Sweet focaccia gives chefs a practical way to introduce a bakery-style item using familiar equipment and production methods. Ferrero Food Service’s Sweet Focaccia with Nutella® is designed as a ten-serve tray bake, making it suitable for cafés, bakeries, hotel buffets and casual dessert menus.
The dough starts with 500g of type “0” flour and is enriched with milk, egg, butter and caster sugar. Vanilla and orange peel provide aroma while demerara sugar creates a lightly caramelised surface during baking. Once portioned, each serve is finished with 15g of Nutella®, with stracciatella, fresh pear and toasted hazelnuts suggested as optional accompaniments.
For chefs, the key consideration is production time. The recipe uses three proving stages totalling approximately three and a half hours before a 20-minute bake at 180°C. Active labour is relatively limited, but the dough needs to be incorporated into the prep schedule rather than treated as an item that can be produced on demand.
Operators already making pizza, focaccia or bread will be familiar with the mixing and proving process. However, the addition of butter, milk, egg and sugar creates a softer, enriched dough, so teams should follow the specified mixing sequence and proofing temperature rather than relying on their standard savoury focaccia method.
The 9 x 13-inch tray format also supports consistent portioning. Cutting each bake into ten serves and applying a measured 15g portion of Nutella® helps control presentation and food cost. Optional toppings should be costed separately, particularly when using stracciatella, fresh fruit and additional hazelnuts.
The base recipe can work as a brunch special, café counter item or shared dessert. Chefs could retain the focaccia and Nutella® combination while adjusting the accompanying fruit to reflect seasonal pricing and availability.
Before introducing it permanently, kitchens should test same-day holding, portion presentation and service temperature. The full Nutella® foodservice range includes several formats that can support different production volumes and application methods.
