself into the center of the dough. Rotate the bowl and repeat, working your way around the bowl. Repeat 10-15 times until the dough starts to feel resistant.
Allow the dough to rest for 10 minutes before repeating another set of folds.
Do a total of 3 sets of stretch and folds. The dough transforms from a shaggy dough into a smooth and cohesive dough.
Bulk Rise
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a large plate and allow the dough to bulk ferment at room temperature until it doubles in size. I usually let my dough ferment overnight.
The next morning, the dough will have risen with plenty of air bubbles just beneath the surface.
Shape
Cut a piece of parchment paper to line the bottom of a 9×13 baking dish. Drizzle 2 T of olive oil over the parchment paper, spreading it evenly.
Use a dough scraper or rubber spatula and turn out the dough into the prepared pan. Gently stretch the dough to the edges of the pan. If the dough shrinks back while stretching, let it rest for 10 minutes and try again. This rest gives the gluten a chance to relax.
Second Rise | Proof
Cover the pan and let the dough proof until it’s soft and airy.
Preheat the oven to 400°F/205°C with the rack in the middle of the oven.
While the oven preheats, combine the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. In a small saucepan, melt the butter over low heat. Spoon the filling evenly over the proofed dough and pour the melted butter over the top of the cinnamon-sugar mixture.
Using oiled fingers, dimple the dough by spreading your fingers and pressing straight down into the dough to the bottom of the pan. Wiggle your fingers slightly to set the holes, leaving the airy bubbles intact.
Bake
Place the pan into the oven and bake for 30 minutes. The cinnamon roll focaccia sourdough bread is done when the top is golden brown and the internal temperature is 200°F/94°C.
Remove the bread from the pan soon after it comes out of the oven and place it on a cooling rack to prevent the focaccia bread from getting soggy. Let the bread cool completely before cutting.
Storage
Like many bakes, this sourdough cinnamon sugar focaccia is at its best the day it’s baked. Because sugar is hygroscopic and pulls moisture from the air, the sugar topping softens over time.
Store leftovers in a bakery-style box or cardboard box lined with wax paper at room temperature for up to 2 days.
Helpful Tips
- Using wet hands when stretching the dough helps prevent the dough from sticking.
- Baking the focaccia in a 9×13 pan creates a tall focaccia. For a thinner focaccia, use a 12×17 pan or split between 2 9×13 pans.
- This bread is perfectly sweet; however, you can make it more decadent by topping it with tangy cream cheese frosting.
- Substitute brown sugar instead of granulated sugar in the cinnamon topping mixture for an added depth of flavor.
Sample Baking Schedule
| Day 1 – 4:00 pm | feed the starter |
| 9:00 pm | mix the focaccia dough |
| 9:30 pm | 3 sets of stretch and folds |
| 10:00 pm | bulk ferment |
| Day 2 – 7:00 am | shape the dough |
| 7:10 am | proof the dough |
| 9:30 am | preheat the oven, add the topping, and dimple the dough |
| 9:45 am | bake the focaccia bread |
Cinnamon Sugar Focaccia Sourdough Bread FAQs
What are the best types of flour for making focaccia dough?
The best flour for cinnamon focaccia is a high-protein bread flour (12% or higher) for an airy, chewy crumb. All-purpose flour also works for a softer, flatter texture.
I’d love to hear from you! If you made this Sourdough Cinnamon Roll Focaccia Bread recipe and loved it, I would love it if you gave it 5 stars! Happy Baking!
Sourdough Cinnamon Roll Focaccia Bread Recipe
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Equipment
- 1 kitchen scale
- 1 large mixing bowl
- 1 9 x 13 pan
- 1 Danish dough whisk
- parchment paper
Ingredients
Sourdough Cinnamon Roll Focaccia Dough
- 100 g active sourdough starter
- 400 g water
- 50 g sugar
- 10 g salt
- 500 g bread flour
- 30 g olive oil Do not add to the dough! For shaping only
Cinnamon Sugar Topping
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 50 g granulated sugar
- 56 g salted butter melted
Instructions
Mix the Dough
- Add the active sourdough starter, warm water, sugar, and salt to a large mixing bowl. 100 g active sourdough starter, 400 g water, 50 g sugar, and 10 g salt
- Use a Danish dough whisk to break up the starter in the water and distribute the salt and sugar. Next, add the bread flour and mix until it's completely incorporated.500 g bread flour
- Cover the large bowl with a damp tea towel or a plate and let it rest for half an hour in a warm place to allow the flour to fully hydrate.
Strengthen Cinnamon Roll Sourdough Focaccia Dough
- Stretch and fold the dough to strengthen it and build up the gluten. Grab the side of the dough and lift it straight up before folding it over onto itself into the center of the dough. Rotate the bowl and repeat, working your way around the bowl. Repeat 10-15 times until the dough starts to feel resistant.
- Allow the dough to rest for 10 minutes before repeating another set of folds.
- Do a total of 3 sets of stretch and folds. The dough transforms from a shaggy dough into a smooth and cohesive dough.
Bulk Rise
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a large plate and allow the dough to bulk ferment at room temperature until it doubles in size. I usually let my dough ferment overnight.The next morning, the dough will have risen with plenty of air bubbles just beneath the surface.Â
Shape
- Cut a piece of parchment paper to line the bottom of a 9×13 baking dish. Drizzle 2 T of olive oil over the parchment paper, spreading it evenly. Use a dough scraper or rubber spatula and turn out the dough into the prepared pan. Gently stretch the dough to the edges of the pan. If the dough shrinks back while stretching, let it rest for 10 minutes and try again. This rest gives the gluten a chance to relax. 30 g olive oil
Second Rise | Proof
- Cover the pan and let the dough proof until it's soft and airy.
- Preheat the oven to 400°F/205°C with the rack in the middle of the oven.
- While the oven preheats, combine the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. In a small saucepan, melt the butter over low heat. Spoon the filling evenly over the proofed dough and pour the melted butter over the top of the cinnamon-sugar mixture. 1 tsp cinnamon , 50 g granulated sugar, and 56 g salted butter
- Using oiled fingers, dimple the dough by spreading your fingers and pressing straight down into the dough to the bottom of the pan. Wiggle your fingers slightly to set the holes, leaving the airy bubbles intact.
Bake
- Place the pan into the oven and bake for 30 minutes. The cinnamon roll focaccia sourdough bread is done when the top is golden brown and the internal temperature is 200°F/94°C.
- Remove the bread from the pan soon after it comes out of the oven and place it on a cooling rack to prevent the focaccia bread from getting soggy. Let the bread cool completely before cutting.
Storage
- Like many bakes, this sourdough cinnamon sugar focaccia is at its best the day it's baked. Because sugar is hygroscopic and pulls moisture from the air, the sugar topping softens over time.Store leftovers in a bakery-style box or cardboard box lined with wax paper at room temperature for up to 2 days.
Remember those frozen French toast sticks at school lunch? This focaccia bread has all of that flavor and none of the preservatives. Make it and tell me what you think! I look forward to hearing your questions and comments!
this recipe did not work and I had a very active starter
I’m sorry to hear that it didn’t work out for you. I wonder what happened that your bread didn’t turn out. I’ve made this focaccia multiple times with success and I hope you try it again.