Sourdough apple fritter bread is a delicious and healthier way to enjoy the flavor of fried apple fritters!
Why is it better?
You might be offended by this, but I really dislike frying things in the kitchen. Doughnuts and the like are fun, but the mess it makes and all the work doesn’t always seem worth it to me.
Not to mention how much oil it requires for frying. And since I prefer using coconut oil or avocado oil for frying, it also becomes expensive to fry.
Don’t worry I’ll still share fried recipes for sourdough, but I love baked versions of fried favorites like this sourdough apple fritter bread.
So between the health reasons and less mess, I prefer this alternative!
Why use sourdough?
Sourdough makes flour in baked goods more digestible when it ferments at room temperature (or longer periods in the fridge). This fermentation means that those who are sensitive to gluten (not celiac) can enjoy this bread without having an upset stomach.
Sourdough discard is a great substitute for milk or yogurt in adjusted ratios.
It is also a great way to reduce waste from working with your sourdough starter.
Want more sourdough starter info?
You can get my free Quick Start Sourdough Guide to begin learning some of the key parts of the cycle of sourdough starter.
Learn the phases, the signs of an active, how to care for a sourdough starter to keep it alive and thriving, as well as how to make your own sourdough starter.
What apples to use in baking?
Apple choice in baking is really important for achieving the right flavor and texture in your bake.
Granny smith apples are dense with a tart flavor. The texture holds up without becoming mush like a gala apple would in baking.
The sweet, tart flavor pairs especially well with maple syrup or brown sugar and spices.
And if you love lots of apple flavor, I use the biggest ones I can find!
This delicious sourdough based recipe is inspired by a non-sourdough version I made in my book Celebrate with Bread Baking!
Make sure to use generous sized apples! I love how cakey this bread is and it is such a treat to share.
Ingredients for Sourdough Discard Apple Fritter Quick Bread
For the dough
- 250 grams All-Purpose Flour (1 2/3 cups)
- 50 grams Brown Sugar (1/4 cup)
- 50 grams White Cane Sugar (1/4 cup)
- 16 grams Baking Powder (1 tablespoon)
- 3 grams Salt (1/2 teaspoon)
- 150 grams Sourdough Discard (about 1/2 cup)*
- 2 Eggs
- 30 grams Whole Milk (2 tablespoons)
- 3 grams Vanilla Extract (1/2 teaspoon)
- 84 grams Unsalted Butter, melted (6 tablespoons)
Apple cinnamon mixture
- 1 Large Green Apple (granny smith or similar tart baking apple), peeled and diced into ¼ to ½-inch pieces
- 15 grams White Cane Sugar (1 tablespoon)
- 3 grams Cinnamon, ground (1 teaspoon)
For the streusel
- 17 grams Unsalted Butter, softened (1 1/2 tablespoons)
- 45 grams Brown Sugar (3 tablespoons)
Vanilla glaze
- 65 grams Powdered Sugar (1/2 cup)
- 1/4 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1-3 TBSP Whole Milk
*Starter notes: there is a lot of variability in measuring by volume. See this post for tips and help for measuring starter by cups: How much does a cup of sourdough starter weigh? (Active vs. Discard)
More favorite sourdough discard recipes:
- The Best Sourdough Discard Graham Crackers Recipe (my most shared!)
- The Best Sourdough Pancakes Recipe (Discard Sponge Method)
- Soft, Fluffy Sourdough Discard Sugar Cookies
- The Best Tender Sweet Sourdough Discard Scones (Shortcake)
- How to Make No Knead Sourdough, The Easy Way
- Easy No Knead Sourdough Bagels
Savor More Sourdough Fall Flavors
- Sourdough Apple Cinnamon Spice Country Bread (Boule) Recipe
- Skillet Sourdough Apple Cinnamon Swirl Bread Recipe
- Pumpkin Shaped Sourdough Boules
- Sourdough Kanelbullar (Swedish Cinnamon Cardamom Knots)
- Easy Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls Recipe (Soft and Fluffy)
Just getting started with sourdough?
A competent guide transforms sourdough baking from overwhelming to uncomplicated and fun!
Get My Free Quick Start Sourdough Guide: Learn the key terms and concepts in sourdough baking, including the differences between active sourdough starter and sourdough discard, and how to care for your starter.
Time Planning Help for Sourdough Baking
The #1 need for sourdough bakers is help with time planning, so I created a resource for you.
Sourdough Time Planning Workbook: Perfect for new or experienced bakers, this workbook includes 8 templates ready to fill in and a baking journal. The templates cover 4 different ways to make classic sourdough country breads, 3 time planning worksheets for enriched sourdough bread depending on serving time target, and a blank template. The baking journal goes over baker’s percentages and how to take notes on your sourdough bakes.
Get a free sample of the workbook: Use this sourdough time planning worksheet sample to simplify your baking.
