Cinnamon bun focaccia | Good Food

500g strong white bread flour
plus extra for dusting
10g fine sea salt
50g golden caster sugar
10g ground cinnamon
7g sachet fast-action dried yeast
375g whole milk
2 tsp vanilla extract
60g butter
1 egg
vegetable oil
for your hands and the tin

For the second rise, filling and to finish

For the icing

25g softened butter
75g soft cheese
at room temperature
100g icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

Method

step 1
Mix the flour, salt, sugar and cinnamon together using a fork to distribute everything evenly, then add the yeast and mix again.
step 2
Warm the milk and vanilla in a pan over a low heat until just steaming, then remove from the heat and stir in the butter until it melts. Mix in the egg. Pour the warm liquid into the flour mixture, and stir vigorously using a wooden spoon for a couple of minutes (or, do this in a stand mixer) until you have a very wet, sticky dough. Cover with a tea towel and leave to rise for about 30 mins.
step 3
After 30 mins, oil your hands and lift the dough up from one side of the bowl and fold it over the middle. Do a quarter turn, then repeat this process three more times, roughly every 30-45 mins. The dough should start to look bubbly and feel more cohesive and elastic.
step 4
Once the dough is bubbly and has increased in volume, combine the muscovado and caster sugars with the cinnamon. Mix 70g of the cinnamon sugar with 70g of the softened butter to make a paste. Oil a 20 x 30cm tin and line with baking parchment, then tip the dough into it, stretching it gently to reach the corners. Spread over the cinnamon sugar butter, then fold the dough in three from the bottom to the top. Stretch the dough out towards the edges of the tin (it's okay if it doesn't touch the edges at this stage), then leave to rise at room temperature for 45 mins-1 hr, or until the dough fills the tin and is jiggly and well risen. If you don't want to bake straightaway, the dough can instead be covered with oiled wrap and chilled until the next morning.
step 5
Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Melt the remaining butter, then brush this over the dough. Scatter over the rest of the cinnamon sugar, then push your fingertips into the dough all over to create dimples. Bake for 30-35 mins, or until deep golden brown, crispy and caramelised. Cool in the tin for 5 mins, then transfer to a wire rack to cool for 10 mins more.
step 6
Meanwhile, make the icing. Beat the softened butter to loosen, then beat in the soft cheese, vanilla and icing sugar to create a runny icing. Drizzle the icing over the warm focaccia, then serve. If you have any leftover, use up in my cinnamon bun focaccia pudding.