Sweet Focaccia Bread Recipe

Sweet focaccia bread is a soft olive oil yeast bread baked in a 9×13 inch pan and topped with fresh berries and coarse sugar instead of rosemary and salt. It takes about 2 hours 15 minutes, most of it rising time, bakes at 400°F (200°C) for 20 to 25 minutes, and cuts into 10 pieces.

The dough itself has only a teaspoon of sugar. The sweetness comes from the fruit and the crunchy sugar on top, so it sits somewhere between breakfast bread and a light dessert. Keep the berries to about 2 cups and leave dough showing between them. That one rule is what keeps the top from going soggy.

Pan, Oven and Timing for One Tray

• Pan: one 9×13 inch tray, lined with parchment and well oiled
• First rise: 1 to 1½ hours in the bowl, until doubled
• Second rise: 30 minutes in the pan
• Bake: 400°F (200°C) for 20 to 25 minutes
• Total time: about 2 hours 15 minutes, 20 minutes of it hands-on
• Topping: ½ cup each strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and blackberries, plus 2 tablespoons coarse or pearl sugar
• Yield: 10 pieces

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A Wet Olive Oil Dough That Stays Soft

Whisk 2½ cups (300g) all-purpose flour with 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon sugar and one packet (2¼ teaspoons) of instant yeast. Pour in 1 cup (240ml) warm water and 2 tablespoons olive oil and stir until a sticky dough forms. Instant yeast needs no separate proofing.

That is a lot of water for that much flour, roughly 80% hydration, and it is meant to be. A wet dough bakes into the open, bubbly crumb you want in focaccia. Knead it for 8 to 10 minutes by hand or with a dough hook. When it is ready it feels smooth and elastic and stretches thin without tearing.

It will stick to you at first. Oil your hands and the counter instead of working in more flour. Every extra handful makes the bread tighter and more like a sandwich loaf.

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How to Tell the First Rise Is Done

Set the dough in a lightly oiled bowl and cover it with a damp towel or plastic wrap so the surface does not dry out. In a warm spot it doubles in 1 to 1½ hours. A cold kitchen can push it to the long end of that range, so watch the dough, not the clock.

Press a floured finger about half an inch into the top. If the dent fills back in slowly and stays slightly visible, it is ready. If it springs straight back, give it another 15 minutes. If the dough sighs and sinks, it went a little too long; shape it anyway and shorten the second rise.

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Stretching and Dimpling in the 9×13 Pan

Line the pan with parchment and pour in a good glug of olive oil. That oil fries the bottom of the bread as it bakes and gives you the crisp, golden base. Punch down the dough, drop it in, and stretch it gently toward the corners with your fingertips.

Dough that keeps shrinking back is just tight. Leave it for 10 minutes and it will relax and reach the corners on the second try. Once it fills the pan, oil your fingers and press dimples all over, right down to the pan. Deep dimples are where the berries sit. Cover the tray and let it rise for 30 minutes while the oven heats to 400°F (200°C). It should look puffy and wobble a little when you nudge the pan.

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How Much Fruit Can Sweet Focaccia Hold?

Two cups of berries is the most this dough can carry. Every berry releases juice in the oven, and where fruit covers the dough completely, the top steams instead of browning and stays pale and damp underneath.

Use firm, dry berries. Slice the strawberries thin so they lie flat, and press the raspberries, blueberries and blackberries lightly into the dimples. I like to lay them out as little flowers, with strawberry slices as petals and a blueberry in the middle, but a loose scatter bakes just as well. Leave a finger width of bare dough between groups so it can rise and color around them.

Finish with 2 tablespoons coarse or pearl sugar and an optional thin drizzle of olive oil. The big crystals do not melt away like granulated sugar, so they stay crunchy and catch the light. They will not stop the berries from releasing juice. Spacing the fruit is what does that.

