The Best of Both Worlds: Cinnamon Roll Focaccia Bread
If you’re torn between the salty, dimpled crust of a classic Italian focaccia and the gooey, spiced center of a cinnamon roll, I have great news: you don’t have to choose.
This Cinnamon Roll Focaccia is the ultimate brunch mashup. It takes the high-hydration, bubbly dough of a traditional focaccia and marbles it with a rich cinnamon-nutmeg butter. The result is a bread that is impossibly airy, crisp on the edges, and packed with those cozy “center of the cinnamon roll” vibes in every single bite.
The Secret to the Perfect Crumb
Before we dive into the flour, there is one non-negotiable rule for this recipe: You must use bread flour. We are looking for a protein content of 12% or higher. Because this is a high-hydration dough (it’s very wet!), you need that extra protein strength to create the gluten structure. All-purpose flour just won’t be able to hold those beautiful air bubbles we love in a focaccia.
Why You’re Going to Obsess Over This
Imagine a bread that is crispy and buttery on the bottom, cloud-soft in the middle, and covered in deep, dimpled craters filled with caramelized cinnamon sugar.
Standard cinnamon rolls are great, but they can be a bit… predictable. Focaccia, on the other hand, is a wild card. Because of the high water content and the “stretch and fold” technique, the texture is light, airy, and full of those massive bubbles that make for the perfect Instagram shot.
The Game-Changer: The “Envelope” Fold 💌
The coolest part of this recipe isn’t just the toppings—it’s how we hide the flavor inside.
After the first rise, we drizzle the dough with cinnamon sugar butter and fold it up like a letter. This creates secret layers of spice throughout the bread. When you bake it at a high heat (430°F!), that butter bubbles up, the sugar caramelizes, and the whole house starts smelling like a high-end bakery in the middle of a dream.
Top Tips for Your Focaccia Era
- Don’t Fear the Wet Hands: This dough is sticky! Keep your hands wet when folding to prevent a “dough-mageddon” on your fingers.
- The Bread Flour Rule: You need that 12% protein. We’re building a gluten skyscraper here, and all-purpose flour is more like a bungalow. Use the strong stuff!
- The Sieve Secret: When you make that final cinnamon glaze, make sure it’s thick enough to hold its shape but thin enough to pool into those dimples. It’s like a sweet little lake in every bite.
The Verdict
This isn’t just breakfast; it’s an event. It’s rustic, it’s messy, it’s sugary, and it is meant to be torn apart with your hands while it’s still slightly warm.
Cinnamon Roll Focaccia Bread
Created by Sue Mun
Makes one, 9 by 13 inch focaccia
Ingredients:
- 500g (4 cups) bread flour (it must be 12% protein content or higher. You cannot use regular all-purpose flour. You need the higher protein for a stronger dough)
- 420g (1 3/4 cups) warm water
- 6g (1.5 teaspoons) active dry yeast
- 5g (1 teaspoon) honey or granulated sugar
- 15g (1 tbsp) olive oil
- 10g (2 teaspoons) fine sea salt
For the Cinnamon Sugar Butter Filling:
- 113g (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, melted
- 170g (2/3 cup) brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
- 2-3 tbsp melted butter to grease the baking pan.
For the Cinnamon Glaze:
- about 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2-3 tbsp whole milk
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions:
Make the Focaccia Dough:
- Mix water and yeast and honey together and let it sit for 5 minutes (only if using active dry yeast. If you are using instant yeast, you do not need to bloom the yeast.)
- Then mix wet and olive oil, flour and salt together until a shaggy dough forms.
- Cover and rest for 15 minutes.
- Using wet hands, stretch and fold the dough over itself. Doing so will help create a strong gluten development in your focaccia dough. Cover and rest for 15 minutes.
- Wet your hands and stretch and fold the dough. Cover and rest again for 15 minutes.
- Do a final stretch and fold.
- Then cover and rest for 1 and 1/2 hours until it has doubled in size.
Assemble the Focaccia:
- Make your cinnamon sugar butter filling by mixing together the melted butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla extract to a small bowl.
- Generously grease up your 9 by 13 inch baking pan with 2-3 tbsp of melted butter along the bottom and sides.
- Gently dump your proofed dough into the pan. Careful not to deflat the dough.
- Drizzle half of the cinnamon butter mixture on top. Spread it out evenly using your hands or a back of a spoon.
- Gently fold the dough into thirds like an envelope. Then flip it over so the seam is at the bottom. Gently stretch the dough so it covers the entire bottom of the pan.
- Cover and proof for 45 minutes.
- Drizzle the remaining cinnamon butter mixture on top and dimple the dough so the dough is even throughout the pan. Do a final proof for 45 minutes. Until the dough is almost to the top of the pan.
Bake and Finish:
- Bake at 430F for about 25 minutes. If you feel like the focaccia is browning too much, you can lay a piece of foil on top of the focaccia to help prevent to top from burning.
- Cool off completely before glazing.
- Make the cinnamon glaze by combining the powdered sugar, cinnamon, milk, and vanilla extract together in a bowl. Add more powdered sugar if you want it thicker or add more milk if you want the glaze to be thinner.
- Drizzle the cinnamon glaze on top of the focaccia and cut and serve!
