Apple Bread Ring- #TwelveLoaves November

by cakeduchess on November 5, 2012 · 37 comments

Autumn is one of my favorite times of the year to bake and cook. I am very partial to apple desserts and have a long list of things I’d like to try every day if I had the time.

It was a very easy decision to have #TwelveLoaves November be all about Autumn Fruits: Apples and Pears! I know some of our baking friends have been wondering what the theme is and we are so happy you’re anxious to bake with us. We are announcing the theme the first Monday of every month. You can chat with us @TwelveLoaves on Twitter and share with us your suggestions for future ideas. We love to hear from you!

October was an incredible bread baking month all about nuts, seeds and grains. You all really loved the theme and I was amazed with the over 30 mouth watering bread entries. Thank you for baking with us again!! Check out all the fabulous October recipes here!

October was an incredible bread baking month all about nuts, seeds and grains. You all really loved the theme and I was amazed with the over 30 mouth watering bread entries. Thank you for baking with us again!! Check out all the fabulous October recipes here!

Autumn Bread with Apples or Pear:
Bake a bread, yeast or quick bread (*did you know a coffee cake is considered a quick bread? You can read about it here), loaf or individual, filled, stuffed, studded or topped with autumn fruits: apples or pear! You can bake with just apples or just pears or with both. It’s your bread…we want you to have fun with the idea!

Check out Barb’s beautiful: Upside-Down Pear Crunch Coffee Cake

Just follow the rules, it’s as easy as pie:
1. When you post your Twelve Loaves bread on your blog, make sure that you mention the Twelve Loaves challenge in your post and mention and link back to this blog post; this helps us to get more members as well as share everyone’s posts. Please make sure that your Bread is inspired by the theme! This is obligatory if you would like your link to be included!
2. Please link your post to the linky tool at the bottom of my blog. It must be a bread baked to the Twelve Loaves theme.
3. Have your Twelve Loaves bread that you baked this November, 2012 posted on your blog by November 30, 2012.

Do you tweet? We sure do!
Follow @TwelveLoaves on Twitter
See what’s freshly baked for #TwelveLoaves : @TwelveLoaves on Twitter
Chat with the bakers this November! Lora @cakeduchess , Barb @creativculinary , It’s been a pleasure #BreakingBread with you since I launched this Breaking Bread Society (now Twelve Loaves) this past May. Check out what we have been busy baking!

May theme: Focaccia
June theme: Corn Rolls
July theme: Challah
August theme: Summer Fruit
September: Say CHEESE!
October: Seeds, nuts and grains

Have a specific question about #TwelveLoaves ? Contact the founder Lora @cakeduchess
or cakeduchess @ aol.com

What are you waiting for?!? Let’s bake some bread!

I am sharing this lovely bread at the weekly Yeastspotting run by the lovely Susan Wild Yeast and Heather from Girli Chef’s Bake Your Own Bread.

Lora’s baking notes: Apple and pear bread month was a tough one for me. I was debating over probably 5 different recipes! The decision was settled when I came across this gorgeous apple bread ring here on the Delectable Hodge Podge and another recipe at Daily Delicious . Daily Delicious’ recipe does have a little bit of cake flour. I did have some on hand and incorporated about a 1/2 cup. It was a very soft and supple dough. If you don’t have cake flour on hand, you can use all bread flour or all-purpose flour instead.

This bread is not too fussy to make at all. The tricky part of the recipe is rolling, slicing and moving the sliced rings. Be sure to have an completely cooled filling. Also, it may come apart a little while transferring to the pan like it did for me. No problem! Just roll out your dough piece and refill. My dad suggested using a spatula instead of my hands to move the filled ring to the pan. Great tip, dad!! He was anxiously waiting for this to be ready to try it. My daughter told me, “Mom, you should be proud of yourself. This is one of your best recipes.” My husband told me, “It’s amazing. Soft and delicious. Complimenti! (that’s saying compliments to you in Italian).” My son thought the sugar icing was the best part. I seriously can’t wait to bake this again because apple recipes are my favorite.

Apple Bread Ring
equipment: One 9” round cake pan

Dough Ingredients:

7/8 cup warm milk (no more than 110°F [43°C])
1¼ tsp. ( 1 packet) active dry yeast
3-3 1/2 cups bread flour (I used about 3 cups of bread flour and 1/2 cup cake flour)
4 1/2 Tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
4½ Tablespoons butter, room temperature

Apple Filling

1/3 cup light brown sugar
4 tablespoons butter
5 to 6 medium to large apples (I used Fuji), peeled, cored and cut into small chunks
1/2 cup water
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
juice of two lemons

Egg Wash:
1 egg and 1 tablespoon of water whisked together

Icing:1 cup powdered sugar
3 tsps. milk

In a mixer, with a dough hook attachment, add the warm milk and yeast. Mix until blended. Add the sugar and mix about a minute. Slowly mix in 1 cup of the flour until combined. Mix in the eggs one at a time until they are combined. Then add the butter in small chunks and beat well. Add the remaining flour a handful at a time and mix in until a soft but kneadable dough is achieved and the butter thoroughly incorporated. If dough is still too sticky, add flour a tablespoon at a time to achieve the right consistency. Do not add too much flour.

Knead the dough by hand on counter until it is smooth and satiny for a couple of minutes. Add a touch of flour if dough is too sticky.

Place the dough in a greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise and room temperature until doubled in size, 1 – 1 1/2 hours.

While the dough is rising, make the apple filling:

In a medium-sized skillet on medium heat, toss in the brown sugar and butter. When the butter has melted. Add the apples, water, cinnamon and lemon juice to the sugar mixture. Cook the apples until most of the water evaporates; remove from the heat and let cool completely

Spray your cake pan with baking spray (or butter and flour)and set aside. Deflate the dough and dump out onto a clean counter or pastry board. Roll the dough out into a rectangular sheet about 16″ by 12″ (40cm by 30cm).

Spread the cooled apple filling over leaving a little dough exposed around the edge.

Spread the cooled apple filling over leaving a little dough exposed around the edge.

Carefully roll the dough into a cylinder along the long side. Pinch the dough along the seam to hold it closed, then put the seam on the bottom and adjust the carefully shape into a cylinder.

Carefully roll the dough into a cylinder along the long side. Pinch the dough along the seam to hold it closed, then put the seam on the bottom and adjust the carefully shape into a cylinder.

With a very sharp knife, cut the log into 7-8 slices.
With a very sharp knife, cut the log into 7-8 slices.
Place the sliced pieces into the pans, with the flat sliced edge down and the seam on the inside. Leave a space in the middle because the dough will expand more while it’s resting before baking and you don’t want it too squished up. *My dad was here and suggested I use a spatula to lift the rolls from my pastry board to carefully place in the cake pan.

Place the sliced pieces into the pans, with the flat sliced edge down and the seam on the inside. Leave a space in the middle because the dough will expand more while it’s resting before baking and you don’t want it too squished up. *My dad was here and suggested I use a spatula to lift the rolls from my pastry board to carefully place in the cake pan.

I had an extra apple ring leftover and placed it into another sprayed cake pan.
Set aside to rise uncovered until doubled in size; approximately 45 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Brush the apple rings with egg wash and bake at 350°F (180°C) for about 30 minutes, until golden brown.
Here it is HOT out of the oven! Smells incredible!!