This Apple Bread Recipe is filled with all the cozy Autumn flavors. The soft pull-apart bread has a butter spread, apples, cinnamon, and an amazing glaze. If you love the warm rich taste of Baked Apples, this apple bread is sure to become a new favorite.
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.
Hey, hey! Valentina with Valentina’s Corner sharing a wonderful homemade Apple Bread Recipe.
Apple Bread Recipe
Pull-apart apple bread is everything you can ask for in a sweet bread recipe. A soft and fluffy bread loaf that’s rolled out like cinnamon buns and topped with a generous portion of a vanilla butter spread, chunks or grated fresh apple and finished off with cinnamon sugar. The dough is cut and stacked like a pull-apart bread and topped with the best glaze.
Your house is going to smell wonderful as the aromas of the apple bread fill the home. This smells just like Homemade Apple Pie!
The Best Apples for Apple Bread?
Most crisp-tart apples will work in this recipe. Granny Smith apples are our favorite for baking. Gala and Golden Delicious are also great choices. Avoid apples that soften easily, like McIntosh apples or Red Delicious.
Tips for How to Make Apple Bread:
- Be sure the flour is measured out correctly.
- The milk should be warm for the yeast to activate and become foamy. Milk should be just warm to the touch.
- The dough should feel soft and not stick to your hands or mixing bowl. If your dough sticks to the bowl, add a few more tablespoons of flour, mixing well after the added flour.
- Mix the dough using a Kitchen Aid mixer with a dough hook or by hand.
- Butter MUST be room temp for easy spreading.
- When stacking the bread, stack loosely (it doesn’t have to look pretty)! The dough will rise again and fill in the extra space.
- Glaze Tip: For a glaze that penetrates into the bread, add glaze while the loaf is still warm. For a thicker glaze that will spread, add glaze once the loaf is completely cool.
How to Form Pull-Apart Bread:
Once the dough is made, forming the apple bread is as simple as making Cinnamon Rolls.
- Roll out dough into a rectangle
- Generously spread the vanilla butter over the dough
- Add the apples (cubed or grated) over the butter and sprinkle with the cinnamon sugar
- Cut dough into 5 long uniform strips
- Cut the strips into equal squares for easy stacking
- Stack dough and transfer to pan and bake bread
2 Ways to Layer Pull-Apart Bread:
- When adding the stacked dough to the pan, for a pull-apart bread loaf, stack the bread loosely in a single layer.
- For a bread loaf that you will cut into slices, stack the pieces unevenly and intertwined so you can cut the bread with a knife and it won’t fall apart.
The Best Pan for Apple Bread:
Your bread pans should be at least a 1 lb pan with dimensions of 9″x5″ and deep so the dough doesn’t overflow.
More Sweet Bread Recipes:
There’s nothing like pulling a warm sweet bread from the oven on a cool morning. The aroma of sweet bread recipes will fill your kitchen better than any scented candle.
- Classic Pumpkin Bread – A favorite during the fall season
- Chocolate Chip Banana Bread – with melty morsels of chocolate
- Twisted Sweet Bread – with raspberry jam cream cheese filling
- Banana Bread – A classic that is moist and loaded
- Lemon Blueberry Loaf– So much flavor
What is your favorite way to enjoy apples? Let me know in a comment below! We are always looking for new ways to incorporate apples into recipes. 🙂
Pull-Apart Apple Bread Recipe
Ingredients
Bread Dough Ingredients:
- 3 ½ cups all-purpose flour, sifted
- 3/4 cup whole milk
- 1/4 cup water
- 5 Tbsp unsalted butter, cubed
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 Tbsp active dry yeast
Apple Filling Ingredients:
- 8 Tbsp unsalted butter, 1/2 cup
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 4 cups apples, peeled and grated
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
Glaze Ingredients:
- 3 Tbsp unsalted butter, cubed
- 1/4 cup brown sugar, lightly packed
- ¼ tsp vanilla extract
- 2 Tbsp heavy whipping cream
- 1/3 cup powdered sugar
Instructions
To Make the Apple Bread:
- Cover two bread pans with parchment paper, butter sides or spray with baking spray. Preheat oven to 350°F at step 6. In a small saucepan, add butter, milk, water and sugar. Stirring frequently, cook until milk becomes warm and butter melts. (If milk gets too hot, let it cool until just warm to the touch.)
