My cozy gingerbread focaccia is a no-knead dough with no stand mixer or sourdough, so it's beginner-friendly. Molasses, warm spices, and orange zest are mixed directly into the dough, and a salted maple glaze is drizzled on top. Let it rise same-day for a crowd-pleasing dessert, or overnight for Christmas morning breakfast.
Gingerbread Focaccia Inspired by German Christmas Markets
I grew up eating Lebkuchen in Germany, so when I was craving a sweet gingerbread bread, the average spiced loaf wasn't going to cut it. So I created this gingerbread focaccia with a homemade spice mix that leans on the nostalgic flavors of my traditional German gingerbread, with allspice and fresh orange zest added alongside cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and ginger.
What really sets my version apart is the cinnamon roll-inspired brown sugar filling. It caramelizes into a gooey layer that makes this gingerbread focaccia sweet and moist, not just a bland bread with spices. And molasses, spices and orange peel all go into the dough from the start, so the flavors deepen as it rises and proofs.Â
I designed it to easily be made ahead of time, so it's my go-to Christmas morning breakfast bread. Just reduce the water in the dough by 2 tablespoons so it's easier to handle, and proof it tightly covered in the mixing bowl overnight in the fridge. By morning, it's ready to head straight into the oven for a sweet holiday brunch that feeds a crowd.Â
This dough is very sticky at about 88% hydration, because that's what gives you a beautiful open, airy crumb. I tested reducing the water, and it baked up denser, so trust the process on this one. It helps to wet your hands with cold water for each set of stretch-and-folds and when you add the filling. And if you're doing the same-day rise, the dough will feel very slack at first. But by the last fold it should stretch out of the bowl more easily, though it will never feel like lean bread dough, and that's on purpose!
And if you're looking for another sweet yeast bread that works as a make-ahead Christmas brunch or a holiday dessert, my chai snickerdoodle focaccia is always a hit!
My Notes on Key Ingredients
- Flour: I prefer all-purpose for a softer, more tender crumb. Bread flour bakes up chewier, which pushes this away from sweet brunch & dessert territory.
- Yeast: Active dry yeast is my preference over instant yeast, which gives the dough a longer rise time to develop more flavor. If you only have instant, use the same amount and mix it right into the flour, and note that it may rise a little faster.
- Molasses: Use unsulphured dark molasses (I like Grandma's and Brer Rabbit). Blackstrap is too bitter, and light molasses never developed the same deep gingerbread flavor in testing.
- Orange zest: Zest only the orange part and avoid the white pith underneath, which tastes bitter.
- Ginger: Ground ginger gave a more balanced flavor than freshly minced in recipe testing. Just make sure your spice is fresh, since old or stale spices taste flat once baked.
- Glaze: While a lot of gingerbread bread recipes go for cream cheese icing, I found that it competed too much with the spices and they got lost under the tang. Instead a simple 2-minute maple glaze is drizzled on top in a light layer, which adds sweetness and a crackly top without taking over.
Let's Bake Gingerbread Focaccia!
For the full step-by-step directions, scroll down to the recipe card.
My Baking Tips for Gingerbread Focaccia Bread
- Don't rush the second rise. The dough should puff up to the top of your baking dish and jiggle when you gently shake it. And gently is the key here, since too much movement will knock out all the air.
- Drizzle on the salted maple glaze while the bread is warm, not hot or cold. Straight from the oven, mine melted right into the bread. And fully cooled, it sat on top and the leftovers weren't as moist.
- Leave a 1-inch gap along the edges when you spread the filling. This allows the dough to seal to itself, so the sugar stays put instead of leaking out and burning on the bottom of the pan.
Gingerbread Focaccia with Salted Maple Glaze
developed & tested by:
Equipment
Ingredients
Gingerbread Focaccia
- 2¼ teaspoons active dry yeast (one packet)
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 1¾ cups warm water (between 105-115°F or 40-46°C)
- 2 tablespoons unsulphured dark molasses
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 4 cups all purpose flour
- 1½ teaspoons salt (use fine sea salt or table salt)
- 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves
- ½ teaspoon ground allspice
- zest from one medium orange (about 1 tablespoon)
- 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted (for greasing the baking dish; can use olive oil instead)
Cinnamon Swirl
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
Maple Glaze
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 pinch salt
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1-2 tablespoons milk
Instructions
Mix and Rise the Dough
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk the yeast, brown sugar, and warm water. Set aside for 10 minutes, until it's foamy on top. (If it's not foamy, your yeast might be too old.)
