Apple Cider Focaccia

Instructions:

Heat your apple cider. Make sure it doesn’t get too hot, or it could harm the yeast and your dough won’t rise.

Gently whisk together the yeast, brown sugar, and apple cider. Set it aside for 10 minutes to let the yeast bloom. It should have a little foam on top when it’s ready.

Pour your olive oil into the yeast mixture. Stir gently.

In a large mixing bowl, add your flour, salt, and cinnamon. Stir gently to combine.

Fold in your yeast mixture and stir until a soft and sticky dough forms.

Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel and set it in a warm place to rise for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, it’s time to stretch and fold the dough. Using your hand, scoop up a handful of dough from the bottom of the bowl and over one side. Pull it gently out of the bowl, as far as you can without tearing the dough. Once you’ve reached that point, fold the dough into itself, onto the top of the dough ball. Rotate the bowl 90° and repeat until you’ve done 4 folds.

Re-cover the bowl and let it rise in a warm place for another 30 minutes.

Repeat this process another two times.

For the fourth and final stretch and folding of the dough, fold it as you have previously, but let it proof for 1 hour. It should double in size and look bubbly on top.

Melt your four tablespoons of butter.

Prepare a 9-inch by 13-inch baking pan with tall sides by coating it with the butter. Be sure to get the butter up the sides of the pan.

Dice your apples and set aside.

Before you begin shaping and filling your dough, make your cinnamon sugar.

Add your sugar, brown sugar, nutmeg, salt, and cinnamon. Stir to combine and set aside.

Now it’s time to shape the dough and fill it.

Transfer the dough into your baking pan. Press it down into the edges and corners of the pan, spreading it fairly evenly.

Put your apples on top of the dough in an even layer.

Sprinkle half of the cinnamon sugar over the apples. Set the rest aside.

Lift up the dough from the shorter end of the pan and fold it in half. Take the dough out of the pan and rotate it 90°, then put it back in the dish. Gently press the dough back out to the edges of the pan.

Cover the pan once again and let it rise for 2 hours. At about the hour mark, preheat your oven to 450°F. You’ll know the dough is ready when it has over doubled in size and jiggles when shaken lightly.

Melt your remaining 2 tablespoons of butter. Brush the butter over the top of the dough, covering the entire surface.

Set aside ¼ cup of cinnamon sugar. Sprinkle the remaining cinnamon sugar on top, making sure to cover evenly.

Coat your fingers in some melted butter or olive oil. Use your fingertips to press into the dough, all the way to the bottom of the baking dish. Don’t try to do this without oiling your fingers, or else the dough will stick all over them.

Bake the focaccia for 20 minutes, or until golden brown and puffed up.

Sprinkle the remaining ¼ cup of cinnamon sugar on top of the focaccia and let it cool for at least 20 minutes.

Slice into thick slices and enjoy.

-Delaney Blomstrom