Apple Cinnamon Bread Recipe - Sally's Baking Addiction (2024)

Description

This apple cinnamon bread is buttery moist and cake-like with plenty of apples dotted in each slice. You can use tart or sweet apples in this loaf, but avoid soft and mushy apples. Feel free to turn this recipe into muffins or mini loaves. See recipe notes below.

Apples

  • 1 and 1/2 cups (180g) peeled & chopped apples (1/2 inch chunks; you need about 2 medium apples)
  • 1/3 cup (67g) packed light or dark brown sugar
  • 1 and 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Batter

  • 1 and 3/4 cups (219g) all-purpose flour()
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1 teaspoonbaking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoonsalt
  • 1/2 cup (8 Tbsp; 113g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
  • 3/4 cup(150g)granulated sugar
  • 2largeeggs, at room temperature
  • 1/3 cup(80g) unsweetenedapplesauce, at room temperature*
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup (120ml)whole milk, at room temperature

Instructions

  1. Adjust the oven rack to the lower third position (just below center) and preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Spray a 9×5-inch loaf pan with nonstick spray.
  2. Apples: Stir the apples, brown sugar, and cinnamon together. Set aside.
  3. Batter: Whisk the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl. Set aside. Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle or whisk attachment, beat the butter and granulated sugar together on high speed until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Add the eggs and then beat on medium speed until combined. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl as needed. Beat in the applesauce and vanilla extract on medium speed until combined. Mixture will look chunky and curdled—this is normal and expected. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, turn the mixer on low speed and with the mixer running, slowly pour in the milk. Beat just until combined and do not overmix. You may need to whisk it all by hand to make sure there are no lumps at the bottom of the bowl. The batter will be sticky and slightly thick. You’ll have about 3 cups of batter.
  4. Pour and spread about 1/2 of the batter into the bottom of the prepared loaf pan. Spoon apples and any cinnamon/brown sugar juices leftover in the bowl evenly on top. Pour and spread remaining batter on top, making sure to scrape out every last drop of batter. Using a knife, swirl the batter down the center of the loaf pan.
  5. Bake for 60-75 minutes, loosely covering the bread with aluminum foil at the 30 minute mark to help prevent the top and sides from getting too brown. This is a large heavy loaf, so if your bread is taking longer, that’s completely fine. A toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf will come out clean when the bread is done. Begin checking at 60 minutes. Mine takes 70 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow the bread to cool completely in the pan set on a wire rack.
  6. Once cooled or nearly cooled, cut into slices and serve. (Bread falls apart if you try to slice it when it’s warm.)
  7. Cover and store bread at room temperature for up to 2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

Notes

  1. Freezing Instructions: Freeze baked & cooled loaf for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator. If desired, bring to room temperature before serving. To learn more details about how to freeze quick breads, see my post called Make-Ahead Baking.
  2. Special Tools (affiliate links): Apple Peeler | 9×5-inch Loaf Pan | Glass Mixing Bowls | Whisk | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Cooling Rack
  3. Apples: This apple cinnamon bread only needs 1 or 2 apples, so it’s fine to use tart OR sweet. Avoid soft, mushy apples. I use Granny Smith because overall, its flavor and texture are the best for baking. I also love sweet apples in this bread like Honeycrisp, Fuji, and Pink Lady.
  4. Applesauce: If you don’t have unsweetened applesauce, use the same amount of plain yogurt or sour cream.
  5. Muffins: Use my apple cinnamon muffins recipe. The recipe is very similar to this one. Feel free to substitute the yogurt in that recipe with applesauce. If you love nutmeg, add 1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg to that batter when you add the cinnamon.
  6. Mini Loaves: You can use this batter to make mini apple breads. Follow the recipe above as written, dividing the batter/brown sugared apples between your mini loaf pans. Swirl batter and apples together as instructed above. Bake time and yield depends on the size of your mini loaf pan. Use a toothpick to test for doneness.

Keywords: apple cinnamon bread

Apple Cinnamon Bread Recipe - Sally's Baking Addiction (2024)

FAQs

What is the best apple for baking bread? ›

Avoid soft, mushy apples. I use Granny Smith because overall, its flavor and texture are the best for baking. I also love sweet apples in this bread like Honeycrisp, Fuji, and Pink Lady. Applesauce: If you don't have unsweetened applesauce, use the same amount of plain yogurt or sour cream.

How to keep cinnamon bread from separating? ›

Brush the dough with a thin layer of egg wash before sprinkling your filling on top. As the loaf bakes, the egg wash will help keep the layers of dough tightly tucked together. And the result? You'll end up with a stunning cinnamon swirl.