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Fresh or Frozen Berries on Top

Fresh berries give the cleanest look. Frozen ones work if you treat them differently. Keep them in the freezer until the dough is dimpled, then press them in still frozen and bake right away. Thawed frozen berries slump into a puddle and stain everything purple. Expect a few streaks either way, and give the tray 2 to 3 extra minutes because cold fruit slows the bake.

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Doneness Cues and Cooling in the Pan

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the top is puffed and the edges are deep golden. The berry-covered middle always looks lighter than the edges, so check underneath. Lift one corner of the parchment with a spatula. A golden bottom means it is done. An instant-read thermometer in the center should show about 200°F (93°C).

Leave it in the pan for 10 to 15 minutes. Straight out of the oven the berry juice is thin and hot, and the oily base is soft. A short rest lets the juice thicken and the crumb firm up, so the pieces cut cleanly. Then lift it out by the parchment, add the mint leaves if you are using them, and slice.

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Sweet Focaccia vs Regular Focaccia

The dough is nearly the same. Both are wet olive oil doughs pressed into an oiled pan and dimpled. The differences are on top and in the seasoning:

• Topping: fruit and coarse sugar here; herbs, flaky salt, olives or tomatoes on savory focaccia.
• Sugar: 1 teaspoon in this dough to help the yeast, none or very little in most savory doughs.
• Salt: only the teaspoon in the dough, with no salt sprinkled over the top.
• Serving: warm with coffee or as dessert, rather than with soup or as sandwich bread.

Italy has its own sweet versions, such as the Tuscan grape focaccia, schiacciata all’uva, which is why halved grapes are one of the fruits I suggest below.

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Cinnamon Sugar, Jam and Other Toppings

For a fall tray, skip the berries. Brush the dimpled dough with a little extra olive oil or melted butter and sprinkle it with about 3 tablespoons brown sugar mixed with 1 teaspoon cinnamon before baking. If you want the swirled, iced version, my cinnamon roll focaccia builds that on the same idea, and the lemon blueberry focaccia adds a lemon glaze.

Thin slices of pear or plum and halved grapes hold up well, and so do small spoonfuls of thick jam such as blackberry jam dropped into a few dimples. Watery fruit like ripe peaches or sliced kiwi gives off too much juice for this dough.

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When the Focaccia Bakes Up Dense or Soggy

• Dense and bready: too much flour was added while kneading, or the first rise was cut short. Oil your hands next time and use the poke test.
• Wet and pale under the fruit: too much fruit, or the berries were wet. Pat them dry and leave bare dough between them.
• Purple streaks everywhere: thawed frozen berries. Put them on still frozen.
• Dough will not reach the corners: the gluten is tight. Rest it 10 minutes and stretch again.

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Serving, Storing and Warming Leftovers

This bread is at its best the day it is baked, while the crust is still crisp. Serve it warm with coffee and yogurt for brunch, or cut it into small squares for dessert with a spoonful of whipped cream on the side.

Leftovers keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 day. Skip the fridge: cold air stales bread faster and makes the berries weep into the crumb. To warm it, put pieces in a 300°F (150°C) oven for 5 to 7 minutes. The crust will not be as crisp as on day one, but the bread softens again.

More sweet yeast bakes: cinnamon swirl bread, cinnamon raisin bread, cinnamon babka and a very soft Hokkaido milk bread.

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Questions About Sweet Focaccia

Can I make sweet focaccia dough the night before?

Yes. After kneading, cover the bowl and refrigerate it for up to 24 hours instead of the warm first rise. Let it sit at room temperature for about an hour before shaping, then add the 30 minute pan rise.

Can I use bread flour instead of all-purpose?

Yes, it gives a chewier crumb. Bread flour absorbs a little more water, so the dough will feel slightly firmer.

Is sweet focaccia a bread or a dessert?

It is a yeast bread with a sweet topping. With only 1 teaspoon of sugar in the dough, it is less sweet than cake and works for both breakfast and dessert.