Bready or Not: Harvest Apple Challah
Welcome autumn with this big beautiful Harvest Apple Challah, packed with fruit and spice.
This recipe might look intimidating, but let me assure you, it’s not. The cutting stage is supposed to be messy.
Take comfort that this is not a loaf that is supposed to look tidy. The end goal is rustic–and delicious.
Challah is an enriched dough. Eggs and honey add extra richness plus soft texture.
The final result is best served warm with an additional dollop or drizzle of honey. Use the good stuff here! I found that using the toaster oven for 5 to 7 minutes was about perfect for thick slices of bread.
I also found that this bread was great to freeze in slices. Pull out frozen pieces to thaw overnight, and breakfast is quick, convenient, and delicious the next morning!
Modified from a recipe at King Arthur Flour.
Bready or Not: Harvest Apple Challah
Equipment
- deep 9-inch round cake pan or casserole dish
- bench knife
- kitchen thermometer
Ingredients
Dough
- 1/2 cup lukewarm water
- 6 Tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1/4 cup honey
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1 Tablespoon instant yeast or active yeast
Filling
- 2 medium apples
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 cup white sugar
Topping
- 1 large egg
- coarse sugar optional
- honey for serving optional
Instructions
Make the dough
- Mix together the dough ingredients by hand or using a mixer with dough hook, until well-incorporated and not stiff. Place dough in a greased bowl to let rise about 2 hours, or until puffy; if poked with a finger, the dent in the dough should remain and not bounce back.
- Prepare a deep round cake pan or casserole dish (at least 4 inches) by greasing thoroughly.
- Also lightly grease a large stretch of counter top or table. Gently deflate dough and transfer to the surface, and flatten dough to an 8x10-inch rectangle.
Prepare the filling
- Core the apples but leave on the peels. Chop apples into chunks about 1/2 to 3/4-inch in size. Should equal about 3 cups total. Toss pieces in cinnamon and sugar.
Assemble the bread
- Spread half the apples in the center of the dough. Fold one short edge over the apples to cover them, and press down the edge to seal them inside.
- Place the remaining apples on top of the existing apple-dough mound. Cover these apples with the other flap of dough, patting again to seal. It's okay if it is bulging and messy!
- Use a bench knife or paring knife to cut the dough down the middle, long-ways. Then cut again along the long side, edge to edge, to create a series of broad, messy stacks of dough with apples overflowing onto the surface.
- Start transferring pieces of dough and scattered apples into the prepared pan, forming a bottom layer, then keep stacking more dough and fruit on top until everything is in the pan.
- Cover loosely with plastic wrap, and let rise for another hour, until it is puffed again.
- Preheat oven at 325-degrees, with a rack in the lower third of the oven.
- Uncover the dough. Brush the top with an egg beaten with a tablespoon of water. If desired, sprinkle coarse sugar all over the top.
- Bake for 55 to 65 minutes, until the top is deep brown. As the dough is so thick, if a kitchen thermometer is available, use it to test the middle; bread should be at least 190-degrees.
- Set pan of bread on a rack to cool for 10 minutes. Carefully remove bread from pan.
- Serve challah warm, ideally with extra honey drizzled on top. Store covered at room temperature up to 4 days. Bread can also be sliced and frozen.
OM NOM NOM!
Bready or Not Original: Greek Yogurt Lemon Bundt Cake
This Greek Yogurt Lemon Bundt Cake bakes up fluffy and light, with a fresh tang of lemon.
I’m not going to lie: this cake is going to dirty a lot of dishes, including two large bowls. The extra work makes for delicious results, though.
The texture of this cake is what makes it special. The Greek yogurt adds moisture, while the six eggs–with whites separated and beat to stiff peaks–adds a lot of loft.
My batter bowl ended up being full to the top and tricky to mix. I was worried that my bundt pan would overflow during baking and kept an eye on it, but it ended up being fine. Even so–be wary of your own pan.
The baked cake is fancy and simple all at once. This needs no glaze. A sprinkling of confectioners’ sugar makes the cake prettier without adding any heavy sweetness.
This cake is great for travel, either sliced or whole, because there’s nothing about it that can melt or ooze. I imagine it freezes well in slices, too, but I didn’t try that with this particular cake.
Bready or Not Original: Greek Yogurt Lemon Bundt Cake
Equipment
- 10-cup minimum bundt pan or tube pan
Ingredients
- 3 cups cake flour or substitute 3 cups all-purpose flour with 6 Tablespoons removed
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 6 large eggs room temperature, separated
- 2 cups white sugar
- 1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks) room temperature
- 2 medium lemons finely grated and juiced
- 1 cup Greek yogurt plain or vanilla
- confectioners' sugar optional, to dust over finished cake
Instructions
- Preheat oven at 350-degrees. Grease and flour the bundt or tube pan.
