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Wool Bread with Apple Filling
Prep Time
45 mins
Cook Time
35 mins
Resting time
1 hr 45 mins
Total Time
3 hrs 5 mins
 
Course: dinner
Cuisine: American
Servings: 8
Author: Adapted from a recipe from King Arthur Flour
Ingredients
BREAD STARTER (tangzhong)
  • 3 tbsp warm water
  • 3 tbsp whole milk
  • 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
DOUGH
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 2-1/2 cup unbleached bread flour
  • 1 egg
  • 4 tbsp unsalted. butter, softened
  • 1 tbsp instant yeast
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 tsp kosher salt
FILLING
  • 4 large apples, peeled, cored and chopped
  • 4 tbsp sugar
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp nutmeg
  • 1/2 tsp all-spice
Instructions
For the bread starter

  1. Whisk all starter ingredients and combine well until smooth.

  2. Add mixture to a saucepan and cook over medium heat until a thick paste-like substance forms. Watch closely because the ingredients will form fast, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat right and add to your stand mixer.

For the filling

  1. While the dough is resting, prepare the filling of your choice. Peel and core the apples. Chop into small chunks and add all spices and mix well. Set aside until ready to add to the dough.

For the wool bread

  1. Add the milk to the bread starter. Whisk bread flour with all remaining dough ingredients. All this mixture to the starter and combine until a soft, smooth dough forms. This should take about 8 minutes on a low speed mixer.

  2. Lightly grease a bowl, shape the dough into a ball and let the dough rest in the greased bowl, covered for about 1-1/2 hours.

  3. Grease or spray a 9" springform baking pan.

  4. After the dough has rested, deflate the dough and it into four equal parts. Lightly flour a working surface and roll each of the parts into a ball. Cover and allow to rest for about 15 minutes.

  5. Preheat oven to 350-degrees.

  6. Roll each dough ball into a rectangle about 6" x 12" in dimension. Place about a 1/4 cup of the filling at the top of the rectangle and spread evenly across the top.

  7. Use a small knife or a bench scraper to cut (1/8"-1/4") strips into the lower part of the dough below the filling and about two-thirds of the way up. Roll each piece tightly from the uncut end. Continue to roll the dough down toward the strips, creating a log. Place the first log into the greased pan.

  8. Repeat steps with the remaining dough balls and place each log end-to-end with each other, making sure the ends are lined up with each other, close enough to cuddle but not so tight that they can't rise.

  9. Cover the pan with a cloth and allow to rest for about 1-1/2 hours, until puffy.

  10. Gently brush the dough with milk. It's important to be careful so that the dough does not deflate during this step.

  11. Bake bread for about 25-30 minutes, until golden brown.

  12. Remove from oven and allow it to cool in the pan for about 10 minutes. Continue to cool on a baking rack once removed from the pan.