How to Make Sourdough Apple Fritter Focaccia

Apple fritter focaccia is an easy, no-knead sweet bread that is a delicious treat during the fall months with seasonal apples. Bake these up as a delicious dessert or brunch addition, and guests will be both delighted and impressed.

I went apple picking with my family the other weekend and bought an entire peck of Honeycrisp apples. Among the many amazing creations that I could make including apple sauce, muffins, and pie, making a fall inspired bread sounded the most interesting to me.

I recently made a regular sourdough focaccia. I thought, what would happen when I take my favorite fall donut, the apple fritter, and combine that with a sweet focaccia? What if I made that in a large muffin tin, so they could be a fun, handheld treat? So the sourdough apple fritter focaccia was born.

What makes sourdough so special?

When a bread is sourdough, that just means that the yeast used in the dough is from a live, cultivated colony instead of the dehydrated instant yeast granules that are sold in grocery stores. Sourdough does naturally have many health benefits. I also find that it has a distinct fermented taste that elevates the flavor of whatever it touches.

If you’ve never worked with sourdough before, you’re in the right place! I have a free ebook that walks you through step by step how to create your own sourdough starter at home. I also have a beginner sourdough artisan loaf recipe that will have you baking your own bread in no time.

Why is focaccia different from bread?

Focaccia hails from Italy where there are multiple versions of it depending on which part of the country you look. However, each region’s rendition has a few things in common. Focaccia is always baked with plenty of olive oil and requires minimal kneading (if any).

While focaccias are usually savory flatbreads, this sweet version is inspired by a dessert focaccia from Tuscany called Schiacciata all’uva. But just like traditional focaccia, the unique dimples on the top are always created by the fingers of the one who made it. I think that’s what makes this type of bread so special.

Is apple fritter focaccia healthier?

Apple fritter donuts are traditionally deep fried in oil. This focaccia is baked. In that sense alone these would be considered healthier, but much a more important factor is the quality of fat used. Many times, deep frying something means it’s cooked while submerged in some kind of seed oil. Since focaccia always uses extra virgin olive oil, it is healthier by far.

It is a dessert focaccia, so it is sweetened. However, the sweetener used here is raw honey instead of bleached, granulated sugar. Natural sweeteners are always preferable with making desserts, but this does have sugar content unlike traditional focaccia.

How do Italians eat focaccia?

I’ll be honest. I have never been to Italy, and I don’t know much about the culture. However, I do love focaccia, and the more I read, the more I find that it seems to be eaten in any way at any time of the day. It serves as a delicious way to soak up broth from soup at dinner. It can hold the contents of a satisfying sandwich at lunch. Or it can be dipped in coffee for breakfast like they do in Genoa.

With that being said, I think these apple fritter focaccini would be an amazing addition to a weekend brunch. Serve them with coffee or tea and pair them with fresh fruit and some eggs. That would be the makings of a meal to remember.

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Example baker’s timeline

With sourdough, it takes a little more forethought to make a recipe. The following timeline walks you through each step from feeding your starter to baking the bread.

Tools you may need

When I’m baking, I always measure everything out by the gram for consistent bakes. If you like to bake, invest in a food scale now. It will come in handy. Mixing the dough just needs a large bowl. I like this one with a lid from Pyrex. I used a bowl scraper to transfer the dough out of the bowl. While this can be baked in whatever vessel you prefer, I liked the idea of these being like mini focaccia loaves. I used a large, six-count muffin tin. To keep the dough from sticking I also needed to use parchment paper.

For the apple topping, I use a knife and a cutting board. I like this chef knife, and I prefer a wooden cutting board. I like to use a food chopper to get those small chunks of apple, but that’s totally optional. This gets cooked in a medium-sized sauce pan and needs stirred occasionally with a spoon.

• Food scale
• Large bowl
• Bowl scraper
• Jumbo muffin tin
• Parchment paper
• Chef knife
• Cutting board
• Sauce pan
• Spoon

Apple fritter focaccia: a step-by-step guide

About 12 hours after you’ve fed your healthy, mature starter, it should be bubbly, active, and perfectly ripe to use.

Autolyse

Autolyse means mixing all the ingredients before adding the salt to give the gluten a head start on forming before fermentation begins. Because this is a no-knead dough, the gluten can use all the time it can get to strengthen. Mix in all the ingredients except the salt and the oil. At this point, I usually set it aside until I have time to come back to it – usually an hour or two.

