Apple Fritter Focaccia

This Apple Fritter Focaccia brings together warm cinnamon sugar apples and fluffy bakery-style bread, finished with a rich brown butter maple glaze. Baked instead of fried, it captures everything you love about classic apple fritters in a soft, golden focaccia — a cozy, crowd-pleasing fall bake perfect for breakfast, brunch, or dessert.

Easy Apple Fritter Bread!

If you love apple fritters but don’t love the mess of deep frying, this baked version gives you all the same cozy flavors — without standing over a pot of oil. Think soft, pillowy focaccia dough layered with buttery cinnamon sugar apples, caramelized edges, and a brown butter maple glaze that seeps into every dimple!! I also love switching up the glaze by adding hojicha, earl grey or Chinese five spice.

I developed this recipe to really capture what makes apple fritters so good — those little nooks and crannies where the apples nestle in and the glaze drips between each piece. It’s basically one big apple fritter you can tear and share, perfect for brunch or a fall gathering.

This apple fritter focaccia is inspired by my Cinnamon Roll Focaccia, and if you’re craving the deep-fried version, you can also check out my Bakery-Style Apple Fritters recipe. Either way, your kitchen’s going to smell incredible!!

Ingredients and Substitutions

Here’s what you’ll need to make this apple fritter focaccia recipe:

• Bread flour
• Butter
• Olive oil
• Apples: I like using Honeycrisp or Fuji for a balance of sweetness and structure.
• Granulated sugar + brown sugar – for that caramelized apple fritter flavor.
• Cinnamon
• Lemon juice – keeps the apples from browning and balances the sweetness.
• Powdered sugar
• Maple syrup
• Brown butter: for nutty richness that makes the glaze extra delicious!
• Vanilla extract + Chinese five spice (optional)

How to Make Apple Fritter Focaccia

This focaccia might look fancy, but it’s actually super simple to make! Here’s a quick overview before diving into the full recipe below:

1. Prep the dough: Make a batch of no-knead focaccia dough ahead of time (same day or overnight).
2. Prepare the apples: Toss diced apples with lemon juice and salt. Mix half of the sugars + cinnamon with only half the apples.
3. Layer the dough: Oil a 9×13 pan, stretch the dough to the edges, and add the cinnamon sugar apples on top.
4. Fold: Fold the dough over the apples, rotate the pan, fold again, and flip the dough so the seam is down.
5. Cut & butter: Slice the dough into grid-like pieces (doesn’t have to be perfect) and place sliced butter between the cuts. This is what will make them fritter-like or pull-apart!
6. Rise: Cover and let rise until puffy (2–2 hours).
7. Top: Mix the remaining apples with the rest of the sugars and cinnamon. Add on top right before baking.
8. Dimple: Drizzle melted butter, dimple with your fingers, and press some apples in.
9. Bake: Bake at 400-420°F (200-215°C) for 22–25 minutes, rotating halfway. Cover with foil if browning too fast.
10. Glaze: Cool for 10 minutes, then drizzle with brown-butter maple glaze while still warm.
11. Serve: Slice and enjoy warm or at room temp.

VIDEO: Watch How to Make It

How to Store and Reheat Leftovers

This apple focaccia is best served fresh but you can save the leftovers and it reheats quite nicely.

• Room Temperature: Keep leftovers covered at room temp for up to 2 days.
• Fridge: I don’t recommend keeping it in the fridge as it stales the focaccia, so if you plan to keep it longer than 2 days store in the freezer.
• Freezer: You can freeze baked focaccia (without glaze) for up to 2 months. Thaw overnight, reheat, then glaze before serving.
• Reheat: Warm thawed slices in the toaster oven or oven at 325°F (160°C) for 5–7 minutes or air fryer for 2–3 minutes to bring back the crisp edges.

Recipe FAQ

More Dessert Focaccia Recipes

• Cinnamon Roll Focaccia
• Strawberry Jam Focaccia
• Focaccia Donuts

Enjoy! If you make this Apple Fritter Focaccia recipe, I’d love to hear what you think! Leave a comment and rating below, and if you share it on social media, tag me on Instagram @Okonomikitchen. I can’t wait to see your creations!

