Apple Pie Bread
This Apple Pie Bread is complete with a cinnamon apple filling. Toast up a slice of this bread for a tasty treat on a cool Fall morning!
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I’ve been bitten by the Fall baking bug. I think the arrival of apple season makes me crave delicious baked goods! Truthfully, I love crunching on a big, juicy apple every day for lunch (especially Honeycrisp apples!). But I also can’t resist the urge to turn those apples into tarts, pies, cheesecakes, breads and the list goes on!
Back in the Spring, I made this tasty Cinnamon Raisin Bread. A toasted slice of that bread was perfect alongside my morning cup of coffee. I was thinking about making another loaf of that bread the other day, but then I wondered what would happen if I added apples. And not just diced apples…but cooked apples. Think apple pie filling…in a bread. It sounded like a pretty delicious idea to me!
So I mentioned that I’ve been crunching on fresh apples every day for lunch. Funny story: my dog loves apples. I mean loves apples. He can totally hear me slicing apples, and he comes trotting over and puts his wet nose on my leg. I know what that means. It means, “If you don’t give me some of that apple, I’m going to bark incessantly for the rest of the day. Just to annoy you. Or I might get into the trash can when you aren’t looking.” Seriously, though, I spend the better part of every day in the kitchen testing recipes…how in the world can that dog tell when I’m cutting apples??
If you’ve ever made homemade bread before, then you’ll notice that this dough is very soft and sticky after it rises. It’s nothing like a traditional loaf of bread. Just go with it. Make sure your countertop is well floured. I spread the apple pie filling over the dough, and then I did my best to roll it up. It kinda rolled…but not all that well. A dough scraper (or any other large, flat tool) is your best friend for this project! But, as I said, just go with it. Get that dough into the bread pan however you can and throw it in the oven. It will bake up into a beautiful brioche-like bread that is a wonderful treat alongside your morning cup of tea or coffee. #trust
I mentioned this little tip back in the Cinnamon Raisin Bread post, but it’s worth repeating here. If you have a toaster oven, throw a couple slices of this bread in and toast them for about 2-3 minutes. Then flip it over to broil for another minute or two…but watch it closely since the bread could burn quickly! The result is a sorta-soft, sorta-crunchy slice of delicious bread. That’s how I roll in the mornings!
Apple Pie Bread
Ingredients
For the Apple Cinnamon Filling
- ⅓ cup brown sugar
- 1 Tbsp cinnamon
- ¼ tsp nutmeg
- ½ Tbsp cornstarch
- ½ cup water
- 1 Granny Smith apple peeled and chopped into ¼” pieces
For the Bread
- ¾ cup milk
- 3¼ cups all-purpose flour
- ⅓ cup sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 2¼ tsp instant dry yeast
- 1 egg
- ¼ cup unsalted butter softened
Instructions
For the Apple Cinnamon Filling
- Using a medium saucepan, add brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, cornstarch and water. Stir and bring mixture to a simmer over medium heat. Simmer, stirring frequently, until mixture noticeably thickens (~1-2 minutes).
- Add apples and return mixture to a simmer. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 5-6 minutes, or until apples are slightly tender. Remove from heat, uncover and allow filling to cool.
For the Bread
- Heat the milk until it is just slightly warm to the touch.
- Using a countertop mixer fitted with a dough hook, add the flour, sugar, salt and yeast. Mix until well combined.
- Add the warmed milk, egg and softened butter to the bowl. Mix on low speed for 1-2 minutes, or until dough comes together. Increase speed to medium and continue mixing for 2-3 more minutes. (Note: Dough will be loose and sticky. Use a bowl scraper or spatula to help transfer it.)
- Transfer dough into a greased bowl, cover and place in a warm (85°F) location for 90 minutes, or until dough has almost doubled in size.
- Turn dough out onto a well-floured countertop. Roll into an 8”x16” rectangle.
- Spread the Apple Cinnamon Filling evenly across the top of the dough, leaving about a 1” border on all sides.
- Starting with the short edge, roll the dough into a log. (Tip: This dough is very sticky and loose, so a dough scraper—or another flat-edged tool—will be very helpful as you lift the dough from the countertop to roll it.)
- Place dough in a greased 9”x5” loaf pan. Cover loosely and place in a warm location for 40 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Make the Egg Wash by whisking together the egg and milk. Brush the Egg Wash evenly over the top of the unbaked loaf.
- Bake at 350°F for 38-42 minutes, or until top of loaf is golden brown. (Tip: Check the bread after about 25 minutes. If the top is browning too quickly, just lightly tent the loaf with a piece of aluminum foil.
Honeycrisp apples are calling my name – yum! Great pictures!
Thank you!! Yes, I’m hoping the Honeycrisp apples are out this weekend…it should be any day now!
You may not be aware of this yet, but bread is a total comfort food for me, and it feeds well into my addiction for carbs. Thank you for being my bread junkie today 😀
I knew we were friends for a reason, Becca! I absolutely love bread! It’s truthfully one of my favorite things to make in the kitchen. 🙂
Hey I have a GREAT idea – you can send me this apple pie bread since the mailman “allegedly” stole that apple cider cake you sent! And seeing my daughter has a slight sensitivity to gluten – ALL this would be mine! bwahahaha! 🙂
My dogs come running every time I chop up carrots or broccoli – it’s a mystery to me too why they dont come running when I chop up beets instead! We need a dog whisperer!
Seriously – love the apples and cinnamon combo in place of the traditional cinnamon raisin combo!
