This smooth, enriched braided apple bread is stuffed with tender apples, a touch of cinnamon, and candy apricot jam. Golden and aromatic, it’s the proper loaf for fall baking, stunning to serve and even higher to eat.
There’s nothing fairly just like the aroma of apples and cinnamon baking within the oven, particularly once they’re wrapped in a smooth, enriched brioche-style dough. This braided apple bread begins with a young dough much like my Nutella pull-apart bread, then will get layered with a candy apple cinnamon filling.
It’s just a little extra work than easy fall favorites like apple crumb bread or Dutch apple loaf, however the stunning braid and bakery-style crumb make it value it. Consider it as a bigger, yeasted model of my apple cinnamon rollups, completed with a lightweight vanilla glaze that makes each slice irresistible.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Lovely presentation: This cinnamon apple braid appears bakery-worthy, but it’s easy sufficient for any dwelling baker to grasp.
- Versatile deal with: Tender, heat, and aromatic with apples and spice, it’s simply as scrumptious for breakfast as it’s served with a drizzle of glaze for dessert or brunch.
Ingredient Notes
- All-purpose flour: A dependable alternative for smooth, enriched dough. It provides construction whereas nonetheless maintaining the bread tender.
- Yeast: I used energetic dry yeast. Ensure it’s recent so the dough rises correctly and develops that gentle, ethereal texture.
- Enriched dough base: Made with milk, butter, egg, and a contact of sugar, much like brioche. This mixture creates a smooth, buttery loaf with a touch of sweetness.
- Apples: Agency, barely tart apples akin to Honeycrisp, Braeburn, or Granny Smith maintain their form in baking and stability the candy filling.
- Cinnamon: A bit goes a good distance on this braided apple bread. It provides heat that pairs completely with the apples with out overpowering them.
- Apricot jam: Unfold on the dough earlier than including the apple combination, it provides moisture, a lightweight fruity observe, and helps the filling keep in place.
- Vanilla glaze: Elective, however drizzling it over the cooled braid provides a bakery-style end and a contact of additional sweetness. You’ll want powdered sugar, vanilla and milk or cream.
How one can Make Braided Apple Bread
Begin by combining the yeast with heat milk and a pinch of sugar till it foams.
Add the butter, egg, vanilla, and flour just a little at a time till the dough comes collectively. It ought to be easy, elastic, and simply barely cheesy. A stand mixer makes this simpler, however kneading by hand works too.
Switch the dough to a greased bowl, cowl, and let it relaxation in a heat spot till doubled. Relying in your kitchen, this may take 1½ to 2 hours for the primary rise. The dough ought to really feel gentle and ethereal when prepared.
To organize the filling, toss finely chopped apples with cinnamon. You’ll additionally want apricot jam, which provides each taste and moisture to the filling.
Divide the dough into three equal parts to form the bread then roll every bit right into a flat oval.
Unfold with jam, and sprinkle with apples.
Roll up every oval lengthwise right into a rope, then pinch the seams closed. Place the ropes aspect by aspect, pinch the ends collectively.
Gently braid. Don’t fear about perfection, the country look is a part of the allure.
Cowl the braid with a clear towel and do a second rise till puffy. Brush dough with milk and sprinkle with sugar for a golden, barely crisp crust. Bake till deep golden brown.
Cool braided apple bread on a wire rack, then drizzle with a easy vanilla glaze when you’d like. It provides a bakery-style end and pairs superbly with the cinnamon-apple filling.
suggestions for achievement
- Verify your yeast: If it doesn’t foam after sitting within the heat milk, it could have expired and the dough received’t rise correctly.
- Don’t overfill: Preserve the apple items finely chopped and unfold in a skinny layer in order that they keep tucked contained in the braid as an alternative of spilling out.
- Seal the ropes: Pinch the seams tightly earlier than braiding to assist the filling keep in place.
- Watch the colour: If the braided apple bread browns too shortly, cowl loosely with foil so it could actually bake via with out burning.
- How one can inform when it’s carried out: The loaf ought to be deep golden brown and sound hole when tapped on the underside. You can even use a thermometer, it’s prepared at about 190°F within the heart.
- Cool earlier than glazing: Let the braided apple bread cool fully first, in any other case the glaze will soften proper off.
Variations
- Totally different braid model: As an alternative of a three-rope braid, you should utilize the cut-and-twist technique like in my chocolate pastry. Each create a wonderful loaf, simply with a unique look.
- Pear filling: Swap apples for agency pears for an additional cozy fall model. The flavour pairs particularly properly with cinnamon or perhaps a little ginger.
- Immediate yeast: You possibly can exchange energetic dry yeast with prompt yeast. Simply skip the proofing step in milk and add it on to the flour combination.
