This no-knead pumpkin cinnamon roll focaccia is made with yeast dough that has a whole cup of canned pumpkin puree + pumpkin pie spice mixed in. A simple cinnamon sugar filling and honey butter glaze on top keep it moist for days, and turn it into a crowd-pleasing Fall brunch.
Featured Review
"Thank you for sharing this recipe - it was absolutely delish!! I love this so much and these were all ingredients I already had. Thanks!" -Cari
Pumpkin Cinnamon Roll Focaccia is My Favorite Fall Breakfast
Pumpkin cinnamon roll pancakes have been all over my feed lately, and I just knew those flavors belonged in my current baking obsession: focaccia. While the viral pancakes get topped with whipped honey butter, I topped my sweet focaccia with a buttery honey cinnamon glaze instead. It soaks into every dimple, keeping it moist for days, and the whole thing makes my home smell way better than any Fall-scented candle.
Each bite tastes like the best parts of soft, fluffy pumpkin bread combined with a gooey cinnamon roll filling. A whole cup of pumpkin puree keeps the crumb extra tender, and pumpkin pie spice really brings out the pumpkin flavor that would otherwise fall flat.
To get a good rise, you'll do four gentle stretch-and-folds, spaced 30 minutes apart, which builds just enough gluten without overworking the dough. Don't rush those rests, which could result in a tight crumb structure. And because there's no kneading, there's no extra flour worked in either, which is exactly what keeps this bread from baking up dense and heavy. The real secret to bubbly focaccia though, is giving it a full 2 hours to proof just before dimpling & baking it. And while it looks counterintuitive, dimpling the dough purposefully deflates uneven gas bubbles, so the rise that happens during baking comes out even instead of lopsided.
I look forward to eating this pumpkin focaccia at breakfast and then snacking on pieces throughout the day, until it somehow disappears before I ever decided to eat the whole pan. If you love these cozy flavors as much as I do, my pumpkin cinnamon rolls should be next on your list. And if you're baking for a crowd, my almond croissant focaccia is another sweet focaccia that disappears fast at holiday brunch.
Let's Bake Sweet Focaccia with Pumpkin!
For the full step-by-step directions, scroll down to the recipe card.
How to Make Focaccia Overnight
Let the dough do its bulk fermentation (the first rise) overnight in the fridge and skip the stretch-and-folds altogether. Doing its proof (the second rise in the baking pan) overnight can result in it being over-proofed, which means it won't be as light and airy.
My Baking Tips for a Crispy Crust & Airy Focaccia Crumb
- Don't skip the 10 minute activation step at the beginning. Using active dry yeast and letting it proof is my little insurance policy to confirm the yeast is active. If it doesn't become frothy, your yeast might be expired.
- Pumpkin dyes this dough a gorgeous natural orange, so look for deep golden brown on top instead of a light golden one, so it's not underbaked & gummy.
- Canned pumpkin puree only, please. Pumpkin pie filling is pre-sweetened and will push the flavor overboard, while fresh pumpkin adds too much moisture & makes the dough hard to handle.
- I don't recommend lining your baking dish with parchment paper. Cleanup might be easier, but focaccia needs direct heat against the dish to develop its signature crisp crust.
- This dough has a high hydration to get all those gorgeous air pockets, which means it will feel sticky when you do the stretch-and-folds. Wet your hands with cold water before each fold so the dough sticks to itself, not you.
Pumpkin Cinnamon Roll Focaccia
developed & tested by:
Equipment
Ingredients
Focaccia Dough
- 2¼ teaspoons active dry yeast (one packet)
- 2 Tablespoons brown sugar
- 1¼ cups warm water (between 105-115°F or 40-46°C)
- 1 cup canned pumpkin puree
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 4 cups all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
- 1½ teaspoons salt (use fine sea salt or table salt)
- 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted (for greasing the baking dish)
Cinnamon Swirl
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
Honey Cinnamon Glaze
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2-3 tablespoons milk
Instructions
Mix the Dough and Let it Rise
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk the yeast, sugar, and warm water. Set aside for 10 minutes, until it's foamy on top. (If it's not foamy, check your yeast packet, as it might be expired.)
- Mix the pumpkin puree, olive oil, vanilla extract into the foamy yeast mixture.
- Add the flour, pumpkin pie spice, and salt and mix for a minute with a large wooden spoon or silicone spatula until it forms a soft, sticky dough.
