The Best & Easiest Apple Cinnamon Bread Recipe

A sweet Apple Cinnamon Bread that tastes like cinnamon rolls but is much less expensive and much easier to make!

If you love baking with apples as much as we do, here are a few more apple recipes we’d love for you to try – Homemade Apple Pie Spice, Fried Apple Rings, and Apple FrenchToast Bites.

Easy Apple Cinnamon Bread

Every year at the end of the summer we go on a big annual camping trip with my in-laws to Lake George. The lake is surrounded by tons of darling little New England towns and one of our favorites is home to a delicious bakery that makes fresh apple pull-apart bread. This summer decided to recreate that recipe, and I am so happy I did!

This quick bread recipe results in a soft loaf of sticky cinnamon bread spotted with sweet apples with AMAZING flavor! I don’t typically love warm fruit mixed with my bread, but this recipe is a delicious exception! If you love cinnamon rolls then I promise you will love this recipe. Here is how to make it –

Apple Cinnamon Bread Recipe

Ingredients

• FOR THE DOUGH –
  • milk
  • butter
  • all-purpose flour
  • yeast
  • white sugar
  • salt
  • egg white
• FOR THE MIX-INS –
  • brown sugar
  • cinnamon
  • softened butter
  • 1/2 apple, peeled and chopped (you can add more or fewer apples to your liking!) I find that Gala or Honeycrisp are the best apples for this recipe.
• FOR THE ICING –
  • powdered sugar
  • vanilla extract
  • melted butter
  • milk

Step by Step Instructions

First, begin by making your bread dough. Add the milk and butter to a microwave-safe bowl and heat on high for one minute, then set aside.

In a large bowl with an electric mixer, or in the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk together the yeast, sugar, salt, and a 1/2 cup of flour.

Carefully pour the milk and butter mixture into the bowl of dry ingredients, then add the egg white. Mix to combine.

Add the remaining cup of flour and knead with a dough hook for five minutes. (You can also knead this by hand.) The dough should be very soft and slightly sticky. If your dough is too sticky, add 1 Tablespoon of flour at a time until you achieve the desired result.

I add around 3 tablespoons of extra flour to the dough to make it not so sticky. Avoid the temptation to add a lot of extra flour, this dough is a little on the sticky side – resulting in a soft, moist, loaf. The more flour you add the dryer and the denser your bread will become.

Set the kneaded dough aside to rest for 10 minutes.

Next, prepare your mix-ins. Peel and chop your apple into cubes about the size of a dime. Be careful not to dice the apple too small, which will result in an overcooked texture after baking.

In a separate bowl, combine the brown sugar, cinnamon, and softened butter. The mixture will be thick like the texture of wet sand.

With your mix-ins prepared, return to your dough and roll it out about 1/2 – 3/4 of an inch thick.

Using a pizza cutter, cut the dough into 1-inch cubes.

Begin to assemble your bread by first spraying your loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray.

Carefully place chunks of dough into the bottom of your prepared loaf pan until it is nearly covered in a single layer. I like to pat down the first layer of dough to seal it so cinnamon doesn’t sleep through and burn on the bottom, but the rest of the layers I just drop in.

Sprinkle pieces of the cinnamon sugar mixture over the dough, then add a few pieces of the apple.

Repeat this layering process three or four times until you have used all of your ingredients. Your loaf pan should be filled about 1/2 – 2/3’s of the way up.

Allow your bread to rise for about one hour.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Bake for 25-30 minutes.

Allow the bread to cool in the pan at room temperature for 5-10 minutes.

Loosen the sides of the bread with a spatula and carefully remove from the pan and place it on a cooling rack or serving tray.

Combine the icing ingredients in a small bowl, then spoon/drizzle over the cinnamon apple bread.

This apple bread recipe is such a delicious dessert or snack! Share a slice if you’re feeling generous, or grab a fork and dig in solo. (No judgment here!)

