Apple Cinnamon Bread

This classic cinnamon bread is spiked with chunks of apple and will make your house smell oh so good as it bakes.

It's also a real treat to eat. I especially enjoy eating a slice in the morning, hot out of the oven and with a cup of coffee.

If you don't have a loaf pan, you can bake the bread free-form on a sheetpan lined with parchment. I prefer Pyrex glass loaf pans to metal pans for baking bread. They are inexpensive, bake evenly, never rust and wash up beautifully.

Apple Cinnamon Bread
(makes one very large loaf or two medium-sized loafs)

1 1/4 cups warm water
1 package yeast
2 tablespoons canola oil
2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons sugar
4 plus cups flour
2 cups diced apple
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon

Dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Add the 2 tablespoons of sugar and the oil.

In a large bowl mix 2 cups of the flour with the salt. Add the yeast mixture and stir. Add the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time until a soft dough forms.  Add the diced apple and knead the dough, adding additional flour as necessary.

Let the dough rise covered in a warm spot for 1 hour or until it's double in bulk.

The dough before rising.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and grease a loaf pan. Mix the 1/4 cup of sugar with the tablespoon of cinnamon.

On a floured board, pat the dough (if making two loafs, divide in the dough in half) into a rectangle and sprinkle with the cinnamon sugar. Roll the dough up to form a loaf and pinch the edges to seal.

Pat the dough into a rectangle and sprinkle on the cinnamon sugar.

Roll the dough to form a loaf.

Pinch the edges together and place in a greased loaf pan.

Place the dough in the loaf pan and let rise for 15 to 20 minutes. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until done and golden brown.

A large loaf just out of the oven.