How To Make Sourdough Caramel Apple Focaccia with Applesauce
Sourdough caramel apple focaccia with applesauce is one of my favorite fall bakes. It’s cozy, sweet, and the perfect way to highlight fresh apples. You’ll get that delicious apple flavor, gooey caramel pockets, and the goodness at the bottom of the pan that makes you want just one more bite. Make sure you check out the rise times before starting this recipe. You want to give yourself plenty of time for this delicious goodness!
Sourdough Caramel Apple Focaccia with Applesauce
Ingredients
Method
- In a large bowl, mix together the room temperature or warm applesauce, warm water, and active sourdough starter.(400 grams unsweetened warm applesauce, 50 grams warm water, 150 grams active sourdough starter)
- Stir in the salt and bread flour. Stir until mixed. This is a wet dough. (10 grams salt and 500 grams bread flour)
- Cover and let the dough rise for 30 minutes.
- 1st Stretch & Folds: Add in the diced, cored, and peeled apples and do a set of stretch and folds with wet hands.(130 grams of diced, peeled, and cored apples)
- 2nd Stretch & Folds: Cover the dough and let it rest for 30 minutes. Complete another set of stretch and folds.
- 3rd Stretch & Folds: Cover the dough and let it rest for 30 more minutes. Complete the third set of stretch and folds with wet hands.
- Cover and let it sit for 1-2 hours until it has risen about 50%. It'll take a little over an hour in a warm kitchen.
- Grease a 9 x 13 inch pan with softened butter. I put it on a paper towel and cover the pan with the softened butter. You can use cooking spray instead.
- Take 4 tablespoons of the melted butter and spread it around the pan. Save the rest of the butter for later.
- Put the dough into the pan and flip the dough once to coat both sides with the butter.
- Sprinkle ¼ cup of brown sugar and 3 torn caramels over the dough. Fold the dough in half. Repeat.
- Sprinkle ¼ cup of brown sugar and 3 torn caramels over the dough. Fold the dough in half again.
- Cover the pan and let it proof for 1-2 hours until it is puffy and fills a lot of the pan.
- Preheat your oven to 425°.
- Pour the rest of the butter, ¼ cup brown sugar, and 3-4 torn caramels over the focaccia dough.
- Use your fingertips to press down into the dough and stretch it to fill the pan. You are making dimples in the dough.
- Bake the focaccia for 23 minutes. Give or take a few minutes depending on how your oven cooks.
- Take it out and sprinkle it with flaky sea salt. Enjoy!
This is an easy sourdough focaccia recipe that doesn’t use instant yeast. You only need your active sourdough starter, a little patience for the dough rise time, and a warm spot in your kitchen. In total, you’re looking at around six hours from start to finish. But don’t worry—the hands-on time is light, and most of it is resting. This is one of those fun tiktok – make recipes that you are going to love!
Ingredients You’ll Need
Grab a large bowl and gather your ingredients:
- 400 g unsweetened applesauce, smooth, room temperature
- 500 g warm water
- 150 g active sourdough starter (not sourdough discard for this recipe)
- 10 g sea salt
- 500 g bread flour (you can use all-purpose flour as a substitute)
- 130 g fresh apples (Granny Smith, peeled, cored, and diced)
- 114 g melted butter (save 4 tablespoons for coating the dough, the rest for proofing and topping)
- 120 g brown sugar, divided into thirds (about 40 g or ¼ cup for each fold)
- 10–15 soft caramels, torn into small pieces
- Pinch of flaky sea salt
Optional for serving: sprinkle cinnamon and sugar with caramel on top of the dough for extra sweetness.
Mixing the Focaccia Dough
In a large bowl, stir together the applesauce, warm water, and active starter. Make sure they’re all at room temperature so the dough rises well. Mix in the sea salt and bread flour. This will be a wet focaccia dough. Covering it with parchment paper or a clean towel works well. You can also cover it with plastic wrap. Let it rest for 30 minutes.
Stretch and Folds with Fresh Apples
After the first rest, do your first set of stretch and folds. Wet hands help here. Add the diced Granny Smith apples while folding. Cover it again and let it sit for 30 minutes. Repeat the folds two more times, 30 minutes apart. Each fold builds strength in the dough.
After the third fold, cover the bowl and let it rest for 1–2 hours in a warm spot. The dough should rise about 50% and look soft and jiggly.
Note: I have refrigerated the dough at this point once before because I ran out of time. I covered it well and put it in the refrigerator that night and then took it out of the fridge around 3:00 p.m. the next afternoon when I got home from work. It worked perfectly and just had a longer ferment. The apples did fine in the dough as well.
Second Proof with Caramel Layers
Grease a 9×13 pan with softened butter. Spread 4 tablespoons of melted butter over the bottom. Place the dough in the pan and flip it once to coat both sides.
Sprinkle ¼ cup of brown sugar and 3–4 caramel pieces over the top of the dough. Fold the dough in half. Repeat with another layer of brown sugar and caramel. Fold again. Cover the pan and let it proof for 1–2 more hours until puffy and filling most of the pan.
Baking Until Golden Brown
Preheat your oven to 425°F. Pour the remaining melted butter, the last portion of brown sugar, and 3–4 caramel pieces over the focaccia dough. Use your fingertips to press dimples into the top of the dough and stretch it to the edges of the pan.
Bake for about 23 minutes, until golden brown. Every oven is different, so keep an eye on it.
When it comes out, sprinkle flaky sea salt over the top. Let it cool slightly on a wire rack if you like, but I usually scoop mine straight from the pan. That gooey caramel and apple goodness at the bottom is too good to miss.
Serving Ideas
This sweet sourdough focaccia recipe is a great way to kick off the fall season. The caramel melts into the dough, the apples soften, and the brown sugar makes it taste like dessert. Serve it warm, maybe with extra cinnamon sugar or caramel sauce drizzled on top. It is an easy recipe that you can pair with some apple cider and a delicious pot of chili. If you wanted to make a sweet glaze to go on top, just combined some powdered sugar, vanilla, and a bit of milk. Yum!
Step-by-Step Images for Caramel Apple Focaccia Bread
Anna Barbour
Hey there, my name is Anna, and I am so excited to share Keep It Simple Anna Sue with you. I am a wife, mother of two young men, and currently in a pre-empty nester season of life. God knew I needed blogging way before I did. Being a pre-empty nester has left me with…extra time. I decided to use that time for creativity and for helping others to see that if I can do it, they can do it too. Learn more about me.
