Sourdough Apple Fritter Focaccia

This apple fritter sourdough focaccia is a naturally leavened, sweet twist on classic focaccia. Made with sourdough starter and topped with cinnamon-spiced apples, it’s an easy, flavorful bake perfect for brunch, dessert, or snacking!

5 from 1 vote

Prep Time 1

Cook Time 30

Fermentation Time 7

Total Time 8 30

Ingredients

Dough Ingredients:

450 g water room temp
125 g active sourdough starter
30 g raw honey
675 g bread flour
12 g coarse sea salt
60 g unsalted butter divided

Apple Fritter Filling:

15 g unsalted butter
12 g granulated sugar
8 g bread flour
1 large apple Honeycrisp
75 g brown sugar
2 g ground cinnamon
2 g coarse sea salt

Glaze:

125 g powdered sugar
30 g milk
5 g vanilla paste
pinch coarse sea salt

Instructions

Make The Dough:

In the bowl of your stand mixer, combine 450g water with 125g active sourdough starter and 30g raw honey. Run the mixer for a few seconds to combine, the starter doesn’t need to be completely dissolved, just reasonably dispersed in the water.
Add 675g bread flour and 12g coarse sea salt. Knead with your mixer for 5-7 minutes on low speed. It will take a while to come together, and it will be a wet dough, but it should pull away from the sides of the bowl and stick to the dough hook or roller.
Cover the mixing bowl and set aside for 30 minutes.

Stretch + Fold:

After 30 minutes, uncover the bowl, and perform a set of stretch and folds; grab the dough and gently pull it until the flap is long enough to fold over itself, then fold the flap, rotate the bowl 90 degrees, and repeat 3 more times, this is considered a set of stretch and folds. Recover the bowl, and rest for 30 minutes
Repeat the stretch and fold process for a total of 3 sets of stretch and folds each followed by a 30 minute rest over 90 minutes.
After the final stretch and fold, brush a large bowl with butter, and place the dough into the bowl for the bulk fermentation.

Bulk Ferment:

Place the dough somewhere warm to rise. Bulk ferment the dough until it has nearly doubled, usually 3-4 hours, depending on the temperature in your home. Meanwhile, make the apple fritter filling.

Make The Fritter Filling:

Add 15g butter to a small sauce pan and melt over medium low heat. Whisk 12g granulated sugar and 8g bread flour into the butter and cook until thickened.
Peel and dice 1 large apple, then add the diced apple, 75g brown sugar, 2g cinnamon, and 2g coarse sea salt to the saucepan. Cook the mixture over medium low heat until thickened and the apples are slightly softened. Remove from heat and allow to cool at room temperature until shaping.

Shape + Prove:

Once the dough has completed the bulk ferment, pour 30g of melted butter into a greased 9×13 pan. Pour another 15g of melted butter on top of the dough.
Use a bowl scraper to turn the dough out into the buttered baking dish.Gently press the dough out into a rough rectangle to cover most of the pan. Then spread half the apple filling along the surface of the dough.
Fold in all 4 sides, long sides first, then short, to create a rough rectangular envelope. Flip the focaccia dough over so the seam side is down. Spread the remaining filling on top of the dough, cover the baking dish with plastic wrap and set aside to prove until nearly doubled, usually 2-3 hours.
From here you can either bake right away or place in the fridge to cold retard for up to 2 days.

Bake:

Melt 15g of butter, and use that to oil your fingers, drizzle the rest along the surface of the focaccia. Using your fingers, dimple the surface of the apple fritter focaccia. I like to press down firmly and jiggle my hands a little bit. Start at one side and work your way across. Use your fingers to stretch the dough to fit the pan if it hasn’t spread out completely.
Preheat the oven to 425f, and allow the dough to rest while the oven is preheating. Once the oven reaches temperature, bake your focaccia at 425f for 25-30 minutes, or until golden brown. You can check the doneness with a thermometer, the internal temperature should be around 200f.
Allow the focaccia to cool in the pan for at least 10 minutes before removing and transferring to a wire rack. Meanwhile, make the glaze by whisking together 150g powdered sugar, 30g half and half cream, 5g vanilla paste, and a pinch of salt.
Once focaccia is on a cooling rack, drizzle glaze evenly over the whole loaf and enjoy warm!

Notes

Expert Tips:

Focaccia dough is a high hydration dough which means it behaves a lot differently than other dough recipes you're likely used to. It's soft and won't be able to be kneaded in the traditional sense. This is totally normal! If the dough is sticking to your hands, you can try oiling or dampening your hands before handling.
The proofing times I've used are based on a temperature between 77 and 80f. If your home is cooler, it will defintely take longer.

Storage:

Short-term: Store the focaccia at room temperature in an airtight container or wrapped tightly in beeswax wrap or plastic wrap. Because it contains fruit, it’s best eaten within a day or two to avoid sogginess.
Freezing Whole: To freeze, wrap the loaf tightly in plastic wrap, then again in aluminum foil to prevent freezer burn. Freeze for up to 3 months. When you’re ready to enjoy it, let the loaf thaw at room temperature for a few hours, no need to unwrap it until it’s fully defrosted.
Freezing Slices: For easy, grab-and-go portions, slice the cooled focaccia and lay the slices in a single layer on a parchment lined baking sheet. Freeze until solid, then transfer to a freezer-safe bag or container. This way, you can pull out just what you need. Thaw at room temperature and you’re good to go!