When I think of focaccia I think of savoury toppings and accompaniments. But it being the festive season I thought of creating something unusual by adding ingredients which would normally be used in cake making. The base recipe is still savoury; only the filling and the topping are sweet. You can use the base recipe and make this bread to your taste by topping it with whatever you like. It will work just as well without any adjustments. The bread has a soft and bouncy texture and a beautiful irregular and open crumb structure.
It is a super quick recipe in bread making terms. It will be no more than 3 hours from the dough being mixed to the bread being fully baked. And you can tuck into it after a few minutes of cooling down. Perfect for a quick snack or a last-minute idea.
This recipe makes a moderately sized loaf perfect for two. Use a larger tray and double all the ingredients to make a big loaf enough to feed a few people.
Watch the video down below for detailed instructions.
Ingredients
For the dough –
250g (8.8oz) white bread flour
5g (0.17oz) salt
2.5g (0.09oz) instant dry yeast or 3g (0.1oz) active dry yeast or 7.5g (0.26oz) fresh yeast
15g (0.53oz) olive oil
190g (6.7oz) water
For the topping –
60g (2.1oz) dark brown sugar
2g (0.07oz) cinnamon
1g (0.035oz) allspice
1g (0.035oz) nutmeg
1g (0.035oz) cardamom
45g (1.6oz) flour
25g (0.9oz) butter
200g (7oz) chunky diced apple
To learn more about no-knead bread dough temperature control click here.
The flour I use has a protein content of 13%. If your flour is weaker, then you may need to lower the hydration.
If you are using active dry yeast, then you may need to let it sit in the water for 10 minutes before adding the other ingredients or else it could take a lot longer to raise the dough.
Method
- Make the spiced sugar. Combine the sugar, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, and cardamom. Mix well. Remove 20g (0.7oz) and leave on the side for later.
- Make the topping. Combine the flour with the spiced sugar and mix them together. Add the butter and crumble it into the mix. Leave on the side for later.
- Make the dough. In a large bowl combine the water, yeast, salt, and olive oil. Mix well to dissolve the salt and yeast. Add the bread flour and mix to a dough. My dough turned out a little cool, so it took me longer to ferment it. Reduce the fermentation times if your dough is warmer.
- Cover the dough and ferment for 20 – 30 minutes.
- Fold #1.
- Ferment for 20 – 30 minutes.
- Fold #2.
- Ferment for 20 – 30 minutes.
- Pour some oil into the baking tray. Fold the dough one more time and place it in the tray. Cover and leave to proof for 1 hour.
- Dice the apple and mix it with the spiced sugar.
- Stretch out the dough and top it with the apple pieces. Press them in firmly. Sprinkle the crumble topping all over the surface.
- Bake the loaf at 170C (340F) fan on or 190C (375F) fan off for 30 minutes.
Leave to cool down and enjoy!
Keep in mind that the conditions in each kitchen are different, so fermentation times may vary for you. It is up to the baker to control the bread and react accordingly.
Your oven may be different too, so your baking time may vary.
