This sourdough cinnamon roll focaccia combines a bubbly, tender crumb with buttery cinnamon swirls, caramelized edges, and a silky cream cheese glaze!

Imagine pulling apart a warm piece of focaccia with crisp, buttery edges, a soft and bubbly center, and little pockets of cinnamon brown sugar running through every dimple!

This sourdough cinnamon roll focaccia brings together everything people love about cinnamon rolls and freshly baked sourdough, then finishes it with a tangy cream cheese glaze that slowly slips into all those golden crevices.

What Does Sourdough Cinnamon Roll Focaccia Taste Like?

This is not simply focaccia with cinnamon sprinkled on top.

A good version needs contrast: mildly tangy dough, caramelized cinnamon sugar, a little salt, rich butter, and a glaze that tastes creamy rather than painfully sweet.

Its base has a thin golden crust and a tender, stretchy crumb filled with irregular air pockets. Butter and brown sugar settle into each dimple as it bakes, forming sticky cinnamon ribbons around the surface and crisp caramelized patches near pan edges.

Cream cheese glaze adds a fresh, tangy finish that balances all that brown sugar beautifully.

You also get everything without shaping individual rolls. If traditional cinnamon rolls occasionally test your patience and your commitment to brunch, this focaccia is far more forgiving!

Ingredients

For the Sourdough Focaccia Dough

• 350 grams warm water, about 80°F
• 100 grams active sourdough starter at 100 percent hydration
• 25 grams granulated sugar, about 2 tablespoons
• 400 grams bread flour
• 50 grams whole-wheat flour
• 10 grams fine sea salt, about 1 3/4 teaspoons
• 30 grams unsalted butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 15 grams neutral oil or melted butter, for greasing pan

For the Cinnamon Brown Sugar Topping

• 85 grams unsalted butter, very soft but not melted
• 130 grams packed dark brown sugar, about 2/3 cup
• 12 grams ground cinnamon, about 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1 tablespoon heavy cream or whole milk

For the Cream Cheese Glaze

• 85 grams full-fat block cream cheese, softened
• 30 grams unsalted butter, softened
• 100 grams powdered sugar, sifted
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Pinch of fine sea salt
• 1 to 2 tablespoons whole milk or heavy cream

Servings: 12
Total time: Approximately 8 to 12 hours, depending on room temperature

How to Make Sourdough Cinnamon Roll Focaccia

Pour warm water into a large mixing bowl, then add active sourdough starter and sugar.

Stir with a dough whisk, wooden spoon, or your hand until water becomes cloudy and most large starter clumps disappear. Add bread flour and whole-wheat flour, then mix until no dry flour remains.

Dough will look rough, sticky, and rather unpromising at this point, which is exactly right.

Scrape down bowl sides, cover it, and let dough rest for 30 minutes. Don’t skip this step, because that quiet half hour allows flour to absorb water and gluten to begin developing before you ask your arms to do any real work.

Sprinkle salt over rested dough, then add softened butter and vanilla. Pinch dough repeatedly with damp fingers, fold it over itself, and squeeze until butter is absorbed.

It may briefly become slippery and separate into alarming little pieces, but keep mixing for 3 to 5 minutes and it will come back together.

Finished dough should feel very soft and sticky, yet it should have enough elasticity to stretch rather than immediately tear.

Avoid adding flour simply because it sticks to your hands. Wet your fingers instead, since extra flour will make finished focaccia drier and less bubbly.

Cover bowl and let dough rest for 30 minutes. With a damp hand, reach underneath one side, stretch it upward without tearing, and fold it across center.

Rotate bowl a quarter turn and repeat until you have made four folds. Cover and rest for another 30 minutes, then complete a second round.

Repeat once more after another 30-minute rest, giving dough three folding rounds in total. By your final round, it should feel smoother, springier, and noticeably better at holding its shape.

If it still spreads like thick batter, add one extra folding round after another 30 minutes.

Cover bowl and leave dough to ferment at approximately 75 to 78°F until it looks puffier, has risen by about 50 to 75 percent, and shows bubbles along bowl sides.

This usually takes another 2 1/2 to 5 hours after your final fold, although sourdough follows temperature rather than your preferred lunch schedule.

Look for a rounded surface, a light wobble when bowl is moved, and a few visible bubbles.

Do not wait automatically for dough to double, especially in a warm kitchen, because overfermented dough may become weak and collapse when transferred.

Generously coat bottom and sides of a 9 x 13-inch metal baking pan with neutral oil or melted butter. Metal conducts heat more effectively than glass and gives you deeply golden edges without requiring an excessively long bake.

