Apple-Cinnamon Pull-Apart Rolls with Apple Cider Glaze

One more apple treat to share. 🙂 We ate these rolls as a special snack and re-warmed them for breakfast the next day as well.

The recipe for these miniature “monkey breads” was adapted from King Arthur Flour.com, but I was inspired to top them with apple cider glaze from davebakes.com.

The apple cider glaze gave them an unexpected tanginess. Tasty and fun.

Yield: 16 rolls

For the Dough:

• 1 cup (113g) white whole wheat flour
• 2 cups (240g) unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 teaspoons (8g) fine sea salt
• 3 tablespoons (32g) potato flour
• 3 tablespoons (50g) light brown sugar or dark brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast
• 4 tablespoons (57g) butter, room temperature
• 1/2 cup (113g) lukewarm milk (I used 2 percent milk)
• 1/2 cup (113g) lukewarm water

For the Topping:

• 1/4 cup (4 T) granulated sugar
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 heaping cup (128g) cored, chopped apple, peeled or unpeeled (I used Pink Lady apples)
• raisins, optional (I omitted them)

For the Glaze:

• 2 cups apple cider, reduced, optional
• 2/3 cup (74g) confectioners’ sugar
• pinch of fine sea salt
• 1 T (14g) milk (I used 2 percent milk)
• 1 T unsalted butter, melted

To Make the Dough:

1. Weigh your flour; or measure it by gently spooning it into a cup, then sweeping off any excess. Combine all of the dough ingredients, mixing and kneading to make a smooth, soft dough. It may seem dry at first, but as you knead it’ll soften up.
2. Place the dough in a greased bowl or greased 8-cup measure, cover it, and let it rise for 60 to 90 minutes, until it’s noticeably puffy (though not necessarily doubled in bulk). (I used a proofing oven.)
3. Lightly grease paper muffin cups, and use them to line 16 cups (8 cups in each) of two standard muffin tins.
4. Gently deflate the dough, and divide it into 16 pieces; each will be about 1 1/2 ounces (44g). Round each piece into a flattened ball.
5. Working with one piece at a time, use a bench knife (or regular knife) to cut the dough into 8 wedges. Don’t worry about being precise; pieces can vary in size.

To Make the Topping and Form the Rolls:

1. Ration the chopped apple into 16 piles, each pile should be about a generous tablespoon.
2. In a small bowl, combine the granulated sugar and cinnamon with a whisk.
3. Roll or shake four dough pieces in cinnamon sugar, and place them into a muffin cup.
4. Sprinkle with raisins, if using, and chopped apple.
5. Roll the remaining four dough pieces in cinnamon sugar; top the filling with these remaining four pieces of dough.
6. Repeat with the remaining balls of dough, raisins, and apple.
7. Sprinkle the top of each roll with an additional 1/4 tsp cinnamon sugar.
8. Cover them lightly with lightly greased plastic wrap, and let them rise for about 2 hours, until they’re noticeably puffy. (I used a proofing oven.)
9. Toward the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 350°F, preferably on convection.
10. Uncover the risen rolls, and bake them for 14 minutes, on convection, or up to 17 minutes, until they’re a light golden brown. Don’t let them darken too much; they’ll be dry.
11. Let the rolls cool in the pan for 5 minutes before removing and placing on a wire rack.

To Make the Glaze & to Finish:

1. Place the cider in a pot over medium heat. Cook for 20-25 minutes, or until reduced to about 1/4 cup. Set aside. (If the cider cools, it must be rewarmed in order to add it to the glaze mixture.)
2. Combine the confectioners’ sugar, salt, milk, and butter. Add 2 to 4 tablespoons of reduced cider, to taste.
3. Adjust the consistency of the glaze by adding more milk or more reduced cider.
4. Using a spoon, drizzle the rolls with glaze.

Cinnamon Swirl Bread

I had a very productive snow day… I made this amazing bread! 🙂 I was inspired to make it with my kids ever since I read this post from Quinn @Dad What’s 4 Dinner. I should have doubled the recipe as he suggested. It was beyond delicious.

I had delayed making it for such a long time, waiting for the perfect time to bake with both of my kids. On their second consecutive snow day, I decided it was the perfect time. What else did they have to do? Ironically, they weren’t really interested in my baking plans. 😦 As disappointed as I was, I really wanted to make it. What else did I have to do? 😉 and… In case you were wondering, yes, they were interested in eating it!