Storing the Apple Bread

Store in an airtight container or wrap it up tightly in plastic wrap or aluminum foil and keep at room temperature for 2-3 days. Reheat briefly in the microwave before serving again.

Optional Add-Ins

The following ingredients can be added to your apple mixture if you want even more flavor and crunch –

• chopped pecans
• chopped walnuts
• raisins

More Easy Apple Recipes

• Mini Apple Pies
• Apple Cinnamon Muffins
• Caramel Apple Oatmeal Cookies
• Caramel Apple Bread Pudding
• Apple Streusel Muffins
• Apple Crisp

Here’s a printable recipe card for your convenience –

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Apple Cinnamon Bread

Servings: 1 loaf

A sweet Apple Cinnamon Bread that tastes like cinnamon rolls but is much less expensive and much easier to make!

Prep Time:30 minutes mins

Cook Time:25 minutes mins

rising time:1 hour hr

Total Time:1 hour hr 55 minutes mins

Ingredients

for the dough:

• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 Tbsp. butter
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 tsp. yeast
• 2 Tbsp. white granulated sugar
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 egg white

for the mix-ins:

• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 gala apple, peeled and chopped*

for the icing:

• 3/4 cup powdered sugar
• 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 Tbsp. butter, melted
• 1 Tbsp. milk

Instructions

• Add the milk and butter to a microwave safe bowl and heat on high for one minute, then set aside.
  
• In the bowl of a stand mixer whisk together the yeast, sugar, salt, and a 1/2 cup of flour.
  
• Carefully pour the milk and butter mixture into the bowl of dry ingredients, then add the egg white. Mix to combine.
  
• Add the remaining cup of flour and knead with a dough hook for five minutes. (You can also knead this by hand.) The dough should be very soft and slightly sticky. If your dough is too sticky, add 1 Tablespoon of flour at a time until you achieve the desired result. Set the kneaded dough aside to rest for 10 minutes
  
• Prepare your mix-ins by first peeling and chopping your apple (pieces should be cubes about the size of a dime.) Be careful not to dice the apple too small, which will result in an overcooked texture after baking. In a separate bowl, combine the brown sugar, cinnamon, and softened butter. The mixture will be thick like the texture of wet sand.
  
• With your mix-ins prepared, return to your dough and roll it out about 1/2 – 3/4 of an inch thick. Using a pizza cutter, cut the dough into 1 inch cubes.
  
• Begin to assemble your bread by first spraying your loaf pan with nonstick spray. Carefully place chunks of dough into the bottom until it is nearly covered in a single layer.* Sprinkle pieces of the cinnamon sugar mixture over the dough, then add a few pieces of the apple.
  
• Repeat this layering process three or four times until you have used all of your ingredients. Your loaf pan should be filled about 1/2 – 2/3's of the way up. Allow your bread to rise for about one hour.
  
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Bake for 25-30 minutes. Allow the bread to cool in the pan for 5-10 minutes. Loosen the sides of the bread with a spatula and carefully remove from the pan.
  
• Combine the icing ingredients in a small bowl. Drizzle over bread and enjoy!
  

Notes

Feel free to add more or less apples to your liking.
If there are too many holes in the initial dough layer the sugar will seep to the bottom of the pan and burn while baking, so be sure to get the first layer of dough pretty even.

Nutrition

Serving: 1 loaf · Calories: 2483 kcal · Carbohydrates: 401 g · Protein: 31 g · Fat: 89 g · Saturated Fat: 55 g · Polyunsaturated Fat: 4 g · Monounsaturated Fat: 23 g · Trans Fat: 3 g · Cholesterol: 231 mg · Sodium: 1349 mg · Potassium: 797 mg · Fiber: 14 g · Sugar: 242 g · Vitamin A: 2830 IU · Vitamin C: 5 mg · Calcium: 420 mg · Iron: 11 mg

Other Notes

Course: Bread

Cuisine: American

Keyword: fall, sweet