Apple Fritter Bread

We have phenomenal food here, but the ONE food that is missing from the great country I live in is ooey, gooey, yeasted Apple Fritters. (The donut kind, not the battered and fried apple rings from the fair). I love apple fritters probably more than any other dessert. As a kid, our neighborhood grocery had the best fritters you could imagine: so gooey in the center, they were borderline raw, full of real, knobby, tart apples, topped with a divine icing that stayed firm in your hand so you could pick that bad boy up without getting greasy fingers. I've spent the last several years inundating our local donut shops with emails of photos and descriptions of apple fritters. Nobody ever answers, but I'm not giving up. You can make your own fritters, and one day I will share that recipe with you here, but personally I prefer not to fry things in my kitchen if I can avoid it, because the greasy residue sticks to everything.

Thankfully, this recipe is just as good as an amazing fritter from a donut shop, but without the oily mess as it's prepared like fritter dough but baked in a loaf pan.

Glaze Ingredients:

84 g (¾ c) powdered sugar, sifted

14 g (1 Tbsp) butter, melted

3 tsp milk

1 tsp vanilla

½ tsp cinnamon

Pinch of salt

Apple Filling Ingredients:

4 large Granny Smith apples, peeled & diced

110 g (½ c) brown sugar

28 g (1 Tbsp) butter

1 Tbsp lemon juice

1 tsp vanilla

1 Tbsp cinnamon

2 Tbsp cornstarch

Dough Ingredients:

360 g (3 c) bread flour

1 ¼ tsp salt

2 ½ tsp instant yeast

42 g (3Tbsp) butter, softened

14 g (2Tbsp) powdered milk

38 g (3 Tbsp) granulated sugar

227g (1 c) lukewarm water

Start by dissolving the yeast in the water. (Make sure to NEVER use hot water, as it will kill the yeast rather than wake it up).

With the dough hook of an electric stand mixer (or by hand) blend all dough ingredients, including your yeast / water mixture. Knead well, about 5 minutes. Cover with plastic and let rise about 90 minutes.

While the dough is rising, prepare the apple filling by combining all filling ingredients in a large skillet, and cooking over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the apples soften and release their juices. The juices will thicken slightly from the cornstarch, but it will still be slightly gooey.

Let cool to room temperature.

Prepare a loaf pan by either greasing or lining with nonstick baking paper.

On a very clean, lightly floured surface (I like to use a full sheet pan) roll the dough into a rectangle. Evenly spread the filling over half of it, and fold it over. Taking care to not squish out your apple filling, lightly stretch and roll it out to completely distribute the apples, and give it one last stretch.

Using a bench scraper or sharp knife, cut the loaf vertically into four even slices, then change your angle and cut again in the other direction. Continue till you have roughly 4” squares / rectangles. (It doesn’t need to be exact).

Scoop them over each other to create a well-mixed mound of pretty evenly distributed dough and apple. I've included photos of each step.

Dump the dough into your prepared loaf pan, and cover with plastic. Allow to rise about 60 minutes, or till puffy. Lots of factors go into rise times, particularly ambient temperatures, so follow your gut. Tip: when the dough is ready to bake, it will feel like a marshmallow- firm but spongy.

Heat oven to 350°F / 176°C. Bake for 35-45 minutes, until brown on top, springs back in the middle, and an internal thermometer reads 200°F / 93°C. Remove from oven and let cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Remove, and cool to room temperature on a wire rack.

Meanwhile, make the glaze by mixing all the ingredients with a wire whisk, till smooth.

Pour the prepared glaze over the cooled bread, and let it set.