Cinnamon Maple Pecan Dessert Focaccia

I love cinnamon rolls…so much so that many of the desserts I make, mimic that gooey cinnamon filling and smell that we all love so much. Those delicious and spicy aromas combined with that addictive scent of baking bread thrills me with anticipation.

Yes, I said thrills me…but then again, baking always did.

I remember being about 8 years old and getting scolded by my mother each time I peeked into the oven wondering ‘is it ready yet’…that excitement has stayed with me all of these years.

I love to make cinnamon rolls, but there is a good bit of time and preparation involved, so you really have to be in the mood. I even created a recipe for a cinnamon bun cake which is another down and dirty way of achieving the same pleasure with less work.

So today, I got that hankering again for cinnamon rolls…and at 6 pm I was definitely not in the mood to make cinnamon rolls from scratch. I remembered my delicious focaccia recipe and decided to create a dessert version which was totally new for me. I did a little research and found that it had been done before, kind of like a dessert pizza. I found recipes with added blueberries, grapes, chocolate chips and some even added dried fruit and nuts. I did find one that made a cinnamon roll focaccia and it looked as good as I had imagined, so that’s exactly what I was going to make. I had all of the necessary recipes, so now it was time to put them all together…quickly.

I’ve made focaccia before and have a really delicious recipe that works great. My Genovese recipe uses lots of herbs, oven dried tomatoes and parmesan cheese and makes a great snacking bread and also one that is delicious to use for sandwiches. I prefer to use fresh yeast when I can find it, but if I have to use dry yeast then the Red Star is the way to go. Their rapid rise yeast is what I prefer to use for this type of application, especially when you want something quickly.

I knew this was going to be good…in fact, it was too good. No sooner did they come out of the oven that I inhaled 3 pieces…yeah, this was serious…so I quickly decided to share them with neighbors. Keeping these in the house would be very, very dangerous.

So the next time you want to enjoy all of the benefits of a cinnamon roll but just don’t feel like dealing with all the little steps, then this dessert focaccia is the way to go.

Cinnamon Maple Pecan Dessert Focaccia

22 oz unbleached all purpose flour

1-1/2 tablespoon rapid rise yeast

1 teaspoon sugar

2 teaspoons salt

1¾ cup warm water

½ cup vegetable oil for dough

6 tablespoons olive oil for bowls, baking dish and drizzling

NOTE: If you prefer a chewier product switch to high gluten flour. For this application, the all purpose flour yielded a very tender dough and was perfect for this recipe. Use a finely milled product like King Arthur or White Lilly for best results.

First, make the streusel topping and set aside. Add the yeast to the bowl of your stand mixer, then add the water and 1/2 cup of olive oil and whisk to completely dissolve.  After dissolving the yeast, add the flour, salt and sugar and begin mixing the ingredients with a paddle. If the dough is too sticky add a little more flour until it begins to come away from the sides. Once the dough has formed into a ball, switch to the dough hook and continue to mix for about 5 minutes until elastic, if you don’t have a dough hook just continue mixing with the paddle. After the required mixing time, turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and complete the kneading by hand, about another 5 minutes until the dough is smooth and no longer sticky. Grease a large stoneware bowl with 2 tablespoons of oil and add the kneaded dough into the bowl. Roll it around so that the entire ball is coated with a little oil. Cover this and allow to double in size, about 30 minutes to 1 hour depending on the warmth of your kitchen.

Once the dough has risen, add another 2 tablespoons of oil to a half sheet pan, and using your hand spread it all over the bottom and sides. Gently deflate the dough and place it into the half sheet pan. Add another 2 tablespoons of oil on top of the dough and spread this all over the surface, this will help the dough stretch out.  Use your fingers to stretch out the dough until it has filled the entire pan. Begin to create dimples in the dough but be careful not to poke holes completely through the dough.  If you find that the dough is pulling back and does not stay stretched out, cover with a piece of plastic and allow it to rest for a few minutes.

Once you have formed your dough, cover it loosely with plastic wrap and allow it to rest for another 10 minutes. Once it has rested, top with all of the streusel topping, and using your fingers poke indentations into the dough which will create little crevices for the glaze.

Bake this at 425°F until golden brown, approximately 10-12 minutes. When the bread is in the oven, prepare the glaze. Once the bread is ready, remove from the oven and drizzle the entire surface with the glaze. It is important to add this when the focaccia is still warm because the glaze will begin to set quickly as the bread cools.

Streusel

1 stick cold butter cut into small pieces

1 cup unbleached all purpose flour

½ cup brown sugar, packed

½ cup granulated sugar

3 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Add all of the ingredients into a medium bowl and using your fingers or a pastry cutter, combine all of the ingredients together until you no longer see any butter and the streusel resembles a coarse meal.

Maple Pecan Milk Sugar Glaze

2 cups powdered sugar, sifted

5 teaspoons milk

2 teaspoons maple extract

¾ cup chopped roasted pecans

Sift the powdered sugar into a medium bowl and add the milk and maple extract. This should be made a few minutes before required but not too far in advance because it will begin to harden. You can add the cooled pecans to the glaze or you can add the glaze and then add the pecans, which is what I did.