- In a bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Slowly add in 1/2 cup of the white sugar and continue beating until stiff, glossy peaks form. Their mass will increase immensely.
- In another large bowl, beat together the butter, remaining 1 1/2 cups white sugar, egg yolks, 1 Tablespoon lemon zest, and 3 Tablespoons lemon juice. If using electric mixer, beat on medium until everything is creamy and pale yellow, which takes about 3 to 5 minutes.
- Add the dry mixture to the yolk bowl, alternating with the addition of the Greek yogurt, until both are incorporated. Gently fold in the egg whites; this will create an enormous amount of airy batter.
- Pour and scoop into prepared pan. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes; if the pan is full to the top, keep an eye on it in case it overflows. Cook until the middle passes the toothpick test. Let cool for 10 minutes, then invert cake onto a wire rack to completely cool.
- Store beneath a cake dome or otherwise covered, at room temperature. Before serving, dust with confectioners' sugar, if desired.
OM NOM NOM!
Bready or Not Original: Apple Butter Blueberry Muffins
Apple Butter Blueberry Muffins! Fruity flavors combine in a delicious way in this original recipe.
I love apple butter. It’s delicious, versatile stuff. I’ve found it can work as a substitute in recipes that call for things like applesauce, bananas, and pumpkin puree.
Here, the inherent spiciness in apple butter adds a lot of flavor without the need to measure out extra spices–and the thick texture creates a cakey, moist crumb.
The fresh blueberries throughout are like flavor bombs, introducing a different kind of sweetness in contrast.
Do note that this recipe makes 24 muffins. It saves a lot of time if you have two pans, but this recipe could certainly be done with one. Make sure you have paper liners, though. There’s no sadness like my-muffin-is-stuck-in-the-pan sadness.
Bready or Not Original: Apple Butter Blueberry Muffins
Equipment
- muffin liners
- 2 muffin pans
Ingredients
- 1 cup fresh blueberries
- 2 cups all-purpose flour plus extra
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar packed
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon heaping
- 2 eggs room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups apple butter
- 3/4 cup coconut oil liquid
Instructions
- Preheat oven at 425-degrees. Place muffin liners in two 12-count pans and apply a heavy dose of nonstick spray. Set aside.
- Wash and sort through blueberries, picking out stems or mushy berries. Pat dry. Place in a bowl. Add a tablespoon or so of flour and gently stir to coat berries. This will prevent them from sinking in the batter.
- In a medium bowl, combine the flour, white sugar, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Set aside.
- In a big mixing bowl, beat together the eggs, vanilla, apple butter, and coconut oil. Gradually pour in the dry ingredients, scraping bottom several times, until everything is just incorporated. Carefully fold in the blueberries.
- Scoop batter into prepared liners, filling each no more than 3/4 full.
- Bake for 5 minutes at 425-degrees. Don't open oven door. Lower temperature to 375-degrees and bake for an additional 16 to 18 minutes, until middle muffins pass the toothpick test.
- Remove pans from oven. Immediately (and carefully) use a fork to pry out each muffin. Keeping them in liners, set on rack to completely cool.
- Once cooled, pack in sealed containers. If freezing muffins, remove liners first.
OM NOM NOM!
Bready or Not Original: Apple Cinnamon Loaf Cake
This Apple Cinnamon Loaf Cake is tender and delicious, perfect for breakfast, snack, or dessert.
This loaf cake is a lot like my small casserole-sized Easy Apple Cinnamon Cake. If you like one, you’ll like the other!
My husband, see, looooves apple pie and apple cake. Apples in baked goods, period. And yes, he loved this loaf cake.
One of the great things about this recipe is that this loaf kept for about a week, all wrapped up and stored in a safe place at room temperature.
(In my house, that means tucked inside my stainless steel breadbox, as otherwise my cats would tear their way inside the plastic wrap. Because my cats are weird.)
Bready or Not Original: Apple Cinnamon Loaf Cake
Equipment
- 9x5 loaf pan
Ingredients
- 2 medium apples such as Gala, peeled, cored, and chopped
- 1/3 cup brown sugar packed
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2/3 cup white sugar
- 1/2 cup applesauce
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 3/4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoons salt
- 1/2 cup milk or half & half
Instructions
- Preheat oven at 350-degrees. Cut parchment paper to fit long-ways in a loaf pan, sticking up on either side as a sling. Apply nonstick spray into pan, place paper, then spray again. Set aside.
- Prepare apples. Add brown sugar and cinnamon to bowl and toss with chopped apples to coat.
- In a big bowl, mix white sugar and applesauce until smooth and creamy. Add eggs one at a time, then the vanilla extract.
- In another small bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Gradually stir this into the egg mixture, followed by the milk.
- Spoon about half of the batter into the prepared pan. Layer about half of the apples on top. Scoop the remaining batter over it, and add the rest of the apples. Pat them into the top.