That darned mailman keeps eating all of the stuff I send you, Shashi. So rude! Isn’t it funny how dogs just know when you are using something delicious. It’s not like it’s bacon…I mean we ALL know that’s delicious. But seriously…apples!?! How does he know?? Same with carrots and broccoli. I think I read somewhere that dogs’ sense of smell is like 100x that of humans. Maybe they really know everything that we are up to. And we just thought they were napping on the rug…yeah, right!
Will you marry me? Wait, you’re already married! LOL! This bread looks divine!! You are going to make me throw caution to the wind and finally try making a bread other than a quick bread! 🙂
Hahahaha…you crack me up, Tamara! Seriously, though, you gotta get into bread. Nothing beats the smell of fresh bread in the oven. It might take a bit more time while the yeast parties, but the result is SO worth it. 🙂
This is so perfect for this kind of weather. I can just imagine eating it hot from the oven with butter on it. Yum!
Now you’re making me hungry, Dannii…haha! This is indeed the perfect bread for apple season…my favorite time of the year!
I could definitely use a slice of that gorgeous bread to help ease the pain from Monday Giants collapse.
It was so painful to watch ;(
Yeah, I watched most of that game on Monday. It was just all around ugly. I thought Eli might somehow bring them back, but it wasn’t meant to be. That’s ok, my Saints inexplicably lost in OT to a division opponent. That loss is gonna hurt the standings all year. Anyways, bread. I need a slice of bread.
I will say that getting a head start on apple season is a definite plus of living in the North! Love everything about this bread! You say the word and I’ll email you my address. I’ll even take a partial loaf…I know how this FB thing goes! Pinned! Apppppllleee!
Hahaha! If you’re willing to take a partial loaf that was baked a couple of days ago, then just send your address on up to me, Lindsey! And yes, we are in full-out apple mode up here. It’s the best time of the year in the Northeast!
I am a bit of an apple freak. I pinned your lovely apple cider cake and this fabulous bread. I would love having this for breakfast, yum! Take care, Terra
Thanks, Terra!! I’ve always liked apples, but it wasn’t until we moved up here that I realized how flippin’ amazing they are. I was used to red delicious and Granny Smith…but the varieties up here are insanely awesome. If you can find Honeycrisp apples near you, then grab a ton. Just trust me on that one!
A “cool fall morning” sounds so amazing right now. I don’t know how it is over there where you are at, but here in LA, we have been dying from the heat (going to reach triple digit soon). So it feels nothing even close to fall here! Boo. That is so adorable that your dog loves apples so much. Your house must smell delicious with all your baking! Those things look really yum.
Ouch. Triple digit heat?? I remember those days from when we lived down South, but I don’t think we will even break 70° in the next week up here. It’s a little too early in the year for that kind of weather, but I still love the Fall. Maybe hang on to this apple recipe for when the Fall gets to you out there in LA…so like November? Haha! 🙂
David! This recipe is genius!
I’ve been seeing so many bread recipes that have been getting me all types of inspired. But this one definitely takes the cake (or errr… bread)!
Haha! Nice foodie pun there, Graham. 🙂 Yup, baking season has returned! I absolutely love rustic breads…they are probably my all-time favorite thing to make in the kitchen. Hope all is well down there in NOLA!
You are making me so hungry looking at this bread! I can already smell the delicious ooey gooey beautiful bread! Totally pinning to make!
Thank you so much, Pamela! This is one of the crazier breads I’ve ever made. I didn’t think it was going to work at all because the dough was so loose…but it ended up being amazing. I love when that happens! Hope you are doing well!
Hi David
I have a question – is it possible to prepare the dough the day before and leave it overnight? You say leave it for 90 min, but I’d love to do it in the morning for my kids… but then it’s too early to prepare and then cook. Would it work if I prepare the bread and leave it for instance in the fridge overnight, what do you think? Thanks!
Hey Gabriela! I completely understand your question. While I have never let this dough rest overnight, I don’t see why it wouldn’t work. You could offset the extra long proofing time by letting the dough rest in the refrigerator. If you’re looking for ease the next morning, you might consider going all the way to Step #10 and putting the dough into a loaf pan. Then lightly cover that loaf pan with plastic wrap and stick in the refrigerator overnight. Of course, the later in the day you do this the better…just to minimize the extra time overnight. Does that make sense? Like I said, I’ve never done this, but I suspect that it just may work. However, with all of that said, I can say that this bread remains incredibly soft after baked. And I actually enjoy it lightly toasted more than “plain.” So you could get away with making the bread according to the recipe and still serving it the next morning. Let me know what you end up doing and how it goes. It’d be fun to figure out a way to make this into an “Overnight” recipe. Thanks for commenting, and have a great weekend! 🙂
I like the mini loaf pans, but am not sure how to cook in them. Do you change the heat and cooking time? Just cooking time? Thanks
Hmmm…good question, Jennifer! I personally like the mini-loaf pans for more quick-bread styles of baking. Since this is more of a bread-bread (haha…how’s that for a description?), I think it would be best in the regular size loaf pan. It would be a lot of work to divide the dough and roll each piece for mini-loaf pans. (With quickbreads, you can just pour the batter and spread it into each mini-pan…a lot easier!) But if you want to give this a shot in mini-loaf pans, I would recommend just reducing the cooking time. I would keep the temperature the same. The bread will bake a LOT faster in the mini-pans, so keep a close eye on it. Off the top of my head, I would guess 20 minutes-ish, but that’s purely a guess. If you do make this recipe in the mini-pans, then come back and let me know how it turns out! This is one of my favorite fall recipes since it uses fresh apples…but maybe I’ll need to make a loaf here in the early summer, too. Thanks for commenting! 🙂