Apple Fritter Focaccia

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• Author: Lisa Kitahara
• Total Time: 6 hours 22 minutes
• Yield: 1 9×13 inch focaccia
• Diet: Vegetarian

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Description

This Apple Fritter Focaccia brings together warm cinnamon sugar apples and fluffy bakery-style bread, finished with a rich brown butter maple glaze. Baked instead of fried, it captures everything you love about classic apple fritters in a soft, golden focaccia — a cozy, crowd-pleasing fall bake perfect for breakfast, brunch, or dessert.

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Ingredients

Units USM

For the Focaccia

• 1 batch no-knead focaccia loaf (scaled to 400 g bread flour, 760 g dough)
  • 400 g bread flour
  • 348 ml water
  • 8 g salt
  • 3.5 g instant dry yeast for overnight and 5 g instant dry yeast for same day
• 6 tbsp + 1 tbsp (100 g) unsalted butter, for dividing and dimpling
• 1 1/2 tbsp (22 ml) olive oil, for coating dough

Cinnamon Sugar Apples

• 1 tbsp (15 ml) lemon juice
• pinch of salt
• 3 tbsp (38 g) granulated sugar, divided
• 3 tbsp (45 g) brown sugar, divided
• 4 tsp cinnamon, divided
• 2 medium apples (300–330 g), peeled and diced into 1/3–1/2 inch (1–1.5 cm) chunks, divided

Brown Butter Maple Glaze

• 1 cup (120 g) powder sugar
• 1/4 cup (50 g) brown butter (from 1/2 stick (56 g) salted butter)
• 3 tbsp (60 ml) maple syrup
• 3–4 tsp (15-20) milk, as needed
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 tsp ground hojicha tea or powder, optional

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Instructions

1. Prepare the dough: Make one batch of no-knead focaccia 2 days before, the night before, or using the same-day method. Slice the butter into thin strips for layering the dough, reserving 1 tbsp for dimpling later.
2. Prepare the apples: Toss the diced apples with lemon juice and salt. Divide into two bowls. Add half the granulated sugar, brown sugar, and cinnamon to one bowl and mix.
   • Tip: Don’t mix all the sugar at once or the apples will release too much water and turn soggy.
3. Assemble: Line a 7×11 or 9×9 inch pan with parchment and drizzle with olive oil. Transfer the dough to the pan and gently stretch it toward the edges. Spoon the first bowl of cinnamon sugar apples over the dough. Fold the top edge of the dough down over the apples, then rotate the pan and fold the opposite edge over. Flip the entire dough seam-side down.
4. Cut & butter: Lightly oil a bench scraper or knife. Cut the dough straight down into 3 vertical sections, then into 6–8 horizontal rows. (It doesn’t need to be perfect.) Place the sliced butter pieces between the cuts. Cover and let rise 2–4 hours, until puffy and nearly doubled.
5. Top & bake:  Preheat the oven to 400–425°F (205–218°C)* (30 minutes before baking). Toss the remaining apples with the remaining sugars and cinnamon. Melt the reserved 1 tbsp butter. Uncover the dough. Scatter the sugared apples over the top. Drizzle with melted butter and dimple the dough, gently pressing some apples in. Bake 22-25 minutes, rotating halfway. If it darkens too quickly, loosely cover with foil.
6. Finish: Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then lift out using the parchment. Drizzle with the glaze while still warm and spread evenly. Slice, serve, and enjoy!
7. Brown Butter Maple Glaze: Prepare brown butter (see my How to Brown Butter post). Whisk together powdered sugar, brown butter, maple syrup, vanilla, and hojicha (if using). Add milk gradually until smooth and pourable — it should run off the spoon but not be watery.

Notes

• *Every oven is slightly different so adjust the temperature based on your oven. If your oven tends to run hotter, bake at 400°F (205°C). If your oven runs slightly cooler bake at 425°F (218°C).

• Prep Time: 6 hours
• Cook Time: 22 minutes
• Category: Dessert
• Method: Baking
• Cuisine: Italian-American fusion

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1 recipe
• Calories: 4290
• Sugar: 300
• Sodium: 1737 mg
• Fat: 166 g
• Saturated Fat: 90 g
• Unsaturated Fat: 70 g
• Trans Fat: 5.1 g
• Carbohydrates: 676 g
• Fiber: 23 g
• Protein: 48 g
• Cholesterol: 370 mg