Raspberry-Almond Focaccia

Preparation

This pastry mash-up brings together the taste and textures of a nutty almond croissant, fruity jelly donut and pillowy focaccia. The outside of the dough is brushed generously with melted butter instead of traditional olive oil to make it extra decadent and the HexClad 9” x 13” Baking Pan ensures that the bread bakes up with a perfectly golden and crispy crust. We use raspberry jam here but any sweet fruit jam can work so change it up to use whatever you like best.

*This recipe originally ran stateside on HexClad.com.

1. Make focaccia. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine water, almond milk, brown sugar and yeast. Whisk to combine and set aside until bubbly, about 5 minutes.

2. Add 2 tablespoons oil, stir to incorporate, then add flour and salt. Stir until a rough dough forms, then cover with a clean towel and let rest for 10 minutes.

3. Beat on medium until dough is smooth but sticky and pulls away from sides of bowl, 5 to 7 minutes. 

4. Brush a large bowl with oil, then grease a flexible spatula to scrape dough into pot. Brush dough with remaining 1 tablespoon oil. Cover with plastic wrap, then set aside in a warm area until nearly doubled in size, 1½ to 2 hours. Transfer proofed dough to refrigerator to cold-ferment for at least 48 and up to 72 hours. 

5. Make almond cream. When you are ready to make focaccia, in a HexClad 10"/25 cm Hybrid Fry Pan over medium, toast almond flour, stirring constantly, until a couple shades darker and resembles breadcrumbs, 5 to 7 minutes. Add flour and stir to combine; set aside to cool slightly, about 20 minutes.

6. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine butter, brown sugar and salt, then beat on medium until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add 1 whole egg and almond extract and blend until smooth. Add egg yolk and blend again until smooth. Add flour mixture and blend until well-combined and smooth, about 30 seconds. Remove bowl and cover with a clean towel; set aside.

7. Grease a HexClad Hybrid Rectangular Cake Pan - 9” x 13” (23 cm x 33 cm) with 2 tablespoons melted butter; set aside.

8. Assemble dough. When ready to bake, lightly oil hands and transfer dough to prepared pan. Gently press dough to cover bottom of baking pan. 

9. Leaving roughly a ½-inch/1.3-cm border around edges of dough, dollop half of almond filling evenly over top in 12 even mounds (about 1 heaping tablespoon each), leaving room in between each dollop. Dollop ½ cup/155 grams of raspberry jam in 12 (2-teaspoon-sized) mounds in between dollops of almond filling.

10. Gently lift edges of dough and stretch to cover cream and jam, creating a seam down center and pinching to seal. Press dough again so it fills pan. If a little bit of filling peeks out during this process, that’s okay. Cover with oiled plastic wrap, then set aside in a warm area until nearly doubled in size, about 3½ to 4 hours.

11. Bake dough. Position rack in bottom of oven and preheat to 425°F/220°C.

12. Dollop remaining almond cream evenly over dough, then press greased fingers into dough to reach bottom of pan, about 20 times total. Dough should be evenly dimpled.

13. Brush dough with remaining 2 tablespoons melted butter, then sprinkle evenly with almonds.

14. Bake until dough is puffed and golden, 15 to 20 minutes. Rotate pan front to back, cover loosely with foil, and bake until cooked through and edges have pulled away from pan and an instant-read thermometer inserted in center of dough reads between 190–210ºF/87–99ºF, 10 to 15 minutes.

15. Cool in pan on rack for 10 minutes, then use end of wooden spoon to poke about 24 (½-inch/1.3-cm) holes halfway through focaccia. Slide bread onto rack, then cool completely.

16. Transfer remaining jam to small piping bag with ¼-inch/6mm opening. Pipe jam into holes, dividing evenly.

17. Make glaze. In a small bowl, combine confectioner’s sugar, almond milk and extract. Whisk until smooth, then drizzle over focaccia. Let sit until glaze is set, then transfer to a cutting board. Use a serrated knife to slice into 16 squares.

MAKE AHEAD TIPS

If you want to skip the long fermentation, you can proof the dough for less time which will still yield a delicious focaccia but with a touch less chew, a milder flavor and a less golden brown color. For the first proof, the dough can be made, transferred to the greased stock pot, and proofed in a warm area until doubled in size, 1½ to 2 hours. For the second proof in the baking pan (after the dough is filled with half of the almond cream and jam), let the dough rise in a warm area until nearly doubled in size, 1½ to 2 hours.

The almond-cream filling can be made, transferred to an air-tight container, and stored in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Let it come to room temperature and give it a good stir to loosen it up before using it. 

NOTES

Leftover focaccia can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 7 days. Lightly toast the focaccia to crisp it up again and to soften up the almond filling.