Apple cinnamon bread is a soft, homemade yeast bread that’s swirled with a sweet apple-cinnamon filling. Sprinkled with even more cinnamon sugar on top, it’s the perfect cozy fall bake.
Few things smell as inviting as freshly baked yeast bread, and this apple cinnamon loaf is no exception. Tender homemade dough is filled with spiced apple filling, creating tasty bites of apple cinnamon filling in every slice.
A sprinkle of extra cinnamon sugar on top makes it as beautiful as it is delicious. The bread freezes well, so you can enjoy a loaf now and freeze one to enjoy later.
Perfect for fall mornings, holiday brunch, or simply as a homemade treat, this yeast apple cinnamon bread is one you’ll want to bake again and again.
Ingredient notes and substitutions
- Yeast: If the yeast doesn’t foam, start over. The bread won’t rise without good yeast.
- Milk: For richer, softer bread, use whole milk.
- Flour: Only use as much flour as you need to to achieve the proper dough consistency. Using too much flour will give you dry, heavy, dense bread.
- Apple: You’ll want to use baking apples in this recipe so that they don’t turn to mush while they bake. Granny Smith and Honeycrisp are my favorite varieties to use in this recipe.
- Spices: You can replace the cinnamon in the apple filling with apple pie spice if you prefer more spice flavor.
How to make apple cinnamon bread
Here you’ll find instructions and step-by-step photos showing how to make this recipe. The full recipe, including ingredients, is given below.
Step 1: Grease two 8”x4” metal loaf pans. Line the bottom of the pans with parchment paper.
Step 2: To make the dough, pour the warm water into the bowl of an electric stand mixer. Sprinkle the yeast over the water and add the sugar. Let the yeast stand until foamy, 5-10 minutes.
Step 3: Add the milk, water, sugar, egg yolk, and vanilla. Attach the paddle attachment and stir to combine
Step 4: On low speed, add half of the flour.
Step 5: Add the butter in one tablespoon at a time.
Step 6: Add enough of the remaining flour to make a rough dough (for me, about 3 cups total). Replace the paddle attachment with the dough hook.
Step 7: Knead on medium-low speed, adding more flour as needed, until dough comes clear of the sides of the bowl (for me, about 3 ¾ cups total).
Step 8: Continue with the machine kneading until the dough is soft and smooth, about 6 minutes. Form the dough into a ball. It will still be slightly sticky.
Step 9: Place the dough into an oiled bowl and turn to coat dough with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in a warm area. Let the dough rise until doubled, about 1 – 1 ½ hours.
Step 10: Once the dough has risen, make the apple cinnamon filling.
Step 11: To make the filling, stir together the apples, egg yolk, sugars, and extract. Set aside.
Step 12: Place the dough on a lightly floured work surface (I used a lightly floured rimmed cookie sheet that was 15”x11”). Roll the dough out into a 15”x11” rectangle.
Step 13: Spread the apple filling evenly over the dough.
Step 14: Roll the dough up starting at the top so you end up with a long piece of apple-filled dough.
Step 15: Using a bench scraper or sharp knife, cut the dough into 1”- thick slices (I like the my bench scraper because it has the 1″ marks on it, which makes it easier to get even slices, and I can use it to scoop up the cubes to put them in the pans).
Step 16: Cut each slice into 1” pieces. You will have little cubes of apple and dough mixture.
Step 17: Divide the apple and dough mixture evenly between the two pans.
Step 18: Place both pans in a warm spot and allow the dough to rise to the top of the pan, about 1 hour.
Step 19: Place a rack in the center of oven. Preheat oven to 350 F.
Step 20: To make the topping, stir together the granulated sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle the top of each loaf with half of the cinnamon-sugar mixture.
Step 21: Set the loaves on a half sheet pan and place the sheet pan in the oven. Bake the loaves for 25-30 minutes, or until the tops of the loaves are golden brown.
Step 22: Loosely cover the loaves with aluminum foil and continue to bake for another 20-25 minutes.
Step 23: Remove the loaves from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool in the pan for 5 minutes.
Step 24: Remove the loaves from their pans, take off parchment paper, and place on the wire rack to finish cooling.
Recipe Tips!
- Mixing by hand: This bread can be mixed and kneaded by hand. If kneading by hand, add about 3 minutes to the kneading time.
- Ingredient temperatures: It’s important that the ingredients be at the correct temperature. If they’re too hot, it will kill the yeast, and the dough won’t rise. If they’re too cool, it will slow the rising time.
- Freezing: You can freeze the entire baked and cooled loaf or freeze slices of the bread. To freeze, wrap the loaf or slices well in plastic wrap and place in a freezer-safe container. Freeze for up to 1 month.