- Bake for 50 to 55 minutes, until a toothpick stuck into the middle emerges clean.
- Use parchment sling to immediately lift loaf onto a rack to completely cool. Once the loaf is at room temperature, shroud in plastic wrap and store at room temperature--or freeze all or part of loaf for later.
OM NOM NOM!
Bready or Not Original: Golden Syrup Snack Cake
Golden Syrup Snack Cake! This delicious, sticky, sweet-but-not-too-sweet cake delivers a taste of the UK wherever you may live.
I see golden syrup all the time in British recipes. I debated trying those recipes, but wondered if I could finagle some kind of American equivalent to golden syrup. Nope.
Accept no substitutes. Golden syrup is kinda between honey and maple syrup, but has its own unique kind of sweetness. The good news is, if you’re in America, it can be found on the shelf in grocery stores. I live in the boonies on the far western fringe of Phoenix, and I can even find it here… though it is kind of expensive.
The grocery gods did smile upon me, though. I scored TWO bottles of Lyle’s Golden Syrup for half off in the clearance area. I actually squealed out loud.
This cake has a soft, tender crumb that is gently sweet throughout. The glaze of extra syrup brushed on top adds a perfect finish. This is the perfect treat to serve up for a binge-watch of British telly!
Recipe heavily modified and converted in measurement from a recipe found at the BBC.
Bready or Not Original: Golden Syrup Snack Cake
Equipment
- 8x8 or 9x9 pan
Ingredients
Cake
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter 1 cube
- 1/2 cup turbinado or other raw sugar
- 3/4 cup golden syrup such as Lyle's, but not the squeeze bottle version
- 1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 large egg
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2/3 cup milk or half & half
Glaze
- 2 Tablespoons golden syrup
Instructions
- In a large pot, heat butter, golden syrup, and turbinado sugar until melted and combined. Set aside to cool.
- Preheat oven at 325-degrees. Line an 8x8 or 9x9-square cake pan with foil and apply nonstick spray or butter.
- In a bowl, whisk together the egg and milk. Mix with the contents of the large pot.
- Into this pot, add the baking powder, ground ginger, and salt, followed by the flour. Pour into the prepared pan.
- Bake for 40 to 50 mins, until the middle passes the toothpick test. Measure the golden syrup for glazing into a bowl and brush it atop the warm cake.
- Let cool at least 20 minutes before slicing. Store covered by foil or sliced up in a sealed container at room temperature.
OM NOM NOM!
Bready or Not Original: Blueberry Crumble Bars
Nothing says summer to me quite like blueberry bars, and this version has a delectable crumb topping and loads of blueberries!
This is really the best kind of fruit and shortbread combo. The bottom and top acquire a buttery crispness as they bake, the perfect contrast for the oozy, sweet berries.
I am frustrated when recipes only list blueberries by cup measurement, which is useless when I’m in the grocery store trying to figure out how much to buy in pints or ounces. I can say that 4 cups or 20 ounces is what you need for this recipe.
Be careful at the final stage when it’s time to slice into bars. The blueberries can stick to the foil quite a bit. Therefore, be sure to generously grease the pan prior to baking, and gently pry the foil away when ready to slice.
The recipe makes a full 9×13 pan, so be sure you have a lot of people present to eat them. These would be very dangerous treats to keep around when home alone, just sayin’.
Bready or Not Original: Blueberry Crumble Bars
Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup white sugar divided
- 1/2 cup brown sugar packed
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- pinch ground cinnamon
- 1 cup unsalted butter 2 sticks, room temperature
- 1 egg
- 3 teaspoons cornstarch
- 4 cups fresh blueberries 20 ounces
Instructions
- Preheat oven at 375-degrees. Line a 9x13 pan with foil and apply nonstick spray. Wash the blueberries and remove any stems or smashed berries, then gently blot dry with a towel.
- In a big bowl, mix together the flour, 1/2 cup white sugar, the brown sugar, and baking powder. Add the salt and cinnamon. Add the butter and mix until it forms crumbly dough.
- Pat about 2/3 of the dough into the prepared pan. A piece of waxed paper and a heavy glass will help compress it into an even layer.
- In another bowl, stir together the remaining 1/2 cup white sugar and cornstarch. Gently stir the blueberries to coat. Sprinkle the blueberries over the bottom crust, then crumble the remaining dough evenly over the top.
- Bake for 45 minutes, but check at the 30 minute point. If it's looking golden on top, cover it with foil then continue to bake.
- Cool at room temperature, then chill in fridge to make it even more cohesive to cut. Use the foil to lift the contents onto a cutting board. Carefully peel back the foil from the edges; a knife might help to hold the bars in place if the blueberry layer is being especially sticky.
- Slice into bars. Store in a sealed container in the fridge, with waxed paper between the stacked layers.