- Add the molasses and olive oil and whisk it into the foamy yeast mixture until the molasses is dissolved.
- Add the flour, salt, baking spices, and orange zest, and mix for a minute with a large wooden spoon or silicone spatula until it forms a soft, wet dough.
- Cover the mixing bowl with plastic wrap or a dinner plate (to retain warm and moisture) for 30 minutes.
- Stretch and Fold 1: Use your hand to scoop a handful of dough from underneath, up one side, up out of the bowl as far as you can stretch it without tearing, then fold it over itself on top. Rotate the bowl 90 degrees and repeat another stretching of the dough up and folding over itself. Repeat rotating the bowl and stretching & folding the dough twice more, until you've completed four stretch-and-folds.
- Cover the mixing bowl with plastic wrap or a dinner plate for 30 minutes.
- Stretch and Fold 2: Repeat the process for four stretch-and-folds. Cover the mixing bowl with plastic wrap or a dinner plate for 30 minutes.
- Stretch and Fold 3: Repeat the process for four stretch-and-folds. Cover the mixing bowl with plastic wrap or a dinner plate for 30 minutes.
- Stretch and Fold 4: Repeat the process for four stretch-and-folds. Cover the mixing bowl with plastic wrap or a dinner plate for 30 minutes, until it doubles in size and looks bubbly on top.
Mix the Swirl Filling
- In a small bowl, mix the brown sugar and cinnamon together. Set aside.
Shape, Fill, and Proof the Dough
- Grease a 9x13 inch baking dish with four tablespoons of melted butter (or olive oil).
- Spread the dough to all the edges of the baking dish, then sprinkle the cinnamon and brown sugar evenly on top, leaving a 1-inch gap around the edges.
- From a short end, fold one-third of the dough over the middle, then fold one-third of the dough from the other short end over the middle, like a letter. Gently press the edges, to seal in the sugar.
- Slide the dough in the pan to rotate it 90 degrees, so the long edges of the dough line up with the long edges of the baking dish. Press it out again.
- Cover the baking dish with plastic wrap and let it rise at room temperature for about 1½ hours, or until it's puffed up and jiggles on top when you gently shake the baking dish.
Bake and Decorate the Focaccia
- Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C).
- Lightly coat your fingers in olive oil or melted butter (don't skip this, or else the dough will stick all over your fingers.) Use your fingers to press dimples into the dough. Press all the way to the bottom of the baking dish, and keep the dimples spread apart by 1-inch.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the focaccia is puffed up and golden brown.
- While the focaccia bakes, mix the glaze by combining the powdered sugar, salt, maple syrup, and one tablespoon of the milk until it's smooth. If it's too thick to drizzle, stir in another teaspoon of milk at a time.
- Cool the bread for at least 10 minutes then drizzle the glaze on top while it's still warm. Continue to let the bread cool for another 20 minutes, then slice and enjoy!
Notes
- Glaze: Drizzle the glaze after the focaccia has cooled for 10-15 minutes. You want it warm but not piping hot, so that glaze doesn't dissolve into the dough completely, but can still soak in a bit.Â
- Overnight Rise: Cover the mixing bowl with plastic wrap and let it begin to rise at room temperature for 1-2 hours to jumpstart fermentation. Move the covered mixing bowl to the fridge and let it continue to rise overnight for 8-12 hours, until it's doubled in size. Skip the stretch and folds, and continue with pressing the dough into the baking dish in the morning. Add about 2 hours to the proof time as needed.
- Storing: Store fully cooled glazed focaccia in an airtight container at room temp for a few days. The flavors actually deepen on day two!
- Reheating: Leftovers taste nearly as good as fresh when warmed for 20 seconds in the microwave, or 5 minutes at 300°F in the oven. Eat them right away though, because it gets chewier once cooled.
Nutrition
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