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Apple Cinnamon Sourdough Bread Recipe

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★★★★★

4.9 from 782 reviews

This Apple Cinnamon Sourdough Bread is a delightful twist on classic sourdough, featuring a sweet and spiced apple mixture folded into the dough. The result is a beautifully crusty loaf with tender, flavorful swirls of cinnamon-spiced apples, perfect for breakfast, snacks, or a comforting treat with butter.

Ingredients

Scale

Apple Cinnamon Mixture

  • ½ tablespoon unsalted butter
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice or water
  • 2 apples, peeled and diced into ¼-inch cubes
  • 2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
  • ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg

Sourdough Bread Ingredients

  • 500 grams (4 cups + 3 tablespoons) bread flour
  • 325 grams (1 ¼ cups + 2 tablespoons) warm water (80-90℉)
  • 100 grams (½ cup) active sourdough starter
  • 10 grams (2 ½ teaspoons) kosher salt
  • 2 ice cubes (for steam in Dutch oven)

Instructions

  1. Feed Starter: Feed your sourdough starter 6-12 hours before starting the loaf. In a 75℉ kitchen, it should peak in about 6 hours, ensuring it’s active and bubbly for baking.
  2. Prepare Apple Mixture: Melt butter in a small skillet over medium heat. Add diced apples and lemon juice, cooking for 5-7 minutes until slightly softened. Stir in brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg, cooking an additional 3-5 minutes until syrupy. Remove from heat and cool completely.
  3. Mix Dough: In a large bowl, combine bread flour, warm water, active starter, and kosher salt. Mix until a cohesive dough forms with no dry flour. Cover and rest for 30 minutes.
  4. Incorporate Apple Mixture: Spread ¼ of the apple mixture over the dough’s surface. Pull one side of the dough over the apples, rotate 90 degrees, and repeat folding over apple mixture with all portions, folding dough 4 times total. Form dough into a ball, seam side down, cover and rest 30 minutes.
  5. Repeat Stretch and Fold: Perform the stretch and fold process three more times, resting 30 minutes between each, to develop gluten and evenly distribute apples.
  6. Bulk Fermentation: Cover dough and let ferment until doubled in size and bubbly on the surface, approximately 3-4 hours at 75℉.
  7. Pre-Shape Dough: Turn dough onto floured surface, shape into rectangle, fold long edges like folding a letter, tuck short edges up, flip seam side down, shape into a tight ball. Cover and rest 15 minutes.
  8. Final Shape: Flip dough seam side up, shape into boule or batard to fit proofing basket. Place seam side up into floured proofing basket, pinch seam, cover and refrigerate for 12-16 hours or overnight.
  9. Preheat Oven: Preheat oven to 450℉ with Dutch oven inside. Once at temperature, continue preheating Dutch oven for 30-45 minutes for even heat.
  10. Score and Bake: Transfer dough to parchment or bread sling, score as desired. Remove Dutch oven, add two ice cubes inside for steam, place dough inside carefully, cover and bake 40 minutes. Remove lid and bake 5-10 more minutes until crust is deeply browned.
  11. Cool: Remove bread and cool completely on wire rack for at least 2 hours before slicing to set crumb and flavor.

Notes

  • Storage: Keep bread at room temperature up to 2 days, then freeze for up to 3 months to maintain freshness.
  • Use fully active sourdough starter for best rise and flavor.
  • Make sure apple mixture is completely cooled before folding into dough to avoid killing yeast.
  • For best crust, do not skip the steam step with ice cubes inside the Dutch oven.
  • Allow bread to cool fully before slicing to prevent gummy texture.

Keywords: sourdough bread, apple cinnamon bread, cinnamon bread, sourdough baking, homemade bread, artisan bread, fall recipes, spiced bread

Find it online: https://liamjayne.com/apple-cinnamon-sourdough-bread-recipe/