This recipe was adapted from King Arthur Flour.com. I made the dough in my bread machine before rolling it out for the filling. I also used a proofing oven for the loaf to rise prior to baking. Fabulous.

Baking Time: 45 min
Total Time: 3 hrs 40 min

Yield: 1 loaf

For the Dough:

• 361 g all-purpose flour
• 46 g potato flour (I used Bob’s Red Mill)
• 35 g dry milk
• 1 1/4 teaspoons coarse salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 35 g granulated sugar
• 2 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast
• 57 g butter (about 4 T)
• 227 g lukewarm water (about 1 cup)

For the Filling:

• 50 g granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 35 g raisins or currants
• 2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
• 1 large egg beaten with 14 g water (about 3 tsp water)

For the Streusel Topping:

• 28 g unsalted butter, cubed (about 2 T)
• 28 g granulated sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 28 g all-purpose flour

1. Add the liquid ingredients and butter to a bread machine pan and top with dry ingredients. (If not using a bread machine, combine all of the dough ingredients in a large mixing bowl, mixing until the dough begins to come away from the sides of the bowl.)
2. Knead the dough with an electric mixer for 2 minutes; allow it to rest for 15 minutes, then continue kneading it for an additional 5 to 7 minutes, or until it’s smooth. If you’re kneading by hand, transfer the dough to a lightly oiled work surface; knead it for 3 minutes; allow it to rest for 15 minutes, then continue kneading till smooth, an additional 8 to 10 minutes. *You can also simply knead the dough using the dough cycle of your bread machine.*
3. Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl (if you’re not using your bread machine’s dough cycle), cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and set it aside to rise for 1 to 1 1/2 hours; it’ll be puffy, if not doubled in bulk.
4. Transfer the dough to a rectangular piece of plastic wrap or a lightly oiled work surface, and shape it into a long, thin rectangle, about 16″ x 8″.
5. To make the filling, combine the sugar, cinnamon, raisins or currants, and flour in a food processor (mini preferred) or blender, processing until the fruit is chopped.
6. Brush the dough with some of the egg/water, and pat the filling onto the dough. Reserve the egg wash for the streusel topping. 
7. Beginning with a short edge, roll the dough into a log.
8. Pinch the side seam and ends closed (to keep the filling from bubbling out), and place the log in a lightly greased 8 1/2″ x 4 1/2″ loaf pan. 
9. Cover the pan with lightly greased plastic wrap, and allow the bread to rise for about 1 hour at room temperature or in a proofing oven, or until it’s crowned about 1″ over the rim of the pan. (Mine took 1 hour 15 minutes.) Towards the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 350°F, preferably on convection. 
10. In a small bowl or mini processor, combine the streusel ingredients, cutting in the butter until the mixture is crumbly. If you’re using a mini processor, watch carefully; streusel will go from crumbly to a cohesive mass in just a second or so.
11. Brush the loaf with some of the remaining beaten egg and add the streusel, using your fingers to gently apply it to the dough, being careful not to deflate the loaf.
12. Bake the bread for about 30 minutes, then tent the loaf lightly with aluminum foil and continue to bake 15 additional minutes.
13. Remove the loaf from the oven, and after about 5 minutes, gently remove it from the pan. Some of the streusel will fall off, but you can alleviate this by first loosening all around the edges of the loaf with a knife, then turning the pan on its side and gently pulling it away from the loaf. Streusel will continue to fall off as you maneuver the bread — we’ve never figured out how they make that stuff adhere so nicely on the store-bought loaves! — but you’ll still be left with some nice, sweet topping.

Note: For a deep-dark, moist, cinnamon swirl inside the bread: Blend together sugar, cinnamon, raisins or currants, and flour until smooth. The addition of raisins or currants adds moistness, as well as subtle flavor.

One Year Ago:

• Country Apple Fritter Bread

Two Years Ago:

• Mad Hungry Blueberry Buttermilk Pancakes

Three Years Ago:

• Oatmeal Toasting & Sandwich Bread
• Healthy Morning Muffins
• Tate’s Banana Flaxseed Muffins

Four Years Ago:

• Apple Streusel Coffee Cake
• Whole Wheat Cinnamon Snacking Cake