Herbed Cheddar and Apple Focaccia

I’ve partnered with @bothwellcheese to develop this easy and delicious Herbed Cheddar and Apple Focaccia baked with their amazing Non-GMO Sunny Dog Barkin’ Herbs & Garlic Cheddar!

For this recipe I’ve paired their aromatic cheddar made with 100% Canadian milk, oregano, basil and garlic with sweetly-tart BC Honeycrisp apples and fresh thyme. The result is a soft and chewy loaf that highlights some of the best flavours of the season.

Here’s everything you’ll need to make this herbed cheddar and apple focaccia

• Water
• Active dry yeast
• Honey
• Bread or all-purpose flour
• Fresh thyme
• Kosher or fine sea salt
• Extra-virgin olive oil
• Sunny Dog Barkin’ Herbs & Garlic Cheddar
• 1 large Honeycrisp apple
• Flaky salt and fresh thyme leaves to garnish

Every melty, cheesy bite of this Herbed Cheddar & Apple Focaccia is beyond delicious!

If you make this recipe, please tag me on Pinterest or Instagram so I can see! 

And of course, feel free to leave any questions, comments or reviews. This is the best place to reach me, and I’d love to hear from you!

Herbed Cheddar and Apple Focaccia

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Prep Time:20 minutes mins

Cook Time:25 minutes mins

Rise time:1 hour hr

Total Time:1 hour hr 45 minutes mins

Keyword: apple, baking, bread, cheddar, focaccia

Servings: 6 to 8

Equipment

• Digital scale
• Spatula
• 4 Qt mixing bowl
• 9×13-inch rectangular baking pan
• Wire cooling rack

Ingredients

• 1½ cups water, room temperature at or near 70°F/21°C
• 2 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 3 cups bread or all-purpose flour
• ½ teaspoon finely chopped fresh thyme leaves
• 1 teaspoon kosher or fine sea salt
• ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil plus more to drizzle across the top and to coat the pan

Toppings

• 1 cup Sunny Dog Barkin’ Herbs & Garlic Cheddar, cubed
• 1 large Honeycrisp apple thinly sliced
• Flaky salt and fresh thyme leaves to garnish

US Customary – Metric

Instructions

• Gently stir yeast and honey into the water and let sit for 10-15 minutes. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, thyme and salt. Let sit for 10 minutes.
• Add yeast mixture to the bowl together with the olive oil and mix. You want the dough to be sticky, so don’t add too much flour.
• Transfer dough to a well-oiled 9×13-inch baking pan. With oiled hands, gently stretch the dough across the surface of the pan so it is evenly distributed. Drizzle olive oil across the top of your dough. Add toppings, cover and let rise somewhere warm for at least 1 hour.
• Bake at 425°F (220ºC) for 20-25 minutes until golden. Optional: to get the cheese a little crisper, place under the broiler for an additional 2-3 minutes keeping a close eye. Let cool for a few minutes, then loosen from the pan and transfer to a wire cooling rack. Finish with flaky salt and fresh thyme leaves prior to serving.

Notes

Honey: If you don’t have honey, feel free to substitute sugar or your sweetener of choice.

Rise temperature: An ambient rise temperature somewhere between ~70º-75º/20º-23ºC is ideal but even high 60’s/18º-19ºC should work if the dough is kept away from drafts.

To reheat: Leftover focaccia can be reheated on a baking sheet at 350º for 5 minutes to regain its crispy texture.