Storage
Store any leftover apple cinnamon bread in an airtight container at room temperature. It will keep for 2-3 days when properly stored.
More apple cinnamon recipes!
If you’ve tried this apple cinnamon bread recipe, don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave me a comment below. I love to hear from people who’ve made my recipes!
You can subscribe to receive my latest recipe newsletters or follow me on Facebook and Instagram for even more delicious food.
Apple Cinnamon Bread
Equipment
- 2 8×4-inch loaf pans
Ingredients
Dough
- 3 teaspoons active dry yeast
- ⅓ cup warm water 105 – 115 degrees F
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- ¼ cup warm milk about 105F
- ⅓ cup warm water about 105F
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 cups sifted all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup unsalted butter at room temperature
Apple cinnamon filling
- 2 large Granny Smith or other baking apples, peeled, cored, and cut into ½” cubes
- 1 large egg yolk
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar packed
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
Cinnamon sugar topping
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Grease two 8”x4”x 2 ½” metal loaf pans. Line the bottom of the pans with parchment paper.
- To make the dough, pour the warm water into the bowl of an electric stand mixer.⅓ cup warm water
- Sprinkle the yeast over the water and add the sugar. Let the yeast stand until foamy, 5-10 minutes.3 teaspoons active dry yeast, 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- Add the milk, water, sugar, egg yolk, and vanilla. Attach the paddle attachment and stir to combine¼ cup warm milk, ⅓ cup warm water, 1 large egg yolk, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- On low speed, add half of the flour and salt.½ teaspoon salt
- Add the butter in one tablespoon at a time.¼ cup unsalted butter
- Add enough of the remaining flour to make a rough dough (for me, about 3 cups).
- Replace the paddle attachment with the dough hook.
- Knead on medium-low speed, adding more flour as needed, until dough comes clear of the sides of the bowl (for me, about 3 ¾ cups total).
- Continue with the machine kneading until the dough is soft and smooth, about 6 minutes.
- Form the dough into a ball. It will still be slightly sticky.
- Place the dough into an oiled bowl and turn to coat dough with oil.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in a warm area. Let the dough rise until doubled, about 1 – 1 ½ hours.
- Once the dough has risen, make the apple cinnamon filling.
- To make the filling, stir together the apples, egg yolk, sugars, cinnamon, and extract. Set aside.2 large Granny Smith, 1 large egg yolk, 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, 1 tablespoon brown sugar, ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract, ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Place the dough on a lightly floured work surface (I used a lightly floured rimmed cookie sheet that was 15”x11”).
- Roll the dough out into a 15”x11” rectangle.
- Spread the apple filling evenly over the dough.
- Roll the dough up starting at the top so you end up with a long piece of apple-filled dough.
- Using a bench scraper or sharp knife, cut the dough into 1”- thick slices. I like the my bench scraper because it has the 1" marks on it, which makes it easier to get even slices, and I can use it to scoop up the cubes to put them in the pans.
- Cut each slice into 1” pieces. You will have little cubes of apple and dough mixture.
- Divide the apple and dough mixture evenly between the two pans.
- Place both pans in a warm spot and allow the dough to rise to the top of the pan, about 1 hour.
- Place a rack in the center of oven.
- Preheat oven to 350 F.
- To make the topping, stir together the granulated sugar and cinnamon.1 tablespoon granulated sugar, ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Sprinkle the top of each loaf with half of the cinnamon-sugar mixture.
- Set the loaves on a half sheet pan and place the sheet pan in the oven. Bake the loaves for 25-30 minutes, or until the tops of the loaves are golden brown.
- Loosely cover the loaves with aluminum foil and continue to bake for another 20-25 minutes.
- Remove the loaves from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool in the pan for 5 minutes.
- Remove the loaves from their pans, take off parchment paper, and place on the wire rack to finish cooling.
Notes
- Yeast: If the yeast doesn’t foam, start over. The bread won’t rise without good yeast.
- Milk: For richer, softer bread, use whole milk.
- Flour: Only use as much flour as you need to to achieve the proper dough consistency. Using too much flour will give you dry, heavy, dense bread.
- Apple: You’ll want to use baking apples in this recipe so that they don’t turn to mush while they bake. Granny Smith and Honeycrisp are my favorite varieties to use in this recipe.
- Spices: You can replace the cinnamon in the apple filling with apple pie spice if you prefer more spice flavor.
- Nutrition values are estimates.
Nutrition
Did You Make This Recipe?
Share it with me on Instagram @i_heart_eating and follow on Youtube @katedean and Pinterest @katedean for more!
Reader Interactions
Leave A Reply!
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
Love this recipe?
Share your thoughts below and let’s chat! Make sure to connect with me on your favorite social platform below and show me what you made!