Cherry-Almond Focaccia is a soft and fluffy focaccia topped with sweet cherries and a delicate crunch from almond slices. Make this sweet focaccia for dessert or a special breakfast.
I know it’s been a while since I’ve posted here. I have been dreaming of cakes and cookies to share with all of you! My children are noticing the lack of sweets around here these days!
My daughter mentioned she’s pretty bored with my different versions of banana breads, apple cakes and crostatas. I even haven’t impressed them much with my chocolate chip cookies! What’s a baker to do!!
I did know I had something to look forward to with our new #TwelveLoaves bread baking challenge. A new challenge meant something different had to be created to share with all of you!
I knew exactly what I was going to bake! There weren’t any doubts or slight hesitation…it HAD to be this recipe I’ve been wanting to bake since I found it in my Bon Appetit issue 2 years ago (yes, TWO YEARS!!!). Do any of you look at old magazine issues and remind yourself, “Hey, I never baked this recipe. It looks amazing!”
What in the world took me this long?!?
Trust me, it won’t be another year until I bake this sweet bread again!
Cherry Almond Focaccia Baking Tips:
Pressing the cherries into the dough: An important tip is to gently press the cherries into the dough. You don’t want to push them in too deeply or you won’t be able to really see the cherries. As the bread was baking, it rose nicely and the cherries found their spots.
Reserve some of the cherry syrup: I didn’t add all the cherry syrup on the bread before baking. I did reserve some for the end after I removed it from the oven. You can add as much or as little cherry juice on according to how sweet you like your bread.
The focaccia was fluffy and soft with sweet cherry bites. A lovely slight crunch from the almonds…I really couldn’t be any happier with this recipe!!
My daughter knows I share our baked goods with our neighbors. Let’s face it, I sometimes bake a lot here and there is plenty to share with everyone! This bread was not lasting that long. There weren’t that many pieces to give out.
I barely finished photographing it and slices were being tugged away from my little photography area left and right! Cherry juice was drizzling everywhere and my daughter warned me she would tackle me if I even dared attempted to share a slice with anyone. This recipe was a keeper!
Cherry-Almond Focaccia
Ingredients
- FOCACCIA
- 1 1/3 cups warm tap water about 110 degrees
- 2 1/2 teaspoons 1 envelope active dry yeast
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 3 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 3 teaspoons sea salt
- TOPPING
- 2 cups drained pitted tart cherries in light syrup such as Morello plus 1 cup syrup (from a 24–28-ounce jar)
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup sliced almonds with or without skins
- 1/3 cup raw sugar I used turbinado sugar
- quantities of cherries almonds, and sugar to taste
Instructions
- DOUGH
- In a small bowl, add the water and sprinkle the yeast on top of the water.
- Add 3 tablespoons of the oil and whisk together. Set aside.
- In large mixing bowl, add the flour and 3 teaspoons of salt; whisk together or mix together on low speed in your mixer.
- Add the yeast mixture and about half of the flour mixture.
- Stir with a rubber spatula until it is combined. Attach the dough hook to your mixer and add the remaining flour. Mix on low speed for about three minutes. If the dough seems to be too dry, add warm water a teaspoon at a time until you obtain a softer dough.
- Form the dough into a ball and place into an oiled bowl (when I put the dough in the bowl I swish the dough around the bottom of the bowl and then flip it over so all of the dough is covered in a light film of oil).
- Cover with plastic wrap and let it rise at room temperature until doubled in size (about 1-1 1/2 hours).
- Punch down dough. Coat a large rimmed baking sheet (about 16x12 inches) with 1 Tbsp. oil. Press dough evenly into pan, leaving a 1 1/2-inch border.
- Loosely cover with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel; let rise in a warm, draft-free area until puffed but not doubled in size, 45–50 minutes.
- CHERRY SYRUP
- Meanwhile, bring cherry syrup and granulated sugar to a boil in a small saucepan, stirring to dissolve sugar. Reduce heat to medium; simmer, stirring occasionally, until mixture is reduced to 1/3 cup, 8–10 minutes.
- Transfer to a small bowl; let cool completely.
- Arrange a rack in middle of oven and preheat to 400°. Using your fingertips, press dimples all over dough surface. Drizzle dough with remaining 2 Tbsp. oil. Scatter cherries over, pressing them gently into dough.
- Drizzle reduced syrup over, allowing it to pool into nooks and crannies.
- Sprinkle almonds over, then raw sugar. Let rise until dough is doubled in size, 15–20 minutes.
- Bake until focaccia is golden brown, 20–23 minutes. Let cool in pan on a wire rack for at least 15 minutes.
- Serve warm or at room temperature.
Looking for a bread with cherries inspiration? Check out these recipes by our very talented Twelve Loaves bakers:
- Buns with Cherries and Beetroot wrapped in Bacon from Luisa of Rise of the Sourdough Preacher
- Cherry-Almond Focaccia from Lora of Savoring Italy
- Cherry Almond Sweet Rolls from Renee of Magnolia Days
- Cherry Almond Twists from Dionne of Try Anything Once Culinary
- Cherry English Muffins from Karen of Karen’s Kitchen Stories
- Cherry Chocolate Hazelnut Muffins from Alice of Hip Foodie Mom
- Cherry Cream Cheese Danish from Heather of girlichef
- Cherry Oatmeal Muffins from Kathya of Basic N Delicious
- Cherry Quick Bread from Holly of A Baker’s House
- Cherry Sweet Bread Twist from Stacy of Food Lust People Love
- Cherry Swirl Overnight Sweet Rolls from Donna of Cookistry
- Double Cherry Muffins from Liz of That Skinny Chick Can Bake
- Dried Cherry and Mahlab Scones from Felice of All That’s Left Are the Crumbs
- Gluten Free Cherry Almond Muffins with Streusel Topping from Sherron of Simply Gourmet
- Sweet Cherry Rolls with Almond Cream Cheese Glaze from Renee of Kudos Kitchen by Reneé
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