This bread is easy and good. It's soft, only a little sweet, and full of juicy apple chunks. The bread has a soft, light crust, and it's more like an old-fashioned loaf of your grandmother's bread than an artisan loaf with a tooth-shattering crust and a picture of an apple carved on top. This bread also keeps well, unlike many "artisan" loaves that must be eaten within a day or they become hockey-puck hard. From the preceding comments, you can tell that I'm not a fan of expensive, fou fou, "artisan" breads! For Chunky Apple-Honey Sourdough Bread, you can use Granny Smith apples if you like apples on the tart side, but any apples will do. I like the apple bread for breakfast, but it's also great for a nutritious snack with a piece of cheese--cheddar goes well with the bread--or with dinner. The bread has no spices in it, so you get the pure taste of the apples and honey. Try the bread warm with a little butter for a "comfort" treat. Enjoy!
Chunky Apple-Honey Sourdough Bread -- Makes 2 Medium Loaves
1 cup of sourdough starter/discard
1/4 cup of canola oil
1/4 cup of milk
1-2 tablespoons of honey (depending on how sweet you like your breads)
1 large egg
1 cup of white whole-wheat or all-purpose flour
In a large bowl mix the ingredients listed above well and lightly cover the bowl with a piece of plastic wrap. Let the mixture sit for at least an hour. I usually let mine sit for 4-5 hours, and it's fine. While the mixture is sitting mix together:
2 1/2 cups of peeled apples cut into 1/2-inch chunks
2 tablespoons of honey
2 teaspoons of lemon juice
After the dough mixture has had its sitting time (or when you're ready), add the apple mixture to it and the following:
1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon of salt
Knead the bread for 3-5 minutes, adding about 1/2 cup of flour as you knead. The dough should be just a little moist but not sticky. Spritz two medium loaf pans (about 4 x 8-inches) with non-stick cooking spray or line the pans with foil and spritz the foil with spray for easy clean-up. Divide the dough into two pieces and form the pieces into loaf shapes. Put the dough into the pans, spritz the tops of the loaves with non-stick cooking spray, and loosely cover the pans with plastic wrap. Let the loaves rise for 2-4 hours or until they have increased by about 1/3 in size. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and bake the breads for 35-45 minutes or until they are lightly browned (they should reach an internal temperature of at least 190 degrees). Let the loaves cool in their pans for 10-15 minutes before turning them out to cool completely. The loaves will slice best after they've cooled.
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