this weekend we headed up to north georgia for a day of apple picking. this has become an annual tradition for us that we look forward to every fall. i have been seeing these recipes for apple pull apart bread and wanted to try my hand at one. i followed this basic dough recipe and made some modifications to the filling. my daughter enjoyed helping me out with this one.....and we got to practice some patience with the two risings. this bread took us almost all day from start to finish but the apples and cinnamon made our house smell like fall- it was worth the wait!
making the dough (the dough recipe is from the blog half baked)
ingredients
1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted
1/3 cup lukewarm milk
1/4 cup lukewarm water
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast
directions
-whisk together the butter, milk, water, eggs, and vanilla extract.
-in the bowl mixer, mix together the flour, sugar, salt, and yeast, then add the wet ingredients.
-using the dough hook attachment mix and knead, until the dough is smooth. the dough will be quite soft. if it seems too dry add a little water, if it seems too sticky add just a little flour, up to a 1/4 cup.
-place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover, and allow to rest until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
now for the rest of the recipe with my modifications
ingredients for filling
4-5 fresh apples, cored and thinly sliced as shown in the picture
3 tbsp cup unsalted butter, browned
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 Tbsp cinnamon
a sprinkle of salt ingredients for glaze
1 cup powdered sugar
1 Tbsp of milk or lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla and
a sprinkle of salt
directions for stacks
-on a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out into a large square about 24 inches by 24 inches. add more flour if dough begins to stick
-with a pastry brush, brush the browned butter onto the dough
-do the same with the maple syrup
-sprinkle the cinnamon and salt evenly over the entire square
-using a pizza cutter, cut the dough into even squares or rectangles, 3 inch squares work great
-line a cookie sheet with parchment paper
-make the stacks by carefully putting a piece of dough then a slice of apple, and continue so you have DOUGH-APPLE-DOUG-HAPPLE-DOUGH-APPLE-DOUGH
-place in a warm place for an hour or until the dough rises for a second time
-pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
-after rising is complete bake for 20- 30 minutes or until brown
-meanwhile, mix the powdered sugar, milk or lemon juice, vanilla, and salt
-let the stacks cool for 15 minutes before drizzling the glaze over them
-enjoy these sweet fall treats!
****note, if you want to make a pull apart bread verses the stacks follow the same instructions but stack vertically in a greased bread pan and increase baking time to 40-50 minutes
photos by kristen bach recipe by half baked blog and modified by kristen bach