Sweet Focaccia with Blueberries and Lemon

Take the crisp edges and soft, chewy interior of focaccia and give it the dessert treatment with this recipe for Sweet Focaccia with Blueberries and Lemon! Fresh blueberries and lemon zest get folded into this easy yeast dough before baking up to a golden and crisp texture. The cooled focaccia is drizzled with a fresh lemon glaze for a summer dessert that's perfect for sharing.

Making a yeasted bread from scratch couldn't be easier when you try this focaccia recipe. There aren't any heavy duty skills needed here, just plenty of patience for the rises. The dough is about 90% hydration, meaning that there is almost as much water as flour in the recipe (by weight). This proportion gives focaccia its craveable texture and airy crumb.

Once you make this sweet focaccia, I bet you're going to want to try a savory one! I've got just the thing in this Caprese Focaccia recipe. Focaccia from happy hour to dessert? I'm in!

Ingredients

I include ingredient notes here when I think they'll be helpful, including ways to source, any preparation tips, or why I've chosen a particular ingredient. Be sure to check out the recipe card below for the full list of ingredients and their quantities!

• Active Dry Yeast - This yeast can be purchased in packets, jars, or in larger quantities and should be dissolved in warm water before incorporating into a recipe. Store any unused yeast in your freezer to extend the shelf life.
• All-Purpose Flour - All-purpose flour bakes up a tender focaccia that can support the berries.
• Lemon - Always rinse your citrus fruits before zesting. Use a large lemon and zest it to yield about 2 teaspoons of zest. Then juice the lemon for 3 tablespoons of juice. Zest will add fragrance to the focaccia, while the juice will create the glaze.
• Vegetable Oil - It would be ideal to bake the focaccia in 100% butter, but vegetable oil helps prevent the butter from burning while the focaccia bakes.
• Salted Butter - Butter adds rich flavor and important fat to the focaccia during baking to yield a golden and crisp outer crust.
• Fresh Blueberries - Use fresh berries, ideally at room temperature, for this recipe. I tested it several times with both fresh and frozen berries and the cold berries slowed the rise of the bread too much.
• Powdered Sugar - A perfect lemon glaze is made up of only fresh lemon juice and powdered sugar. 

Prepare the Sweet Focaccia Dough

Add two cups of warm water (about 100-110°F) to a large mixing bowl. Sprinkle the yeast over the water and stir to mix.

While the yeast rehydrates, zest and juice a large lemon to yield 2 teaspoons of zest and 3 tablespoons of juice.

Add the flour, salt, and zest to the water and yeast mixture.

Mix the dough well using a wooden spoon or silicone spatula until the flour is evenly hydrated by the water.

Cover the dough with a clean kitchen towel and allow it to rise for 90 minutes.

After the rise time has elapsed, the dough will have doubled in size.

Shaping the Focaccia

Preheat your oven to 425°F and melt the butter. Add 2 tablespoons of butter and the oil to a 9" x 13" pan.

Swirl the pan, coating the bottom and sides well with the butter and oil mixture. Set the remaining butter aside.

Transfer the dough to the prepared pan. A flexible scraper or silicone spatula will help get all of the dough released from the bowl. Sprinkle the blueberries evenly over the surface of the dough in a single layer.

Oil your fingers well with some additional vegetable oil and then tuck them under the top half of the dough so that you can fold it over the center of the dough.

Fold the bottom half of the dough up and over the center, completely wrapping the berries in the dough. Your fold should be similar to how you'd fold a letter.

Turn the dough 90 degrees in the pan so that the long sides of your dough bundle are along the long sides of the pan. Now flip the entire bundle of dough over so that the oiled side is facing up. Allow the dough to rest for 20 minutes.

Oil your fingers once again and stretch the dough at the corners and along the edges so that it covers the entire bottom of the pan. Rest the dough for 20 more minutes.

Oil your fingers for the last time and use them to poke "dimples" into the dough from top to bottom, creating a bumpy texture.

Drizzle the remaining 2 tablespoons of melted butter over the surface of the dough.

Bake and Glaze the Focaccia

Bake the focaccia for 32-35 minutes, until the edges and top are a golden brown. Allow the focaccia to cool for 5 minutes in the pan.

Using a large spatula, transfer the focaccia to a wire rack set over a sheet pan lined with parchment. Cool the focaccia for 20 minutes.

Stir together the powdered sugar and lemon juice with a whisk until it is completely smooth.

Drizzle the cooled focaccia generously with the glaze and allow it to set before serving.

Top Tip

Adjust your rising conditions according to the weather! Letting the dough rise to double the volume is different in my kitchen in the cooler months compared to the peak of summer. In cooler, dry weather I will cover my rising dough with plastic wrap and place it in the oven with the oven light on to keep the dough moist and warm. When the humidity and temps are higher, I cover the dough with a kitchen towel and allow it to rise on the countertop.

Serving Suggestions

Slice the cooled focaccia into 16 pieces using a serrated knife for the easiest slicing. The sweet focaccia has the best texture right after cooling, with a crisp and chewy exterior, tender interior, and puddles of  blueberries.

Equipment

This sweet focaccia recipe uses tools and equipment you'll find in any well-stocked kitchen. You'll need a 9" x 13" baking pan in addition to a few of my favorite high-use tools:

• Serrated Knife - A serrated knife is usually a long blade with "teeth" on the cutting edge. These are great for cutting through focaccia bread without compressing the chewy dough, textured toppings on baked goods, fillo dough crusts, and more. You can also use a serrated knife as a tomato knife in a pinch!
• Mixing Bowl - It's helpful to have mixing bowls in a variety of sizes, but you'll always reach for a sturdy glass or stainless steel mixing bowl for mixing batters, cookie doughs, snack mixes, and salads. A glass bowl is helpful for yeast doughs because you can get a peek at the level of rise without disturbing the dough.
• Whisk - An 8-inch whisk I got years ago as a wedding gift is my favorite for both whisking the glaze perfectly smooth as well as drizzling the glaze over the finished focaccia.

Storage

Store the focaccia in an airtight container at room temperature for up to two days. The glaze will soak into the bread a bit, but the delicious flavor is still there! Focaccia leftovers can be enjoyed at breakfast right from the container. For longer storage (up to 4 days), chill it in the refrigerator. If you store it in the refrigerator, warm it to room temperature or toast it in a toaster oven or broiler before snacking.

More Blueberry Recipes

Blueberry season is one of my favorite times of year. Here are a few more recipes if you want to take advantage of fresh blueberries. But don't fret: you can make most of these with frozen blueberries all year round!

Summer Dinner Party Ideas

This sweet focaccia with blueberries would make a perfect ending to a summer dinner party featuring the best of the season. Try any of these recipes for a delicious meal:

Try It and Share

I hope you try this Sweet Focaccia with Blueberries and Lemon and enjoy the recipe as much as we do. I want to see your results! Tag your photo with #planeatpostrepeat and mention me @planeatpostrepeat on Instagram or Facebook. I can give you a virtual high five and thank you for cooking one of my recipes! Comment below with any questions and please leave a review so others can find this recipe more easily.