Mix until shaggy dough has formed and there are no dry bits of flour left. Cover tightly and set aside. After the flour has had time to hydrate and the gluten has had time the develop, it should look something similar to this:

You’ll be able to tug at a portion of the dough. It will stretch because the gluten has partially been developed. However, because it’s still weak, the elasticity won’t be fully formed, and the dough will break off if pulled too far.

Bulk fermentation

Add the salt and oil to the bowl and mix thoroughly. Cover tightly and set aside. After about 2 hours, the dough will be risen slightly and extremely relaxed. It will still look a bit shaggy, but you might start to see bubbles forming at this point.

Stretch and fold the apple fritter focaccia dough

At this point, the dough should have plenty of elasticity. You should be able to tug at the edge of the dough and pull without breaking. Perform one round of stretch and folds around the entire doughball. Grab one side, pull up, and fold over to the opposite side of the bowl. Repeat this process around each side of the bowl so that every part of the dough has been stretched up and folded over.

For more details go check out where I break down stretching and folding in another blog post. If you’re a visual learner, here’s a short video.

After completing the stretch and folds, I like to turn my dough over and form into a ball. Cover tightly again and let sit at room temperature for another 5 hours or until doubled in size. The days have been cooler here in Ohio, so my dough took a little longer to rise. If your kitchen is warmer, it may be ready before the 5 hours is up.

Make the apple fritter topping

I like to use a food chopper to further process the apples into smaller chunks after breaking it down from the core. An easy way to do that is to slice down from the side of the core. Then, going all the way around the apple, slice off the sides just beyond the core. If you don’t have a veggie chopper or don’t want to get one, just keep chopping until you have small bite size pieces.

Throw the apples and the rest of the ingredients in a sauce pan and heat on medium-low for about 10 minutes. I like them to still have a bit of a crunch to them at this point so they don’t disintegrate when baked in the bread.

After the apples cool a bit, place in an airtight container in the fridge until the next day.

Prepare muffin tin

This step cannot be skipped. The sugar from the honey in the dough makes it stick so badly to the pan (don’t ask me how I know). Pull about a 6-8 inch wide strip from the parchment paper roll and tear. Do this three times to have three strips. Stack them on to each other and use scissors to cut down the middle. Now you have six muffin liners!

To form the parchment into the shape of a muffin liner, I used a cup from my cabinet. Choosing a glass that fit snuggly inside, I placed in the center of one of my paper squares. Then I pressed into the muffin tin, and folded down the edges of the liner against the sides of the cup.

Once the liners are finished, drizzle a scant amount of EVOO on the bottom.

Portion the apple fritter focaccia dough

At this point the dough should be risen, smooth on the top, and little bubbles just underneath the surface. Now it’s time to divide the dough into 6 roughly equal portions. The easiest way I found to do this is with some oil and a bowl scraper.

I like to pour a little oil into a small bowl that I keep nearby. I can use this to apply to my scraper and my fingers so the dough never sticks. To get roughly equal portions of the dough, I used the edge of the scraper to mark the top of the dough with lines. Then I used the scraper again to cut the dough in half. From there, use the scraper to cut out three balls from each half.

Cold proof the apple fritter focaccia dough

Transfer each doughball to a muffin liner. I did my best to get equal portions, but they weren’t perfect. If needed, pinch off a bit of dough to from one to fill up another. Cover tightly with plastic wrap. Place in the refrigerator to cold proof overnight.

Top and bake

The next morning, about three hours before you would like to serve them, set the muffin tin out on the counter. Let them sit at room temperature for about 2 hours for one last proof.

When there is about a half hour left in the proofing time, pull the apple topping out of the fridge and preheat the oven. I like to allow the apples to lose their chill before topping the room temperature dough with them.

Once the dough has finished with its final proof, drizzle the dough with a bit of EVOO and top with the apple mixture. You may find that you have a little leftover. I just call that the chef’s tip, and I eat it as a little snack.

With oiled fingers, dimple the apples into the dough. Don’t be afraid to be forceful here. Press your fingers all the way to the bottom of the pan and really integrate the apple chunks into the dough. Optionally, as a final touch, generously sprinkle some turbinado sugar on top, and bake at 425F/220C. After 15 minutes, rotate the pan 180 degrees. Bake for another 15 minutes for a total of 30 minutes.

Drizzle icing over the apple fritter focaccia

These focaccini are delectable on their own, but drizzling some icing over the top takes them to a new apple fritter level. Mix a little vanilla extract and milk into a cup of powdered sugar and you have a quick, homemade icing. Enjoy!