Apple Filled Challah Bread

This is the last one from the Hooks and Needles night, I promise.

Today was exhausting. But tomorrow I am done with this quarter. I just have one more test to get through and then I get to go home for Thanksgiving.

I'm just about to get out of bed and go finish my mother's sweater vest, just you watch....

Ok, maybe later.

Right now I want to give you this bread recipe. It was amazing. Soft and sweet, the apples worked perfectly.

I adapted this pin, because they didn't include a bread recipe. I also forgot to slit the top of the bread. Don't do this... the apples burst out in an escape attempt and get burned to the bottom of your oven.

While I didn't end up having any left over, I would love to try making french toast with this bread... Just a thought.

Apple Filled Challah Bread

• 1 Cup of Lukewarm water
• 1 and a 1/2 Teaspoons of Active Dry Yeast
• 1/2 cup of Honey
• 2 Tablespoons of Vegetable Oil
• 1 Egg + 1 Egg for Egg wash
• 1 and a 1/2 Teaspoons of Salt
• 4 cups of Flour 
• 3 Apples, diced
• 1/4 Brown Sugar
• 1 Teaspoon Cinnamon

Combine water, yeast, honey, oil, salt and 1 egg in the bowl of a mixer with a dough hook attachment.

Mix just to combine.

Add flour one cup at a time. You can knead in the flour by hand, but I don't want to, and I don't expect you to want to either. It tires out my hands.

Once all 4 cups of flour are incorperated, knead for 8 minutes until the dough is no longer sticky, adding more flour if necessary. I live in the Northeast, where we like to keep the water in the air, so mine took almost 5 cups.

Once the dough is no longer sticky, allow to rest in a warm place until the dough has doubled in size, about 1 hour.

 Once the dough has risen, roll it out into a large rectangle, about a 1/4 inch thick.

Combine apples, brown sugar, and cinnamon in a separate bowl.

Cover your dough rectangle with your apple mixture.

Roll dough around the apples as if you were making cinnamon rolls...mm cinnamon rolls.

Tuck both ends of your roll under the center of the seam, so all parts of your dough seam are inside your loaf.

Place into a greased loaf pan and allow to rise for 30 minutes.

Now, slash the top of the loaf... seriously, it's not pretty if you forget.

Egg wash (1/2 egg, 1/2 water mixture) the top of your loaf.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 50 minutes, or until the loaf sounds hollow when you knock on it. I know I sound crazy, but I always knock on my yeast dough.

Allow to sit in the pan for 10 minutes before removing. Slice after fully cooled.

Look at those apple cinnamon swirls... I'm serious. This needs to be French Toast immediately. Sorry, I'd have a post about that tomorrow, but none of the bread survived the night. Better luck to you. Maybe for Christmas morning...