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This Sourdough Caramel Apple Focaccia may just be the best sweet bread I’ve made yet! The base is an applesauce infused focaccia mixed with apples and soft caramel bits and topped with a caramel drizzle. This caramel apple focaccia is bursting with flavor in every bite.
“This was an absolutely delicious focaccia, perfect for fall (or any time of year!). It was a big hit with my family, who have already asked me to make it again. Great recipe!!” -Laura
What makes this recipe so unique is the choice of liquid in the focaccia dough. Instead of water, this recipe calls for mostly applesauce, giving the bread a sweet, apple flavor throughout. I’ve tried using apple cider as well, but the applesauce provides a much stronger apple flavor, which is exactly what I wanted.
If you’re looking for another fall-flavored sourdough focaccia, be sure to check out my Pumpkin Sourdough Focaccia and Sweet Potato Sourdough Focaccia or check out all of my sourdough focaccia recipes.
Why you’ll love this recipe
- Fall flavors – Infused with caramel apple flavor, this sweet focaccia is a fall treat everyone will love. If you love these flavors, you should also try my Sourdough Apple Fritter Bread.
- Beginner-friendly – Just like my classic same-day Sourdough Focaccia, this recipe is beginner-friendly and does not require any special equipment.
- Same day recipe – This Caramel Apple Sourdough Focaccia can be made in just one day! It has a quick and forgiving timeline that can fit anyone’s busy schedule.
- The best texture – This focaccia has a soft and fluffy crumb, and a crispy and chewy crust that complements the gooey caramel.
Important ingredients and substitutions
- Applesauce– This recipe uses unsweetened applesauce in place of most of the water in this recipe giving the loaf a stronger apple flavor.
- Bread flour – I prefer using bread flour but in a pinch you can use all purpose flour and reduce the liquid by 25 grams.
- Sourdough starter – You will want to use an active sourdough starter that is bubbly and doubled in size. If you use discard you will want to add a little bit of yeast to help it rise.
- Butter – This can be swapped for olive oil if you prefer.
- Apples- I prefer using honey crisp or gala apples but any kind will work.
- Soft Caramels– I use Werther’s soft caramels but any soft caramel will work. If you love caramel, you should also try my Caramel Apple Sourdough Cheesecake Bars and Sourdough Apple Muffins.
See all the ingredients and amounts in the recipe card below.
Instructions to make Sourdough Caramel Apple Focaccia
Step 1: Whisk together applesauce, warm water, and active sourdough starter in a large bowl. Next, add in the salt and bread flour to the mixture and mix until combined into a shaggy dough. Cover, and let the dough rest at 75°F for 30 minutes.
Step 2: Peel and chop the apples and caramel squares, and then add them to the dough. Perform a set of stretch and folds to incorporate the apples. To stretch and fold the dough, grab one side with a damp hand and gently shimmy the dough up, and then fold it on itself. Repeat this 3 more times rotating the bowl 90 degrees each time. Repeat the stretch and folds 2 more times about 30 minutes apart.
Step 3: Set the dough in a warm place and let it rise for bulk fermentation until the dough has risen about 50% and is jiggly. At 75°F, this took my dough about 5 hours from the time it was mixed. But this could take less or more time depending on the temperature of your house.
Step 4: Spray a 9×13 baking dish with nonstick spray. Add 4 tablespoons of unsalted melted butter and then dump the focaccia dough into the pan. Flip the dough once to coat both sides of the dough with butter and then cover.
Step 5: Let the dough rise for another 2-3 hours in a warm spot. The dough should feel airy and be visibly puffy.
Step 6: Add the remaining butter to the top of the dough. Using your fingertips, press down into the dough, stretching it to fill the pan and dimpling it, creating indentations in the dough.
Step 7: Bake in the oven for 27-30 minutes at 425°F. Remove from the pan and let cool on a cooling rack.
Step 8: Add a drizzle of the caramel sauce, slice and enjoy warm!
Recipe Tips
- Make sure to let the dough get puffy and rise fully. Baking it too early will result in a denser focaccia.
- To speed up the process, find a warm spot for the dough to rise. If the counter is not warm enough, you can place it in other warm areas of your house. Using warm ingredients in the dough will help with this as well. You can also use a temperature-regulated dough mat (use code country10 for 10% off) or proofing box to keep it warm. Learn more about tips to keep your dough warm here.
- Add dough to a straight edge container so you can easily see when the dough has risen 50%.
- Use a kitchen scale to measure the ingredients for the most accurate results.
Sample schedule
This is based on the dough temperature being at 75°F. Many factors can impact how slowly or quickly dough rises so use this as a guideline but look for the visual cues the dough is ready to move on.
| Step | Time |
| Feed sourdough starter a 1:5:5 ratio (15 grams starter: 70 grams flour: 70 grams water) | 10 pm |
| Mix dough together | 8 am |
| Add apples and caramel & stretch and folds | 8:30-9:30 am |
| Add dough to 9×13 pan | 1 pm |
| Bake | 3 pm |
Storage instructions
Leave in an airtight container or cover with plastic wrap on the counter for up to 2 days. After 2 days, store the remaining bread in the fridge. To warm up the bread, place it in the microwave for about 15 seconds.
Recipe FAQ
Yes, you can prep the dough and then bake it the next day if you would like. Place the dough in the fridge after the first rise. Remove the dough from the fridge the next morning and place it in an oiled 9×13″ pan and let it rise until puffy and doubled in size, and bake as directed.