- Cover the mixing bowl with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel 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 kitchen towel for 30 minutes.
- Stretch and Fold 2: Repeat the process for four stretch-and-folds. Cover the mixing bowl with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel for 30 minutes.
- Stretch and Fold 3: Repeat the process for four stretch-and-folds. Cover the mixing bowl with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel for 30 minutes.
- Stretch and Fold 4: Repeat the process for four stretch-and-folds.
- Cover the mixing bowl with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel for 1 hour until it doubles in size and looks bubbly on top.
Shape, Fill, and Proof the Dough
- In a small bowl, combine the 1 cup of brown sugar and 2 teaspoons of cinnamon. Set aside.
- Spread four tablespoons of melted butter on the bottom and up the sides of a 9x13 baking dish.
- Dump the dough from your mixing bowl onto the center of the baking dish and press it down into all the edges and corners.
- Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar evenly on the dough. Pick up one of the short edges and fold the dough in half. Then pick up the dough out of the baking dish, rotate it 90 degrees, and place it back down in the dish. Gently press it out again to all the edges.
- Cover the baking dish with plastic wrap and let it rise at room temperature for about 2 hours, or until the dough has really puffed up and jiggles when you shake the baking dish.
Bake then Drizzle with Glaze
- Preheat the oven to 450°F (230°C).
- Generously coat your fingers in olive oil (don't skip this, or else the dough will stick all over your fingers.) Use your fingers to press dimples into the dough, pressing all the way to the bottom of the baking dish.
- Drizzle two tablespoons of olive oil evenly over the dough.
- Bake for 18-22 minutes, or until the focaccia is puffed up and turns a deep golden color.
- While the focaccia bakes, prepare the glaze. In a bowl mix the melted butter and honey until it's dissolved. Mix in the cinnamon and salt until it's smooth. Stir in the powdered sugar until it's really thick. Add two tablespoons of milk and mix until it's creamy. If it's still too thick to drizzle, stir in one teaspoon of milk at a time.
- Once the focaccia comes out of the oven, drizzle on the honey cinnamon glaze. Cool for a few minutes, then slice and serve.
Notes
- Pumpkin: Use canned pumpkin puree, since pumpkin pie filling will add a lot of extra sweetness, and freshly cooked pumpkin contains a lot more water.
- Pumpkin Pie Spice: You can swap in ground cinnamon in a pinch, but pumpkin spice is a blend of several spices that adds that quintessential cozy pumpkin flavor.
- Proofing: I do the final rise inside my turned-off oven with just the light on, for a warm, draft-free environment that's exactly what the dough needs to get puffy and jiggly on top before baking it.
- Storing: Allow your glazed pumpkin focaccia to cool completely then store it in an airtight container at room temperature for a few days, or in the fridge for a couple more days.
Nutrition
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Claire says
Could I divide between two 8x8 pans?
Carissa Erzen says
Hi Claire! I haven't tried that, but I think the focaccia will bake up a lot thinner. I've split the batter between two 8x4 loaf pans and that worked out well to still bake up fluffy and thick.
Rachel Meeden says
Super tasty and surprisingly easy!
Carissa Erzen says
Hey Rachel, thank you so much for your kind review! I'm so glad you enjoyed this sweet focaccia!
Jenna O says
Hi there! I’m wanting to make this for my grandmother who is diabetic. Is there anything that can be substituted for some of the sugar that won’t ruin the texture or rising of the bread?
Carissa Erzen says
Hi there! That's so sweet you're baking for your grandma! I haven't tried it with a sugar substitute, and I'm not really well-versed in sweetener swaps, so I can't say for sure. I'm sorry!
Rachel says
Thank you for sharing this recipe - it was absolutely delish!!
Carissa Erzen says
Hey Rachel, thank you so much for your kind words! I'm so glad you enjoyed it!
Haley Betteridge says
Thank you for sharing this recipe - it was absolutely delish!!
Carissa Erzen says
Hi Haley, I'm so glad you enjoyed it! This is one of my favorite bakes this time of year (:
Sophia says
HOLY SHET this is my first time making focaccia but I love baking and this might be my fave thing I’ve ever made. It’s SO GOOD I’m actually shook. The flavors are insane and the sugar caramelized where it touched the edges of the pan which added to it. 100% making this forever thank you 🧡
Carissa Erzen says
Hahaha welcome to the focaccia-lovers club!! It's definitely my favorite bread to bake because it's so forgiving and so versatile! I'm so happy you got to make this one and loved it! (:
Allison Sundman says
Can I let the final rise in the pan be in the fridge overnight?