- Apple pie spice: Use apple pie spice rather than cinnamon for a heat mix of spices that deepens the flavour.
- Maple glaze swap: Swap the traditional vanilla glaze for a comfy maple glaze, like in my favourite apple butter cinnamon rolls.
This braided apple bread is finest loved barely heat, when the tender crumb and spiced apple filling are at their most comforting. Serve it as a easy dessert, a comfy afternoon deal with, or a particular addition to your breakfast desk—both manner, it’s certain to vanish slice by slice. Take pleasure in!
- ½ cup milk (lukewarm)
- 1 pinch granulated sugar
- 1¼-1½ teaspoon energetic dry yeast
- 2¾ tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 giant egg (room temperature)
- 3½ tablespoons butter (softened)
- 1 pinch salt (when you use unsalted butter then add ¼ teaspoon salt)
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2-2¼ cups all objective flour
EXTRAS
- ½-¾ cup apricot jam
- ½-1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 cup finely chopped apple items
- 1-2 tablespoons milk
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar or turbinado sugar
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Within the stand mixer add the milk and 1 pinch of sugar, mix, sprinkle the yeast on prime and let sit 5-10 minutes. Stir to mix. Add the 2¾ tablespoons of sugar, egg, butter, salt, vanilla and 1½ cups / 188 g of flour, begin to knead, then add the remaining flour just a little at a time till you have got a smooth dough 5-6 minutes, the dough ought to be smooth and barely sticky.
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Place the dough in a flippantly buttered or greased bowl, cowl with plastic wrap and let rise till doubled in a heat draft free space for roughly 2 hours.
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In a small bowl mix the chopped apples with the cinnamon.
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Divide the dough into 3 elements, cowl with a tea towel and let sit 10-Quarter-hour then roll every to a ½ inch thick oval, unfold every oval with some apricot jam, sprinkle every with some chopped apples combination. Roll every up tight from the lengthwise. Be a part of the three ropes on the prime and twist the ends one over the opposite to kind a braid. Place the braid on a parchment paper lined baking sheet, cowl and let rise in a heat draft free space for 1-2 hours or doubled in bulk.
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Pre-heat oven to 350F/180C.
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Brush the braid with milk and sprinkle with sugar, bake for roughly 35-40 minutes, if browning an excessive amount of, cowl with foil and proceed to bake. Transfer to a wire rack to chill fully. Drizzle with a glaze earlier than serving if desired. Take pleasure in!
Whisk every thing collectively till easy. Alter for thickness with both extra sugar for thickness or extra milk for a thinner drizzle. Pour over cooled bread.
How one can retailer the braided apple bread?
Preserve it coated at room temperature for as much as 2 days, or refrigerate for 3–4 days. Retailer in an hermetic container or wrap properly to maintain it from drying out.
Greatest to freeze with out the glaze. Wrap the cooled bread tightly in plastic wrap and foil, then freeze for as much as 2 months. Thaw at room temperature and heat briefly within the oven earlier than serving. If glazed, it’s finest to freeze with out the glaze and drizzle it on after thawing.
Energy: 2124kcal | Carbohydrates: 375g | Protein: 42g | Fats: 53g | Saturated Fats: 30g | Polyunsaturated Fats: 4g | Monounsaturated Fats: 14g | Trans Fats: 2g | Ldl cholesterol: 310mg | Sodium: 500mg | Potassium: 832mg | Fiber: 12g | Sugar: 130g | Vitamin A: 2057IU | Vitamin C: 16mg | Calcium: 303mg | Iron: 15mg | Phosphorus: 577mg
recipe FAQs
Sure. You possibly can put together the dough the night time earlier than and let it rise slowly within the fridge. If refrigerating in a single day, cowl the bowl tightly to maintain the dough from drying out. The following day, convey it to room temperature, form the braid, and bake as directed. You can even bake the bread a day forward, simply understand that when you’ve already added the glaze, warming it an excessive amount of could cause the glaze to soften. For finest outcomes, glaze simply earlier than serving.
Preserve it coated at room temperature for as much as 2 days, or refrigerate for 3–4 days. Retailer in an hermetic container or wrap properly to maintain it from drying out.
Sure, with out the glaze is finest. Wrap the cooled bread tightly in plastic wrap and foil, then freeze for as much as 2 months. Thaw at room temperature and heat briefly within the oven earlier than serving. If glazed, it’s finest to freeze with out the glaze and drizzle it on after thawing.
This cinnamon-apple twist bread tastes fantastic heat or at room temperature. Add the glaze simply earlier than serving for the perfect taste and presentation.
Positively. Divide the dough into smaller parts and braid each for particular person rolls. They’ll bake sooner than a full loaf, so begin checking for doneness round 20–25 minutes
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