- Sprinkle yeast over the warm milk and stir. Cover the bowl and allow yeast to activate and become foamy, about 5 minutes. Stir in 2 beaten eggs.
- Add flour to a large mixing bowl, form a well in the center, and add the warm milk mixture. Fold until the flour until the dough is soft, pliable and no longer sticks to your hands or the bowl. (Tip: Add additional flour 1 Tbsp at a time as needed until dough no longer sticks to the bowl.) Cover the dough with plastic wrap and let rise 1 hour at room temperature.
- Transfer dough to a generously floured work surface. Lightly sprinkle top with flour and use a rolling pin to roll it into an 18”x20” rectangle.
- In a small bowl, use a fork to combine butter and vanilla. Spread the butter evenly over the rolled dough. Spread grated or diced apples evenly over the top. Combine the cinnamon and sugar, sprinkle evenly over the dough.
- Cut the dough into 5 long uniform strips. Cut the strips into squares. Stack dough and transfer to bread pans dividing dough between the two pans, loosely stacking the squares on their sides. Cover pans with a towel or plastic wrap, rise 30 minutes. Bake uncovered at 350˚F for 25-30 minutes until bread is golden in color. Allow bread to cool completely before applying glaze.
How to Make the Sweet Bread Glaze:
- In a saucepan, on med/high heat, combine butter, sugar and vanilla. Bring to a light boil. Add heavy whipping cream, stir to combine and remove from heat. Set aside to cool.
- Once the glaze is cooled, add the powdered sugar. Set glaze aside to thicken then drizzle or spread over the cooled apple bread.
Notes
Nutrition Per Serving
If you make this recipe, I’d love to see pics of your creations on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter! Hashtag them #natashaskitchen
Can this bread be made and then frozen? I’m thinking for Christmas gifts, but need to start now.
Cindy, I’ve not tried freezing the bread, therefore, cannot be sure how it will taste. Please let us know if you try it, we’d love your feedback.
I like McIntosh apples, their sweet and tangy taste. Do you know if they don’t work for any sort of baking, or just this recipe?
Alena, McIntosh are my favorite apples as well! 🙂
You can still use it in this recipe, just will be a little mushier than the rest but not too big of a deal. McIntosh apples are great for sauces or pies.
I also had the issue with too much dough. It oozed out of the loaf pan and chunks were falling off throughout the baking process. It might work better if it was divided into 2 bread pans?🤔
Hi, Z. Can you please tell me how large your bread pan was and how tall the sides were?
It would be good if the size of pan used was stated in the recipe. My bread pans are either 8×4 or 9×5.
Hi Natasha,
It would really help if there was a video tutorial to help us stack the dough
It’s a bit confusing
Would you be able to put up a video to help the rest of us please
Thanks
Thank you for that suggestion.
Yes ..please..video. This recipe is confusing. Also, Have read conflicting problems regarding size of pan and time to bake. Be specific and detailed as to pan size and length of baking time when using an ordinary stove .
Hi Shirley, we have specifics for the pan in the notes above and a link to one that would work. I hope that helps!
I made this today, but I felt like it was too much dough for one bread pan, so I used a 9 in round spring form pan. It came out beautiful, layered like a rose. My bake time was 1 hr., and for last 10 min I put a foil over the bread so that it wouldn’t scorch. I kept testing with a toothpick and it was coming out with dough stuck to it, so hence the longer bake time. I would prob double the glaze next time for this size bread.
That’s so great Thank you for sharing that with us, Alena!
Somehow ended up with enough dough for two full loafs. But not complaining. So very delicious 😋
Thank you for the recipe.
Hi Liya! I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe! I’m curious, what size bread pan were you using?
Same one as on pictures… Regular size bread pan. I did leave dough rise for 3 hours instead of 1… not sure if that made a difference or not.
Hi. Can i make the dough one day in front and safe it in the fridge before rising it?
Nancy, we have not experimented with preparing the dough one day in advance, therefore, cannot be sure how that would affect the recipe.
If you try it, please let us know what you think. 🙂
How are you stacking the layers into the pan?? Right side up or are you putting them on their side?
Hi, Zoryanna, you want to loosely stack them on their side. I’ll note that in the recipe card. Thank you and I hope you love the recipe. 🙂
We’d love your feedback.
