Cinnamon Roll Sourdough Focaccia: An Overnight Recipe

This is a hybrid of two things that do not seem like they belong together: sourdough focaccia and cinnamon rolls. The dough is a standard focaccia enriched with honey and olive oil, topped with a brown sugar and cinnamon butter, then baked until bubbly and drizzled with vanilla icing. It rises overnight, so you start the dough in the evening and bake it the next morning.

The Dough

In a large bowl, combine 350g water, 100g active sourdough starter, 25g honey, 30g olive oil, 10g salt, and 500g bread flour. Mix with a dough whisk until you get a shaggy consistency. Hands or a stand mixer work too.

Performing stretch and folds on the focaccia dough in a glass bowl

Let the dough rest 20 minutes, then do two sets of stretch and folds. Grab the dough, stretch it out, fold it over itself. Rest 30 minutes between rounds. Then let it rise overnight at room temperature for about 12 hours.

Assembly

The next morning, generously grease a 9x13 baking pan on the bottom and sides. Turn out the dough and let it rest 15 to 20 minutes loosely covered. Then gently stretch it to fill the corners of the pan.

Make the cinnamon sugar topping by mixing soft butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, and a pinch of salt. Dollop it across the surface of the dough.

Cinnamon sugar topping being dolloped onto the stretched focaccia dough in a 9x13 pan

Now dimple the dough. Push your fingers down through the topping into the bread, pressing all the way to the bottom of the pan. The cinnamon butter swirls into the dimples and creates pockets of caramelized sugar as it bakes.

Baking and Finishing

Bake at 425 degrees for 28 to 30 minutes. While it bakes, mix together a vanilla icing. When the focaccia comes out golden and bubbly, drizzle the icing over the top while it is still hot.

The finished cinnamon roll focaccia on a cutting board, golden brown with vanilla icing drizzled across the top

Key Takeaways

Start the dough in the evening; it bulk-ferments overnight at room temperature for 12 hours
Only two sets of stretch and folds are needed before the overnight rise
The dimpling step is what turns this from a topped focaccia into something that resembles cinnamon rolls, pushing the butter and sugar deep into the bread
Bake at 425 for 28-30 minutes and ice while still hot so the glaze melts slightly into the surface