Carissa Erzen says
Hi Allison, you can do the final rise in the pan in the fridge, but I would start checking it after 8 hours, since you want to avoid over-proofing the dough if it sits too long in the fridge. Let me know how yours goes!
addi says
Thank you for sharing this recipe - it was absolutely delish!!
Carissa Erzen says
Hi Addi, I'm so glad you enjoyed this focaccia! It's one of my favorite sweet ones. Happy baking!
Tom says
I made this yesterday and used 100g or sourdough starter and reduced the water by 1/4 cup and the flour by 1/2 cup. Turned out amazingly delicious, but I had to proof outside (Orlando in August) for the stretch and folds and in the oven at 100 degrees in the baking dish to get the rise I wanted. Next time I will just stick to the recipe. Still absolutely amazing. Thank you for sharing.
Carissa Erzen says
Hi Tom, thank you so much for sharing the quantities you used with sourdough starter swapped in! So glad it turned out great, despite the August Orlando heat (and I'm sure humidity lol)
Steph says
First time making focaccia and this is one of the very best things I’ve ever tasted! A wonderfully written recipe, I felt confident thanks to the instructions, and the reward was oh so sweet. Thank you so much!
Carissa Erzen says
Hi Steph, thank you so much for your review! I'm so glad your first focaccia attempt was a hit!
caroline cooley says
I made it today & could barely stand to wait for it to cool to try it. It’s amazing, thank you!
Carissa Erzen says
Haha waiting for it to cool is the hardest part! I'm so glad you liked it, thank you so much for your review!!
Avni says
Hi Carissa! I want to prepare this in advance of postpartum as a sweet treat to have when baby is here. Do you have any recommendations as to how to freeze it so it's prepped and ready to bake when we want it? I was thinking of freezing it after step 4 with the cinnamon sugar, but before the last rise. That way, it can rise as it thaws prior to baking? Thanks for this delicious recipe!
Carissa Erzen says
Hi Avni, first of all congrats!!! This would make an amazing sweet postpartum treat! I definitely stockpiled my freezer last summer when I had my baby, and was so grateful for some baked goodies to munch on during those newborn days. To freeze this focaccia, let it cool completely then wrap it tightly in plastic wrap, then wrap it in aluminum foil. I've found it works best if you can wait to add the glaze until after you defrost it in the fridge or at room temp, just so it doesn't get tooooo moist. I haven't tested freezing it prior to baking, so I can't say for sure how it'll turn out. Again, congrats!! So excited for you!
Zach says
Is it possible to use a starter in place of the yeast packet? Do you have an idea of how much should be used and if that means the amount of water or four should be lowered?
Carissa Erzen says
Hi Zach, I can't say for certain, since I haven't made this recipe with sourdough. My guess is you could use 100 grams of active, bubbly starter in place of active dry yeast, and reduce the water and flour both by 50 grams each. If you make it with sourdough, let me know how it turns out!
Danica Cramer says
Zach did you use sourdough starter instead of yeast? I am curious and would love to know if it turned out!
Natalie says
Beware, the recipe does not state when to put in the pumpkin puree. Don’t be like me and forget it entirely. Add it with your wet ingredients for the dough
Carissa Erzen says
Ah thank you, Natalie! I'm fixing that right now!
Cari says
Thank you for sharing this recipe - it was absolutely delish!! Between steps #1and #2 be sure to add the pumpkin puree. Also check it immediately at 18 minutes it cooks fast! I love this so much and these were all ingredients I already had. Thanks!
Carissa Erzen says
Hi Cari, thank you so much for your kind review! I just realized I forgot to add pumpkin puree in step 2, thank you so much for letting me know, I'm fixing that right now! So happy you enjoyed this loaf, it's quickly become one of my favorites!
Ally says
I am currently making this. I’m waiting for that last hour of proofing (and doubling)
Is it okay to leave it to rise overnight? Instead of just 2 hours? I’m ready for bed and would prefer to bake it in the morning.
Carissa Erzen says
Hi Ally! When I've tried doing the second rise overnight in the fridge, the dough has ended up over-proofed for me. I often do the first rise (right after mixing everything) in the fridge overnight, to spread out everything over two days. Let me know how yours turned out!