I’ve made it twice already this weekend. We could not get enough of the bread. I let my Kitchen Aid mix the dough and it was perfect, I will use it for other fillings.
Thank you Natasha and Valentina.
We are so happy you enjoyed that, Nastya!! Thank you for the wonderful review!
It turned out super good and my family really ejoyed it. It is the recipe to remember. Thanks, Valentina.
Thank you, Olga! So glad you enjoyed the recipe. 🙂
Valentina, it step 2 it says “In a large mixing bowl, add flour and create well in the center. Into the well, add 2 beaten eggs and warm milk mixture. Stir a few times for the eggs and milk to combine.” and then in step 3 to add yeast to the milk. We have already incorporated milk into dough. It is a little confusing. Thanks in advance for your explanation.
You sprinkle the yeast over the milk that’s added to the flour and allow it to foam and activate. Watch a video method of preparing the dough HERE.:)
I think what she meant was that steps 2 and 3 should be switched, they’re in the wrong order.
When I click where you say”HERE” it takes me to a cherry dough recipe.
If using instant yeast, when would you add that? I love making bread, and this looks like it’s going to be a favorite.
Hi, Ann. I haven’t experimented this recipe with instant yeast, therefore, it’s difficult to make that recommendation but if you test it out, please let us know how you liked it. Enjoy!
Valentina, I made the trip to the store and bought active dry yeast. The bread was delicious. After rising in the bread pan (9×5), I put it in the oven and after about 20 minutes, I peeked through the window. The bread had grown up about 4 inches and over the sides of the pan. I took it out and quickly scraped the top into another pan, so I ended up with two loaves, not as pretty as yours, but so very delicious.
I just put all of the ingredients on my grocery list.I can’t wait to make it on Sunday. Could you add cream cheese to the middle of this? Not that it doesn’t look fabulous as is!
Hey Jozi! I haven’t tried it with cream cheese but it may work. I’d love to know how it works if you experiment.
I made both yesterday. I did like the one without the cream cheese better but I think if I add the cream cheese to the butter and sugar and make it part of the spread, it will turn out better. I just basically dropped diced pieces of cream cheese on top of the apples before I started cutting. Lesson learned. Can’t wait to try again! 🙂 They were both DELISH!!!!
Thank you for sharing that with me, Jozi!
I made both kinds yesterday! Both turned out yummy. I did prefer the original but I think I know how to tweak the cream cheese version to work better. I think if I work it into the butter and sugar instead of just dropping it on plain, it will turn out even better. I can’t wait to try again! 🙂
I bet this dough can be made in the bread machine while I do laundry 😉
That sounds like a good bet, Irina! 🙂
Well, I tried that.. It raised so much it nearly lifted the lid! Not sure what I did wrong, but this recipe was maybe not an epic fail, but certainly wasn’t a success.. I shredded the apples in my food processor, and it was just so much! Didn’t know how I’d get it all in the bread pan after stacking. Flowed over, after cooking for 45 mins. Turned it out, and cooked it even longer as it was still doughy.. Again. I’m sure operator error.The buttery Glaze is delicious though!
Hi Susan, can you share what size of bread maker you were using. That could be helpful to others who are considering using a bread machine, to know which size to avoid.
love it love it loooooooooooooove it i just made it i am already in love with thanks for posting this awesome recipe Natasha
You’re so welcome, Deborah! Thank you for the great review!
Looking forward to trying this.
& I look forward to hearing how you like it, Janel!
I have 2 questions about this recipe. The first one is would it work to make this using frozen bread dough? Second could you make these into sweet roll form?
Natasha, after you stack the squares, it looks like you put them in the pan on their ends, rather than flat like stacking lasagna noodles. Is that correct? I want to try this recipe soon!
Hi Sheetal! That’s correct! Enjoy!
I saw Rick Steves eat something like this in Vienna on one of his free spirited Rick Steves Tours. Isn’t PBS fun? Never occurred I could make this at home and not have to watch the video again! But I guess that saved me calories, hehe.
haha I love that Laura!
This looks BOOOOMB! Trying this over the weekend.
I hope you love it, Zina!
Such an awesome post. I love that this dough can be used in many different ways.
Thanks Natalya!