Easy and delicious, this Aged Cheddar and Apple Focaccia is perfect for holiday entertaining, as it pairs beautifully with wine and is easy to grab and enjoy.
Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Vitamix. As always, all opinions are my own. Thanks for supporting brands that support Seasons and Suppers.
We all know that the Vitamix high-performance blender is perfect for blending, pureeing and emulsifying, but it’s also very versatile and powerful enough to tackle other tasks in your kitchen.
Did you know that you can make bread in a Vitamix? Yes, it’s true! It makes baking for the busy holiday season super quick and easy. So grab your Vitamix and bake up this delicious Apple Cheddar Focaccia for your holiday entertaining!
This Aged Cheddar and Apple Focaccia is one of my favourite holiday offerings. It’s absolutely delicious, easy and goes beautifully with a glass of wine for entertaining. I think you will be amazed at how quickly it comes together in the Vitamix. You can be enjoying this lovely focaccia warm from the oven in a little over an hour!
As they say, seeing is believing! Check out my quick start-to-finish video showing How to Make This Apple Cheddar Focaccia with a Vitamix …
Cook’s Notes for Aged Cheddar and Apple Focaccia
Don’t have a Vitamix? I wouldn’t recommend trying this recipe in another blender. Instead, simply mix up the dough in a bowl or stand mixer and knead a bit by hand or with the kneading hook. Then rest and prepare as indicated in the recipe below.
I used a mandolin to slice my apples super thin. I recommend that if you have one. If not, grab your sharpest knife and cut apple slices as thinly as you can.
Use a really great aged white cheddar cheese for this one, if you can. I love a 5-year old aged white cheddar. As there isn’t a ton of cheese on this focaccia, you really want the cheese to have a lot of flavour!
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Aged Cheddar and Apple Focaccia
Ingredients
For greasing the pan:
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
For the dough:
- 1 cup warm water (105-115 F.)
- 1 Tbsp honey
- 2 1/4 tsp rapid rise or instant yeast
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp kosher salt (less if using fine salt)
- 1/2 tsp fresh thyme leaves
For the topping:
- 1 cup shredded aged white cheddar cheese, packed
- 3-4 red apples, unpeeled and thinly sliced avoiding core
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
For finishing:
- Flaky salt
- leaves Fresh thyme
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 400 Grease a 9x13-inch baking sheet with 1 Tbsp. olive oil. Set aside.
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Combine warm water and honey and stir well. Sprinkle in yeast and stir. Let stand 5 minutes then stir in 1 Tbsp. olive oil.
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Add flour, salt and thyme leaves to VitaMix. Cover securely with lid. Using Variable 1, blend flour mixture about 5 seconds. until a well has formed in the centre. Stop machine and remove the centre plug from lid. Pour all the yeast mixture through the hole on to the flour mixture. Replace lid plug. Start machine at Variable 1 and slowly work up to Variable 3 and mi until a dough forms, about 10 seconds.
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Stop machine and scrape the sides of the container with a rubber spatula, pulling the dough to the centre. Replace lid and select Variable Using the pulse button, pulse 15 times. Scrape dough from the sides of the container, if necessary and pulse another 15 times.
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Generously flour a work surface. Remove VitaMix container from the machine, remove the lid and hold upside down over the floured surface, allow gravity to let the dough fall on to the work surface. If necessary, you can encourage it a bit with a rubber spatula. Lightly flour top of dough, then form in to a ball. Cover with a clean tea towel and let stand 10 minutes.
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Gently press dough in to prepared baking pan, using your fingertips to stretch and push it so it fills the entire pan. Work as gently as possible so you don't remove all the air from the dough. Cover dough with a clean tea towel and let stand 15-20 minutes.
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Use your fingertips to make some indentations in the dough. Scatter dough with 1/2 of the shredded cheese. Top with sliced apples, covering most, but not all of the top, over-lapping slightly here and there. Place 3 thyme sprigs randomly on top of apples. Drizzle with 1 Tbsp. olive oil.
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Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and scatter remaining cheese on top. Return to oven for a further 3-5 minutes, or until cheese has melted. If desired, pop under the oven broiler for a short time to brown cheese a bit. Remove from oven. Allow to stand a couple of minutes, then loosen from pan and slice focaccia on to a cooling rack. While warm, top with a sprinkling of flaky salt and a scattering of a few fresh thyme leaves.
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To serve, use a pizza cutter or sharp knife to cut in to serving pieces.
I love foccacia Jennifer. I haven’t made it in quite a while either. I had no idea you could use a Vitamix to make the dough. I love the apple and the cheddar combo. Looks absolutely delicious!
Thanks Mary Ann and it really is delicious! I just love the apple cheddar combination. It was absolutely perfect with a glass of white :)
Oh my word! Another one for my “must make” list!
Thanks Chris and yes, you won’t be disappointed in this focaccia. So good!!
I had no idea you could make dough in a Vitamix! Focaccia is one of my all-time favorite breads – and this combination of cheddar and apples must be wonderful. Love your video too!
Thanks Tricia and it was a revelation for me, as well, but it handled it beautifully!
What can’t the Vitamix do? This is awesome, I love how you’ve decorated the top of the bread, Jennifer, it’s a showstopper!
Thanks Sue :) It was super easy too, so win win!
Would you happen to know the weight of the cheese used? I find it so much easier to use a weight with cheese since the size it’s grated and how tightly you pack it can vary so much.
Hi Annie and no, sorry, I didn’t weigh the cheese (so few people seem to have a scale). I packed my 1 cup measure pretty well. For this kind of recipe it’s not super important to be completely precise when it comes to the cheese. It’s more important to use a good, aged cheese with lots of flavour, I think.
Thanks Jennifer. I couldn’t live without my scale – it makes baking so much easier. I’ll be trying this recipe over the weekend.
I’m the same Susan! I love my scale and baking by weight. Do enjoy this focaccia! :)
The Vitamix blender is magical, lol. That’s what I say when friends ask me why I get so excited about mine. There’s nothing it can’t do! Have you made soup in it yet, Jennifer? That was mind-blowing!
This is so beautiful and will be perfect over the holidays!
Thanks Robyn and no, I haven’t tried soup yet, but my daughter keeps talking about how it blends AND HEATS! That is magical :)
What a nice treat to serve at a cocktail party…just pinned.
Thanks so much, Karen :)
I would have never thought to make bread in a vitamix but I love the idea! I’m going to try it with pizza dough too!
It worked a charm, Sara and yes, I think it would be great for pizza dough, too :)
This is one beautiful savory bread! Love pairing of aged cheddar and apple – such a classic :)
Thanks Laura and yes, it’s delicious together :)
I’ve never used a blender for focaccia, can’t wait to try. Great video! And of course you had me at bread and cheese!
Thanks Cathy and yes, bread and cheese are my two favourite words :)
What if your vitamin doesn’t have a pulse setting (older model)?
Hi Jennifer, You could try just a quick on and off, to replicate the pulse. Just make sure it’s not straining your machine at all. If it is, just dump it on to a floured surface and knead a bit by hand.