Yes, focaccia has a wet dough and is naturally stickier than traditional sourdough because it has a higher hydration level—meaning more water compared to flour. To keep it from clinging to your hands, use wet hands during the stretch and folds. As you continue, the gluten will strengthen and the dough will become much easier to handle.
If your dough is extremely sticky it could be a sign of an acidic, past peak starter or not using a high protein flour, like bread flour.
Bread flour is ideal because it has a higher protein content and absorbs liquid better. However, in a pinch, you can substitute all-purpose flour. However, since it does not absorb liquid as well, you will need to reduce the amount of water added by 25-50 grams.
If your focaccia is sticking to the pan, be sure to grease the pan before adding the butter and dough. If you are still having issues with it sticking, you can line the 9×13 pan with parchment paper.
More sourdough Focaccias
Sourdough Bread Recipes
Sourdough Pumpkin Cinnamon Roll Focaccia
Sourdough Bread Recipes
Same Day Sourdough Focaccia Recipe
Sourdough Focaccia Recipes
Cranberry Orange Sourdough Focaccia
Sourdough Bread Recipes
Pesto Sourdough Focaccia
Tried this Caramel Apple Sourdough Focaccia or another recipe from the site? I’d love to hear about it! Drop a star rating and share your thoughts in the comments—can’t wait to see what you’re baking!
Sourdough Caramel Apple Focaccia
Ingredients
- 300 grams unsweetened applesauce, warm, 2 ½ cup
- 100 grams water, warm, scant ½ cup
- 150 grams sourdough starter, heaping ⅓ cup
- 10 grams salt, 1 ⅓ teaspoon
- 500 grams bread flour, 3 ⅔ cups
- 150 grams peeled and diced apples, 1 ½ cups
- 170 grams soft caramel squares, chopped, 1 cup
- 114 grams butter, divided, ½ cup
- ¼-½ cup caramel topping
Instructions
- Whisk together applesauce, warm water, and active sourdough starter in a straight edge container or large bowl. 300 grams unsweetened applesauce, warm, 100 grams water, warm, 150 grams sourdough starter
- Add in the salt and bread flour and mix until combined in a shaggy dough. Cover and let it rest in a warm spot. For a similar timeline as listed below, keep the dough temperature at 75℉. 10 grams salt, 500 grams bread flour
- Peel and chop the apples. Dice the caramel squares.150 grams peeled and diced apples, 170 grams soft caramel squares, chopped
- Add the apples and caramels to the dough. Perform a set of stretches and folds to incorporate into the dough. To stretch and fold the dough, grab one side with a damp hand and gently shimmy the dough up, and then fold it on itself. Repeat this 3 more times rotating the bowl 90 degrees each time. Repeat the stretch and folds 2 more times about 30 minutes apart.
- Set the dough in a warm place and let it rise for bulk fermentation until the dough has risen about 50% and is jiggly. At 75°F, this took my dough about 5 hours from the time it was mixed.
- Grease a 9×13-inch baking dish. Add 4 tablespoons of unsalted melted butter, and then dump the focaccia dough into the pan. Flip the dough once to coat both sides of the dough with butter and then cover. 114 grams butter, divided
- Let the dough rise for another 2-3 hours in a warm spot. The dough should feel airy and be visibly puffy when ready to bake.
- Add the remaining butter to the top of the dough. Using your fingertips, press down into the dough, stretching it to fill the pan and dimpling it, creating indentations in the dough.
- Bake in the oven for 27-30 minutes at 425°F. Remove from the pan and let cool on a cooling rack. Add a drizzle of the caramel sauce, and slice and enjoy!¼-½ cup caramel topping
Notes
- The dough should feel aerated when dimpling the dough. If it does not, find a warm spot for it to continue to rise. If it dense when you bake it, it will result in a dense focaccia.
- For best results use the gram measurements.
- Soft caramels added during stretch and folds.
- Applesauce amount reduced to 300 grams and water bumped from 50 grams to 100 grams.
- Cinnamon sugar removed from the top of the dough.
- Caramel topping drizzled on top.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Turned out beautifully. The dough was delightful to work with.
This was my first focaccia! I measured by grams. I think the measurement for 3 1/2 cups of applesauce is much more than 400 grams (closer to 2’ish cups). So, I stuck with 400 grams, based on a prior review calling it a big sticky mess. It worked out. But, what do I know since it was my first focaccia? It was delicious!
Thanks Linda! Always best to go based off the grams so good call.
Made this today. My dough turned into a big sticky mess lol. I’m sure it was my error along the way.
I decided to just let it do its thing and bake it anyway! So glad I did, it’s turned out great.
I really hope you create a cookbook with all your recipes.
Hi Mandy so happy to hear it turned out. Focaccia dough is a higher hydration dough so it is pretty wet although after a few rounds of stretch and folds should start to feel stronger. Sometimes if it rises for too long it can get really sticky and lose structure so that could be one possibility.
And yes my new cookbook will be available for preorder in the next few weeks!
This recipe was delicious and easy. I substituted the sugar with a mixture of coconut sugar and monk fruit sugar. I didn’t add the caramels and instead did a maple syrup/coconut sugar caramel drizzle when it came out. I prepped it in the evening and left it out on the counter overnight and it was ready to bake in the morning (our house is mid 60’s at night). Fool proof.