Caramel Pecan Focaccia

Caramel Pecan Focaccia So good.

I think this is a little unattractive, but it tastes heavenly.

I've been on a bit of a focaccia kick lately. Yesterday I think I literally ate like 3/4 of a pan of focaccia all on my own. Yeah, don't tell my husband. Good thing he doesn't really read this blog.
At any rate, I did make the focaccia for breakfast for myself and my eating buddy son Ezra. I could tell my husband was hoping I'd made something he would enjoy for breakfast (he prefers sweets in the morning), but I was also in the midst of finishing up Nanaimo Bars and Mixed Berry Mini Kuchen for a church event last night. 
So, I started thinking about how I could make focaccia sweet. Cinnamon and sugar seemed a natural, and when I googled it, I saw lots of recipes and lots of pictures of cinnamon and cinnamon raisin focaccia. They looked delicious. But then I felt a twinge of guilt because one of my sons would LOVE cinnamon sugar focaccia, but he's gluten-limited. I did not want to torture him, so I decided not to do it. Then it hit me: caramel pecan focaccia, using the caramel pecan goo from the Pillsbury recipe for Crescent Caramel Sticky Rolls that I love. Yes! That was it.
This is what I came up with, and although I have not eaten 3/4 of the pan, I have eaten much more than my share. It's buttery and just sweet enough. The bread holds the sticky caramel perfectly into the nooks and crannies created by the shaping and then final poking of the dough. Super satisfying and super easy. Way easier than sticky buns--and no cinnamon to distract from the pure beauty that is the flavor of buttery caramel pecan goo. Now I just need to figure out how to store/freeze the leftovers.
If you're looking for an easy but delicious and decadent breakfast/brunch item, this it it. Do it.

Caramel Pecan Focaccia
    --adapted from KingArthurFlour.com

Ingredients:

Caramel

• 1/2 cup butter (not margarine)
• 1/2 cup chopped lightly toasted pecans
• 3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon water

Dough

• 1 1/2 cups warm water
• 3 tablespoons canola oil
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 1/2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All Purpose Flour
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon instant yeast
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. 
Spray a 9 x 13 inch pan with nonstick cooking spray. 
Melt 1/2 cup butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. When butter is melted, drizzle 2 tablespoons of it into the bottom of the pan. To the remaining butter in the saucepan, add nuts, brown sugar, and water.  Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally.  Boil 1 minute, stirring constantly.  Remove from heat and pour evenly over the bottom of the pan. Set aside to cool while you prepare the dough.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, put in the water, oil, salt, flour, yeast, and 1/4 cup sugar. Mix on low until dry ingredients are moistened and then mix on high for about 1 minute.  
Scrape dough into the pan, and with greased fingers pull and push dough around to evenly spread it into the pan as close to the edges as you can. Set dough to rise at room temperature for 1 hour.
When dough has risen, melt two tablespoons of butter--make sure it's not super hot. Dip one finger into the butter and then poke holes throughout the dough. (I tried to poke all the way through so the caramel would have holes to pool in.) Drizzle top of dough with remaining melted butter.
Bake at 375 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a nice golden brown color on top.
Serve hot or warm.
Makes about 12 servings

Fabulous goo

I didn't get the dough quite to the edge, but it still worked out.

Ready to go into the oven

After devouring the piece for the photo, I just took a fork
to the other pieces I'd already cut. 

I'm usually critical of food bloggers who include
too many pics, like the food is a kid, but I think
I'm in love with this focaccia. I took even more
pictures than this.