BRIOCHE APPLE BRAIDfeatured

We weren’t really a donut eating family growing up. Which I will always deep down hold against my parents. Saturday mornings should involve waking up and finding donuts on your kitchen counter. But mine never did. I usually had a box of raisin bran or wheat chex waiting for me when I crawled out of bed to start binge watching Saturday morning cartoons. It’s amazing I managed to survive this kind of hardship.

Periodically my Mom would take us to the local Dunkin Donuts and I would press my face against the counter scanning all of my glorious options. Obviously, I would pick the pink sprinkled donut because I was a girl who loved tutus, twirling and glitter, but even at a young age I was curious about the ugly looking wad of a donut called an apple fritter. I was mainly drawn to it because it was the biggest one in the entire case and even then I knew that bigger was better, but I never strayed from my pink sprinkled favorite.

However, like the majority of my poor food discoveries, high school was where I figured out that the apple fritter was a superior and highly underrated donut. I tried it for the first time on my way to take the ACT. They say to have a good, solid breakfast before you take those tests so I figured a donut and a carton of milk would be perfect. I ran into Pam’s donuts on my way to the test with 2 dollars in quarters and ordered 1 apple fritter and 1 carton of skim milk (because I’m healthy) and raced back to my car. I shoved the fritter into my mouth as I was driving and thought to myself What. Is. This??? And why have I waited 17 years to try it?? I pulled into the testing parking lot, checked the clock and wondered if I had enough time to run back to Pam’s and get another. 15 minutes till the test started; no brainer, I could totally do this. I raced back to Pams, threw money on the counter, grabbed my second fritter and drove very illegally back to the test and made it with 2 minutes to spare. I was mentally high fiving myself as I showed my ID to the test proctor. For the record, I got my highest ACT score that morning. I credit the well balanced, double fritter breakfast.

I know this isn’t a recipe for a donut, but it still has all of the things that make donuts awesome… except the whole frying part.. but still.. sweet bread with filling and glaze.. it’s close enough in my book. And I wouldn’t complain if I woke up on a Saturday morning and had this sitting on my counter. Preferably made by someone else while I slept in, but beggars can’t be choosers I suppose.

If you’ve made bread before, don’t be intimidated by making brioche. It’s not that much different and it’s crazy delicious. This is not nearly as complicated as it looks or sounds. Just be patient and take it step by step and it will turn out just fine.

Recipe: Brioche Apple Braid  |  Soundtrack: Fleetwood Mac

• DOUGH
• 2 packages of yeast
• 1/2 cup warm milk (approx 110º)
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 5 eggs
• 2 tsp salt
• 5 cups flour
• 1 cup + 6 tbsp butter cut into 2 tbsp chunks, bring to room temperature
• APPLES
• 5 medium sized apples peeled and cored
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• CREAM CHEESE FILLING
  
• 1 8oz package cream cheese, softened to room temperature
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• GLAZE
• 4 tbsp butter softened to room temperature
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 3 tbsp milk
• 1 1/2 tsp almond extract

Directions:
To Make the Brioche:
In a mixer fitted with the dough hook, add the milk and the yeast and allow to sit for 5 minutes or until it start frothing. Add sugar and then the eggs one at a time and mix until they are all incorporated.

Add the salt and the flour one cup at a time until it’s all incorporated. Allow the mixer to kneed the dough for 2 minutes. With the mixer on low speed, add the butter one chunk at a time mixer until each pat of butter has disappeared completely into the dough. Do this until all of the butter is incorporated. The dough will have pulled away from the sides and stick to the paddle. Once the butter is incorporated, beat on medium for another 5 minutes. Dough will be sticky and a little shiny. It should have little stretch and give when you pull on the dough. If not, and it’s still feels wet, add a little more flour 1 tbsp at a time until it’s the desired consistency. It will be ready to be removed from the mixer and place into a greased bowl once it’s stretchy and shiny. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap.

Let the dough rise in the fridge for 6 hours or overnight (my preferred method). Once thee dough is ready (it should be at least double in size), punch it down and turn it out onto a floured surface.

In a medium sized bowl, place the cinnamon and sugar and stir to thoroughly combine. Prepare the apples by peeling, coring and slicing them up into bite sized pieces. Place them into the cinnmaon and sugar mixture and stir to coat the apples. Place the apples to the side.

In a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix the cream cheese, vanilla and sugar until they are completely combined. Set aside.

To Assemble the Bread:
Preheat your oven to 350º and grease a baking sheet. Set aside. Roll out the dough into a rectangle roughly 1/4 inch thick. Transfer to your baking sheet.

Using the side of your hand to make an imprint, divide your dough into three even sections (I’m a nerd and use a ruler to be precise). Using a sharp knife or even a pizza cutter, cut away a 2 inch square from the four corners of your rectangle. Your center section should remain intact, these squares will just be cut away from the two outer sections. Essentially at this point you will have one long rectangle in the center and two large flaps on the sides. Using the same knife, carefully cut 1 inch flaps on the sides making sure you have an even number of flaps on each side. Again, keep that center section intact. You will only be making cuts on the side sections.

Once you have the sides sliced, it’s time to stuff the dough. Using a knife, spread the cream cheese mixture down the center of your dough. Drain the excess juice off your apple mixture and add them on top of the cream cheese. You may not use all of the apples just depending on how big your apples were. Save the extras and add them to Greek yogurt or ice cream for a treat.

Fold the top and bottom flaps from the center section up over the apple mixture. Basically you are sealing up the ends of the loaf. You are then going to brain the rest of your loaf. Take a strip from the top left side and place it diagonally across the apple mixture. Do the same thing with the top strip from the right hand side. COntinue until you’ve braided all of the strips. Once you get to the last two strips, they can be braided and tucked under the bottom of the loaf. Once the entire loaf is braided, allow to rise for another 20 minutes.

Bake the loaf for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool.

While the bread is cooling, make the glaze by combining the butter, powdered sugar, milk and almond together until it’s smooth. It should be the consistency to drizzle over the bread. If it’s too thick, add more milk and conversely if it’s to thin add a bit more powdered sugar.

While the bread is still warm, using a spoon, drizzle the glaze over the bread.

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