Carefully loosen dough from bowl with a wet dough scraper and let it fall into prepared pan without pressing out its air. Turn it once so both sides receive a light coating of oil, then gently stretch it toward corners.

If it immediately springs back, stop pulling, cover pan, and wait 20 minutes before trying again.

Rested dough is cooperative dough, which is also excellent general life advice.

Cover pan and allow dough to proof at 75 to 78°F for 2 to 4 hours. It is ready when it has spread to fill pan, looks inflated, and jiggles softly when pan is nudged. You should see several bubbles near its surface.

Press one lightly with an oiled fingertip; an indentation that slowly returns partway indicates dough is ready. If it springs back at once, give it more time.

If it sinks and remains deflated, it has gone a little too far, so dimple and bake it promptly.
During final 30 to 40 minutes of proofing, place an oven rack in center and heat oven to 400°F.

Give oven plenty of time to preheat fully, since focaccia needs immediate heat to expand before its crust sets.

Stir softened butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, vanilla, salt, and cream in a small bowl. You are looking for a soft, spreadable paste that holds its shape, not a runny sauce.

If butter accidentally melts, refrigerate mixture for 10 minutes so it thickens before using.

Spoon roughly two-thirds of cinnamon mixture across proofed dough in small dollops. Coat your fingers with a little neutral oil, then press straight down into dough, reaching almost to pan bottom.

Work across its entire surface, making closely spaced dimples while gently pushing some cinnamon paste into them. Use a light hand between dimples so you preserve as much trapped gas as possible.

Scatter remaining cinnamon mixture over surface, concentrating a little extra near edges where it will caramelize into sticky, buttery corners!

Bake on center rack for 28 to 34 minutes. Rotate pan after approximately 20 minutes if your oven browns unevenly.

Focaccia is ready when edges are deep golden brown, center feels set rather than wet, and cinnamon topping bubbles across its surface.

An instant-read thermometer inserted into a doughy section should register about 200 to 205°F.

Avoid inserting it directly into melted cinnamon sugar, which can produce a misleading reading. If top is browning too quickly before center is done, loosely cover it with foil for remaining baking time.

Place pan on a cooling rack and wait 10 minutes, then carefully loosen edges with a thin spatula.

Leave focaccia in pan for another 10 to 15 minutes so caramelized sugar can settle without hardening completely.

Transfer it to a rack or cutting board while still warm. If you let it cool entirely inside pan, sugary edges can behave like edible cement, delicious edible cement, but cement nonetheless.

Beat softened cream cheese and butter together until completely smooth. Add powdered sugar, vanilla, salt, and 1 tablespoon milk, then whisk until glaze falls from spoon in a thick ribbon.

Add additional milk one teaspoon at a time if needed. Drizzle glaze over focaccia once it is warm rather than piping hot.

On very hot bread, glaze will melt into a nearly invisible puddle; on fully cold bread, it will sit heavily on top. Warm bread gives you those creamy ribbons that soften slightly while remaining visible.

Let glazed focaccia rest for 10 minutes, then slice it into 12 pieces with a sharp knife. For especially clean cuts, wipe blade between slices, although sticky fingers and imperfect swirls are part of its charm.

Serve while center is tender, edges are lightly crisp, and cinnamon aroma is still making everyone wander suspiciously close to your kitchen.

Serving Suggestions

Serve sourdough cinnamon roll focaccia slightly warm for breakfast, brunch, dessert, or an afternoon treat. It pairs especially well with:

• Freshly brewed coffee or cold brew
• Hot black tea or chai
• Fresh strawberries, blueberries, or sliced apples
• Scrambled eggs for a sweet-and-savory brunch
• Crisp bacon or breakfast sausage
• Plain Greek yogurt and fresh fruit
• A scoop of vanilla ice cream when serving it as dessert

For a brunch table, cut focaccia into 12 squares and arrange them on a large platter with berries tucked around edges.

If serving as dessert, warm each piece for a few seconds and add extra cream cheese glaze just before bringing it to table.

This sourdough cinnamon roll focaccia earns its place somewhere between breakfast centerpiece and pull-apart dessert, with crisp caramelized edges, a soft fermented crumb, buttery cinnamon pockets, and cream cheese glaze finding its way into every dimple!

Hungry for more feel-good meals? Explore these 21 Anti-Inflammatory Breakfast Recipes for a nourishing start and 10 Anti-Inflammatory Dinner Recipes for delicious evenings that make healthy eating easy!