Salted Maple Pecan Focaccia
This salted maple pecan focaccia brings together the texture of chewy, olive-oil-rich focaccia with the flavor of maple pecan sticky buns. The dough is soft and airy, the center is filled with a buttery maple brown sugar pecan filling, and the top gets a generous drizzle of salted maple icing. (The same we use on maple brown sugar cookies!) Making this bread is a 2-day process, but most of the work is hands off while the dough rests.
What Is Maple Pecan–Filled Focaccia?
While we typically think of focaccia as a savory bread, like this garlic rosemary herb focaccia, there is absolutely no reason it can’t be made as a sweet bread.
This recipe starts with the same type of dough you’d use for traditional focaccia. The difference is the maple-pecan brown sugar goodness baked right into the center… kind of like a filled danish you’d find in a bakery’s pastry case.
(In fact, one taste tester said it tastes like a filled danish!)
The dough is pressed into a pan, filled, folded, and then generously dimpled with your fingertips before baking. The result is soft and chewy bread with crisp, golden edges and pockets of gooey maple pecan filling throughout.
Why You’ll Love This Salted Maple Pecan Focaccia
- Soft and chewy: A high-hydration dough gives focaccia its signature airy, chewy texture.
- Buttery maple pecan filling: Brown sugar, maple syrup, cinnamon, and toasted pecans make the center taste like your favorite maple pecan sticky bun or filled danish.
- No mixer or kneading required: You can mix the simple dough by hand.
- Make-ahead friendly: The dough rises slowly in the refrigerator overnight.
- Perfect for sharing: Makes a generous batch for breakfast, brunch, or dessert.
Ingredients You Need
You need a few simple ingredients for the dough, plus a handful of flavorful additions for the filling.
- Warm water: Aim for a water temperature between 100–110°F. Too hot and it could kill the yeast.
- Yeast: You can use either instant or active dry yeast. You need just 2 teaspoons (6g) of yeast, so slightly less than 1 full packet.
- Sugar: A teaspoon of sugar feeds the yeast and gets it working.
- Salt: For the best flavor, I strongly recommend using coarse salt in this dough.
- Bread flour: Bread flour, with its higher protein content, gives the focaccia enough structure to hold the filling. It also helps provide focaccia’s characteristic chewy texture.
- Olive oil: A key ingredient in focaccia. It adds flavor and helps create those crisp, golden edges.
- Maple syrup: Use pure maple syrup; either Grade A or Grade B works.
- Brown sugar: Brown sugar adds extra sweetness and flavor to the filling.
- Cinnamon: Just enough to make the filling taste warm and cozy without overpowering the maple.
- Pecans: Toast them first if you have the time (it takes less than 10 minutes). Toasting brings out their flavor and keeps them crunchy inside the soft filling.
Today’s dough is very similar to this artisan bread dough (one of my go-to recipes). To turn it into a sweet focaccia, we add a bit of sugar and olive oil.
Day 1: Start the Focaccia Dough
Combine the warm water, yeast, and sugar in a large bowl, cover, and let it sit for about 10 minutes. Then, add the flour, olive oil, and salt, and stir until everything comes together into a sticky dough with no dry spots. And yes, the dough is supposed to be this sticky! (Something I embraced at a Bread 101 cooking class I took last month.)
Cover the bowl and let the dough rest for at least 15 minutes.
No Kneading, Just Stretch & Fold
Focaccia is made from a high-hydration (aka very wet) dough, which helps create the open, airy crumb we love. Because this dough is so sticky, you’ll use a gentle stretch-and-fold method instead of kneading it.
- Here’s how to stretch and fold dough: Lightly oil your hand or a silicone spatula. Lift one side of the dough, stretch it up, and fold it over the center. Turn the bowl and repeat until you’ve gone around the bowl twice, for a total of 8 folds.
Cover the bowl and refrigerate the dough for at least 12 hours (or up to 48). A long rest develops more flavor.
Now let’s fast forward to tomorrow… Everyone nice and rested? Good!
Day 2: Fill the Maple Pecan Focaccia
Generously grease a 9×13-inch baking pan with olive oil and pour the dough into the pan. With oiled fingers, gently stretch it toward the sides. Look how bubbly this dough is:
As you’re stretching it to fit the pan, don’t worry if it doesn’t reach the corners yet. Cover the pan and let the dough rest for at least 15 minutes while you make the filling. (The dough will be much more flexible after this brief rest.)
Melt the butter and whisk it with the maple syrup. Mix together the brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt, and chop the pecans. Gently stretch the dough again; it should reach the corners more easily now.
Drizzle some of the maple-butter mixture over the dough. Sprinkle with about half of the cinnamon sugar, followed by all of the pecans:
Fold both ends of the dough toward the middle to enclose the filling. Turn the dough 90 degrees in the pan and gently press it toward the sides.
Cover and let it rest for at least 1 hour.
The Fun Part: Dimple the Dough
Warm the remaining maple-butter mixture until it’s pourable, then drizzle it over the dough and sprinkle with the remaining cinnamon sugar.
Use your fingertips to gently press dimples all over the surface. If you’ve ever made focaccia before, you know this is the best part! Be a little gentler than you would be with plain focaccia since there’s filling underneath.
Bake until the top is deeply golden. Let it cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing, otherwise the filling will be very hot.
For a salted maple finish, drizzle the focaccia with maple icing and sprinkle with flaky sea salt. This is one of my very favorite icings. It’s from these maple brown sugar cookies, and I love finding new ways to enjoy it! I love it on these maple oat pecan scones, too!
