Sweet Focaccia Recipe with Maple Cinnamon Streusel
This recipe is easy and comes together really fast – don’t be intimidated by what may look like a long ingredient list. The streusel and filling are almost the same thing, but the butter is treated differently in each, resulting in the right consistency for both parts (gooey for the filling and crisp/sturdy for the topping). Be sure to allow the dough to rise for 3 – 4 hours in the first rise and then about an hour in the second.
- Yield: Serves 8 to 12
- Category: Breads
Ingredients
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- 1 (0.25-ounce) packet of active dry yeast
- 1.5 cups lukewarm water (between 98 and 105 degrees F)
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 5 to 5.5 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt (2 tablespoons if using Diamond crystal)
- Olive oil for the bowl and pan
For the brown sugar-cinnamon filling
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 8 tablespoons salted butter, melted
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
For the maple cinnamon streusel
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 8 tablespoons salted butter at room temperature
For the icing
- 1.5 cups powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1/4 cup half and half, plus more as needed (milk also works)
- Vanilla bean paste/extract, to taste (optional)
Instructions
- Whisk together the yeast, lukewarm water, and 2 tablespoons maple syrup in a large bowl. Allow the yeast to bloom for 5 minutes.
- To the bloomed yeast mixture, add the flour and salt and stir with a spatula until it all comes together in a smooth dough. You can add a little more flour as needed until it’s just come together. Oil a large bowl and put the focaccia dough in to proof in a warm-ish place for 3 to 4 hours or until visibly doubled in size.
- Meanwhile, get out two medium sized bowls. In one, mix together the brown-sugar cinnamon filling ingredients until well blended. In the second bowl, mix together the streusel ingredients. These two components are almost identical, save for the butter (it’s melted in the filling, room temp in the streusel). The filling should look like sand and the streusel should look more like light, golden brown clumps.
- Now, onto the icing! Stir together the icing ingredients in a small bowl and adjust any to suit your taste/consistency preferences. You just want something drizzle-able but not overly runny.
- Butter a half-sheet pan/baking pan or a 9-by-13-inch baking pan and add a drizzle of olive oil. When the dough has doubled, punch it down and transfer to the prepared pan. Work the dough into a large oval/rectangle that covers most of the pan. Sprinkle ⅔ of the filling over the dough, leaving large edges (you can use all if you like, or save/freeze the remaining for another use) and then fold the outer edges over the middle, covering the filling and creating a smooth large rectangle again. Allow it to rise for an hour in a warm-ish place.
- When you’re ready to bake, use your fingers to dimple the top of the focaccia and brush about 2 – 3 tablespoons of olive oil over the top. Sprinkle the streusel all over and allow it to rest/rise while the oven preheats.
- Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees F. Adjust the rack to the center position.
- Bake for 22 to 26 minutes, or until golden and cooked through. Cool for 5 minutes and drizzle the icing all over the top before slicing and serving.
Notes
This is best enjoyed the day that it’s made, but (after cooling completely) it also freezes well for up to 2 months.
Find it online: https://mykitchenlittle.com/2025/04/09/sweet-focaccia-recipe/