Gluten-Free Cinnamon Roll Focaccia
If you love cinnamon rolls and focaccia, this gluten-free cinnamon roll focaccia brings the two together in one incredibly delicious sweet bread.
I created this recipe as part of my Cinnamon Roll-Inspired Recipe Series, using my regular gluten-free focaccia dough as the base. The dough stays almost exactly the same, but instead of olive oil, herbs, and savory toppings, this version gets pockets of buttery cinnamon-sugar filling throughout and a cinnamon roll-style icing after baking.
The result is soft, fluffy gluten-free focaccia with caramelized cinnamon sugar tucked into all those signature focaccia dimples.
Serve it warm for breakfast or brunch, or slice it up and enjoy it just like a cinnamon roll.
Turning Focaccia Into Cinnamon Roll Focaccia
You don’t need to completely reinvent focaccia dough to make a sweet version.
I use my regular gluten-free focaccia recipe for the base. You can increase the sugar in the dough slightly if you prefer a sweeter bread, but I usually don’t find it necessary. The cinnamon-sugar filling and icing add plenty of sweetness.
The biggest difference is how the cinnamon filling is added.
After transferring the focaccia dough to the pan, dimple the dough and create fairly deep pockets throughout—almost down to the bottom of the pan.
Fill those pockets generously with the cinnamon-sugar filling.
Then let the focaccia proof.
As the dough rises, it expands around the cinnamon filling, creating pockets and ribbons of buttery cinnamon sugar throughout the bread. Some of the filling will naturally spread across the top as well, giving you even more cinnamon flavor.
From there, proof and bake the focaccia according to the original recipe.
Once it comes out of the oven and has cooled slightly, finish it with cinnamon roll icing.
Does Focaccia Dough Need More Sugar for a Sweet Focaccia?
You can add a little additional sugar to the focaccia dough if you want a noticeably sweeter bread base, but it isn’t necessary.
Traditional focaccia dough provides a great neutral base for the cinnamon filling. Once you add the buttery cinnamon sugar and vanilla icing, the finished bread has plenty of sweetness.
I actually like having that contrast between the lightly sweet bread and the richer cinnamon filling.
Tips for the Best Gluten-Free Cinnamon Roll Focaccia
Use the same focaccia dough consistency and proofing cues you normally would with my original recipe.
When you dimple the dough, make the holes fairly deep so the cinnamon filling gets down inside the focaccia instead of sitting only on top.
Be generous with the filling, but don’t worry if some spreads across the surface while the dough proofs and bakes.
Allow the focaccia to proof until properly risen before baking rather than relying only on a specific amount of time. Proofing time can change depending on the temperature of your kitchen.
Let the focaccia cool slightly before icing so the icing softens over the bread without completely disappearing.
Want More Gluten-Free Focaccia Recipes?
If you love focaccia and want to take it much further, I have a full-length Gluten-Free Focaccia & Ciabatta Class with even more techniques and recipes.
The class covers decorated focaccia as well as filled focaccias, with both sweet and savory variations, along with amazing gluten-free ciabatta.
It’s a great next step if you want to understand how to work confidently with gluten-free focaccia dough and turn one basic dough into lots of different breads.
Cinnamon Roll Focaccia
Ingredients
- 600 grams 1:1 gluten-free flour blend See note if using Caputo flour
- 14 grams instant yeast
- 30 grams psyllium husk (or 12 g konjac) See note if using Caputo or Zero
- 18 grams salt
- 650 grams water See note if using Caputo flour.
- 45 grams honey
- 70 grams olive oil can cut back to 50g and up water by 50g for slightly lighter result
- 20 grams apple cider vinegar
Cinnamon Sugar Filling
- 150 grams light brown sugar or maple sugar
- 2 tbsp cinnamon
- 2 tbsp soft butter can sub plant based
- Kosher or coarse sea salt for sprinkling if you like sweet and salty
Icing
- 150 g powdered sugar
- 60 g heavy cream can sub plant based
- 1 tsp vanilla
Instructions
- Mix the cinnamon sugar filling ingredients together in a small bowl until it resembles wet sand and set aside.
- Whisk your 1:1 flour in the bowl of your stand mixer (can be mixed by hand if desired).
- Add the yeast, psyllium husk (or konjac) and salt; mix well to combine.
- Add the water, honey, olive oil and apple cider vinegar to the dry ingredients.
- Mix with the paddle attachment. Begin on low speed to combine, then increase to medium-high speed for five minutes until dough is cohesive. It should be sticky and a slightly soft dough.
- Generously brush a metal 9x13-inch baking pan (use a slightly smaller pan if you want a thicker bread) with butter or oil. If your pan is older and/or not nonstick, you may also want to line the bottom with parchment paper to avoid sticking.
- Deposit dough onto the prepared pan. Put some oil on your hands, and press the dough out evenly to fill the pan. make deep dimples all over the bread about the size of a dime and fill with the cinnamon sugar mixture.
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
- Cover the pan loosely with plastic wrap, and set aside to proof until it has increased by at least 50 percent in size but not quite double.
- Bake on a rack in the lower third of the oven, for 25-30 minutes or until golden browned on top. Cool in the pan for a few minutes, then remove from the pan to a rack to finish cooling.
- Mix together the icing ingredients and drizzle or pour it over your bread. You can also slice the bread into strips and serve the icing on the side to dip in.
- Like all gluten-free breads it is best to let it fully cook before slicing to avoid it becoming gummy. If you want to eat it warm, it's best to let it fully cool and then rewarm it.
