We have all been there: it is autumn, the air turns crisp, and suddenly an intense craving for an apple cider donut hits out of nowhere. But instead of driving to an orchard, a brilliant idea strikes—what if we took all those cozy, spiced flavors and packed them into a pillow-soft, olive-oil-adjacent… well, butter-soaked focaccia?
That dream became a reality. To make sure every bite screamed “apple,” this recipe builds layers of flavor using actual apple cider, rich apple butter, fresh diced apples, and a generous coating of cinnamon sugar. It is soft, gooey, delightfully spiced, and surprisingly easy to pull together!
The Secret to Maximum Flavor
Traditional bread relies on water, but swapping it for warm apple cider instantly infuses the crumb with a sweet, tangy undertone. Mixing apple butter right into the center during the envelope fold creates tiny, luscious pockets of concentrated spiced fruit, while a final shower of cinnamon sugar gives you that iconic, crunchy donut exterior.
This mashup yields a loaf with crispy, buttery edges, a cloud-like interior, and all the warm spice of a crisp autumn morning. Bake a batch, grab a hot drink, and dive in!
Apple Cider Donut Focaccia
Created by Sue Mun
Makes One, 9×13 inch pan
Ingredients:
For the Apple Cider Foccacia Dough:
- 500g bread flour (12% protein content or higher)
- 420ml warm apple cider (not hot!)
- 6g (1.5 teaspoons) active dry yeast
- 5g (1 teaspoon) sugar
- 15ml (1 tbsp) melted butter
- 2g (1 teaspoon) ground cinnamon
- 10g (2 teaspoons) fine sea salt
- 6-8 tbsp butter, melted (for brushing the pan and drizzling focaccia when shaping)
Cinnamon Sugar Mixture:
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Apple Filling/Topping:
- 2 apples, peeled, cored, and diced
- 1/3 cup apple butter (not applesauce)
Apple Cider Glaze (optional):
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- 2 tbsp apple cider
Instructions:
- In a large mixing bowl, mix together the warm apple cider and yeast and sugar together and let it sit for 5 minutes until foamy and bubbly. This activates the dry yeast.
- Then mix in the melted butter, flour, cinnamon, and salt together until a shaggy dough forms.
- Cover and rest for 15 minutes.
- Using wet hands, stretch and fold by grabbing one end of the dough and folding it over to the other side of the dough. Keep stretching and folding all around the dough until the dough feels tight and can not stretch anymore. Cover and rest again for 15 minutes,
- Repeat the step above and stretch and fold again. Cover and rest for 15 minutes.
- Do a final round of stretch and fold and cover rest for 1 hour to 1 and 1/2 hours. Or until the dough has doubled in size.
- In the meantime, mix together the cinnamon sugar ingredients to a small bowl and set that aside.
- Peel, core, and dice your two apples and set that aside.
- When your dough has finished proofing, grease up your 9×13 inch baking pan with some melted butter. I also like to line parchment paper at the bottom of the pan to ensure that the focaccia does not stick to the pan once baked.
- Gently place your proofed dough onto the pan and gently stretch it out to fit the bottom of the pan.
- Spread 1/3 cup of apple butter on top of the dough. Then scatter half of the diced apples on top of the dough and sprinkle about 1/4-1/3 cup of the cinnamon sugar on top.
- Gently fold the dough into thirds like an envelope. Then flip it over so the seam is at the bottom.
- Cover and proof for 45 minutes.
- Drizzle melted butter on top of the dough and scatter the remaining diced apples and 1/4-1/3 cup cinnamon sugar on top of the dough.
- Dimple the dough so the dough is even throughout the pan. Do a final proof for 30 minutes until the dough rises up to about 3/4 up the baking pan.
- Bake at 425F for about 25 minutes.
- Once finished baking, sprinkle a generous amount of the remaining cinnamon sugar on top. Allow the focaccia to cool off in the pan for about 10 minutes before using a metal bench scraper to release it from the pan and onto a wire cooling rack to cool off completely.
- In the meantime, mix together the apple cider glaze ingredients in a small mixing bowl until the glaze is nice and smooth.
- Drizzle with some apple cider glaze and cut and serve!