Can you make krusteaz cinnamon swirl in a loaf pan? ›

Q: Can this be baked in a loaf pan? Yes, but you have to bake longer. One site shows to bake at 350 F for 38 to 42 minutes.

What apples are best for baking in a cake? ›

Which apples bake best? For the best pies, crisps, and other baked treats, apples need to be firm enough to hold their own during the cooking process. We call these apples “baking apples” and to namedrop, they include Braeburn, Cortland, Honey Gold, Jonathan, Fuji, Gala, Granny Smith, Haralson, and Newtown Pippin.

What apples should not be used for apple pie? ›

There are a few apples that don't make the cut. While great for snacking, Gala, Fuji and Red Delicious are the most common apples that won't hold up in the oven and will give you a watery-mushy pie, tart or cake.

Is Honeycrisp a good baking apple? ›

Honeycrisp. One of the sweetest apples around, this Midwestern favorite is good for anything—including baking. It boasts a distinctive juicy crispness and is firm enough that it won't cook down much. It complements just about any other apple variety to make a stellar pie.

How do you make cinnamon bread soft again? ›

How do you make cinnamon rolls soft again? Make cinnamon rolls soft again by adding a little bit of moisture back into them while reheating. You can do this by adding a pat of butter to the top of each roll and covering them with a damp paper towel while reheating in the microwave for about 20 seconds.

Why did my cinnamon bread sink in the middle? ›

Baking temperature

If the oven is too hot the loaf will be brown and crispy on the outside but doughy in the middle and may collapse as it cools. When bread is baked at too low a temperature it will not rise enough in the oven resulting in a dense and sunken loaf.

How many cups of batter do I need for a loaf pan? ›

Pan Sizes
Approximate Pan Dimensions (Inches)Approximate Volume (Cups)Approximate Volume (ml)
Loaf
8 x 4 x 2.5 in4 cups948 ml
8.5 x 4.5 x 2.5 in6 cups1.4 liters
9 x 5 x 3 in8 cups1.9 liters
34 more rows

What happens if you add too much flour to cinnamon rolls? ›

You want to add only the amount of flour that it takes so your dough is not sticky. Adding too much flour will make your rolls very dry. Once you have added the appropriate amount of flour, turn your mixer to a low speed and let the machine do all the kneading for you.

Can I use a round pan instead of a loaf pan? ›

So converting a recipe from 8″ round pan to a standard loaf pan, multiplying factor would be 112.5/100.5 = 1.1, which means the recipes can be easily swapped between these two pans (the time to bake in a loaf pan is more than a round pan). 1.

What is the sweetest apple? ›

While there is an extremely wide variety of apples, all with varying flavors, the sweetest-tasting apple is fuji, followed by gala, honeycrisp, and Red Delicious apples. These apples are great for snacking and eating as is. Granny Smith, McIntosh, and Pink Lady fall on the tart end of the spectrum.

Are pink ladies good for baking? ›

Why Are Pink Lady® Apples Good for Baking? Pink Lady® apples make such great baked apples because of the natural sweetness you get in every apple. The juicy fizz you get from Pink Lady® apples is intensified when baked, giving you delicious results every time.

What is a substitute for Golden Delicious apples? ›

Mutsu. Also known as Crispin, this firm-fleshed, less tart option is similar in flavor to a Golden Delicious. But it excels when it comes to structure, keeping more of a solid firmness. Mutsus are great for pies or other recipes that call for gentle cooking.

Why are granny Smith apples good for baking? ›

The Granny Smith is a chance seedling originating in Australia in 1868 and named after Maria Ann (Granny) Smith. The Granny Smith apple is tangy and tart. This is THE baking apple of choice as it has a deep dense texture that allows for longer cooking.

What apples are best for baking apple pie? ›

The best apples for making apple pie
  • Braeburn. This apple is a descendant of Granny Smith, but slightly sweeter. ...
  • Cortland. ...
  • Crispin (Mutsu). ...
  • Golden Delicious. ...
  • Granny Smith. ...
  • Honeycrisp. ...
  • Jonagold or Jonathan. ...
  • Northern Spy.
Oct 8, 2021

What are the best apples for baking apple crisp? ›

What Makes A Good Apple For Apple Crisp? The best apples for baking keep their structure under heat, which prevents the chunks of fruit from turning into mush after baking. The firm and crisp Granny Smith and Honeycrisp varieties are popular apples to use in apple pies and apple crisps.

What apples are best for baking or canning? ›

The best varieties for canning apples are crisp, not mealy, types. Some of the best apples for canning include Fuji, Braeburn, Jonagold, Granny Smith, Golden Delicious, Pink Lady, Jazz, Honeycrisp, and Cortland.

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