Can I Make This Focaccia Overnight?
Yes. This is one of my favorite ways to make focaccia. A long rest time and slow rise in the refrigerator develops the best flavor.
After mixing the dough and doing the stretch-and-fold, cover the bowl tightly and place it in the refrigerator for 12–48 hours.
Salted Maple Pecan Focaccia
Ingredients
Method
- Make the dough: In a large bowl, whisk together the warm water, yeast, and sugar. Cover the bowl and let sit for 10 minutes to dissolve the yeast. Add the flour, 1 Tablespoon of olive oil, and salt. Gently mix with a silicone spatula until combined. The dough should be sticky and wet. Cover the bowl and let the dough rest for at least 15 minutes and up to 1 hour at room temperature.
- focaccia dough in a glass bowl with a spatula.
- Stretch and fold: Visualize a clock on top of your dough. You’ll be folding it at the 12 o’clock mark. With an olive oil-greased spatula or lightly oiled hand, lift up the dough at 12 o’clock and gently stretch it up and pull it toward the opposite side of the bowl (6 o’clock), folding it down over the dough. Turn the bowl 90 degrees and repeat. Do this until you’ve gone around the bowl twice, for a total of 8 folds. Cover the bowl and place it in the refrigerator for at least 12 hours or up to 48 hours.
- spatula folding focaccia dough in bowl.
- Prepare the pan: Brush 1 Tablespoon of olive oil all over the bottom and up the sides of a 9×13-inch baking pan. Transfer the dough into the prepared pan. With lightly oiled fingers, gently press the dough toward the corners of the pan. It won’t stretch all the way to the corners yet; that’s expected. Lightly cover the pan and let the dough rest for at least 15 minutes and up to 1 hour at room temperature.
- bubbly focaccia dough in a bowl and hands stretching it into an oiled baking pan.
- Make the filling: Melt the butter with the maple syrup, and whisk to combine. Set aside to slightly cool. In a small bowl, mix together the brown sugar, cinnamon, and a pinch of salt.
- Fill the focaccia: With lightly oiled fingers, gently press the dough toward the corners of the pan. It should stretch out a little easier now. Drizzle about half of the maple-butter mixture over the top of the dough, leaving a 1-inch border around the edges. Sprinkle about 2/3 of the cinnamon-sugar mixture evenly over the top, followed by all of the pecans. Reserve the remaining maple-butter and cinnamon-sugar for topping in step 8.
- hand drizzling maple butter filling over focaccia dough and sprinkling on pecans and brown sugar.
- Finish shaping: Fold one short end of the dough toward the center, then fold the opposite end over it, like folding a letter. Turn the filled dough 90 degrees in the pan and gently press it toward the corners of the pan. Don’t worry if it doesn’t fill the pan yet.
- hands folding focaccia dough over maple pecan filling.
- Final Rise: Cover and allow to rise at room temperature until noticeably puffy and bubbly, about 1 hour or longer if needed. During the last 15 minutes, preheat the oven to 425°F (218°C).
- Top and dimple: Reheat the maple-butter mixture so it’s liquid and pourable, and drizzle over top of the focaccia. Sprinkle the remaining cinnamon-sugar over top. Press your fingertips into the surface to create dimples all over, gently stretching the dough to fill the pan as you go.
- hands dimpling focaccia dough in a baking pan.
- Bake for 18–22 minutes until deeply golden brown and baked through. For a more accurate test of doneness, insert an instant-read thermometer into the center; the focaccia is done when the internal temperature reaches 200–210°F (93–99°C). Cool the focaccia in the pan for at least 30 minutes to allow the filling to set before slicing and serving.
- salted maple pecan focaccia in baking pan.
- Make the icing: In a small saucepan over low heat, melt the butter with the maple syrup, whisking occasionally. Once the butter has melted, remove from heat and whisk in the sifted confectioners’ sugar and salt. Taste. Drizzle over the focaccia, then sprinkle flaky sea salt over the top. Slice and serve.
- closeup of salted maple pecan focaccia slices.
- Store leftover maple pecan focaccia covered tightly at room temperature for up to 1 day or in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat leftover focaccia in a 300°F (149°C) oven for 5–10 minutes.
Notes
- Make-Ahead Instructions: This is a wonderful make-ahead recipe because the dough must rest in the refrigerator for at least 12 hours and up to 48 hours in step 2.
- Freezing the Dough: After the stretch-and-fold (step 2), and before the long rest in the refrigerator, transfer the dough to a lightly oiled airtight container and freeze for up to 1 month. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then continue with step 3. The dough will need extra time to relax and stretch in the pan, and the final rise (step 7) will likely take longer than 1 hour. We have found that focaccia made with previously frozen dough has a denser texture. (It’s best to freeze after baking, see next Note.)
- Freezing After Baking: It’s best to freeze the focaccia before icing it. Cool it completely, and then slice into portions. Wrap each piece tightly, and place them in a freezer-friendly bag or airtight container for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature, then warm in a 300°F (149°C) oven for about 10 minutes, or until heated through. Top each with icing and flaky salt.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Glass Mixing Bowls | Silicone Spatula | Pastry Brush | 9×13-inch Baking Pan (such as this one or this one) | Instant-Read Thermometer | Cooling Rack | Flaky Sea Salt
- How to Toast Nuts: If you are starting with raw pecans, I recommend toasting them to enhance their flavor. Spread the nuts on a lined baking sheet and bake in a 300°F (149°C) oven for 6–8 minutes or until fragrant. Give the pan a shake halfway through for even browning. Cool completely before using.