Living Bread Baker posts mentioned
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Apple Fritter Bread with Sourdough Discard
Equipment
- loaf pan
Ingredients
- 250 grams All-Purpose Flour (1 2/3 cups)
- 50 grams Brown Sugar (1/4 cup)
- 50 grams White Cane Sugar (1/4 cup)
- 16 grams Baking Powder (1 tablespoon)
- 3 grams Salt (1/2 teaspoon)
- 150 grams Sourdough Discard (about 1 cup)
- 2 Eggs
- 30 grams Whole Milk (2 tablespoons)
- 3 grams Vanilla Extract (1/2 teaspoon)
- 84 grams Unsalted Butter, melted (6 tablespoons)
For the apple cinnamon mixture
- 1 Large Green Apple (granny smith or similar tart baking apple), peeled and diced into ¼ to ½-inch pieces
- 15 grams White Cane Sugar (1 tablespoon)
- 3 grams Cinnamon, ground (1 teaspoon)
For the streusel
- 17 grams Unsalted Butter, softened (1 1/2 tablespoons)
- 45 grams Brown Sugar (3 tablespoons)
For the vanilla glaze
- 65 grams Powdered Sugar (1/2 cup)
- 1/4 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1-3 TBSP Whole Milk
Instructions
- Melt butter: Place 90 grams (some will evaporate so use a bit more than dough calls for) unsalted butter in a pan or small pot to melt. Once melted, remove from heat and set aside.
- Scale: Place a large mixing bowl on the scale. Tare the bowl then add the flour, brown sugar, white sugar, baking powder, and salt (Remember to use the scale’s tare function to remove the weight of the bowl and previous ingredients to only weigh the current item added)
- Stir: Stir dry ingredients together. Make a well in the center. Set aside.
- Mix wet ingredients: In a second large mixing bowl, scale in sourdough discard, eggs, milk, vanilla extract, and 84 grams of the melted butter (should be warm, no longer hot).
- Add wet ingredients: Pour wet ingredient mixture into the center of the dry mixture.
- Stir: Stir together, don’t over mix. All ingredients should be well dispersed through dough. It should be a thick batter. You can proceed with the next steps, or for more flavor and fermentation, you can cover the batter and let it sit for 30 to 60 minutes or overnight in the fridge.
- Preheat: Preheat oven to 350º
- Prepare apple cinnamon mixture: Peel and dice apples. Place in a small bowl. Add sugar and cinnamon. Toss together to combine well.
- Prepare loaf pan: Cut a square piece of parchment, at least 12-by-12-inch. Turn a loaf pan over, center the parchment over the bottom of the loaf pan. Use scissors to make four cuts from the edge of the paper to each corner. Turn loaf pan over. Use cut slits to fold edges in to fit parchment snugly into loaf pan.
- Fill loaf pan: Use a spatula to add half of the dough to the loaf pan, spread to fill bottom of pan. Top with half of the apple cinnamon mixture, gently press apples into the dough. Add the rest of the dough, spread to cover the apple layer. Top with the rest of the apple cinnamon mixture, gently press apples into dough.
- Make streusel: Add softened butter and brown sugar to a small bowl. Stir with a fork until it becomes a streusel mixture that can be crumbled over the dough in the loaf pan. Evenly top the apple fritter bread with the streusel.
- Bake: Place pan into oven and bake 60 to 70 minutes. The bread should have a carmelized crust, golden brown edges on the dough, and a toothpick or knife inserted into the center should come out clean.
- Cool: Allow to cool for about 20 minutes.
- Prepare glaze: While bread is cooling, whisk glaze ingredients together until drizzling consistency. When bread is cool, drizzle generously with the vanilla glaze.
- Serve: Cut the bread into slices and serve.
Notes
- The parchment paper in the loaf pans makes the Apple Fritter Quick Bread easy to remove. Tie a ribbon around the loaf with a gift tag to give a loaf away to a friend or neighbor.
- To skip the glaze, simply skip step 14. It tastes delicious even without the glaze. If making the bread ahead of time, the glaze will keep the bread extra moist until ready to serve.
What size loaf pans do you use?
Hi Ruby!
Mine are 9″ long, 5″ wide, 3″ tall. It is this one from oxo brand
I made this and HIGHLY recommend it!! It is delicious! I made it exactly as written and added the glaze, too. One extra thing – I doubled the apple cinnamon mixture (2 apples, 2 T sugar, 2 tsp cinnamon) because I knew my husband would like it. He loved it! Tender and delicious and savory. We’re going to gobble ours up but it sure would make a lovely gift. I’m going to share the recipe on a sourdough site I’m in on Facebook. I’ll be sure and credit you in the post. Thank you for sharing such a great recipe.
Thank you Penny!!! I’m so glad you enjoyed it! We are big apple and cinnamon fans in our house too.
Please clarify how much sourdough discard. Your recipe states approximately 1 1/2 cups or 150 grams. One cup unfed starter is approximately 240 to 262 grams. I’d like to bake this recipe today if you can reply soon, I’d appreciate it. Thank you. Ruby
Hi Ruby, Use the 150 gram amount. Discard volume to weight can vary a bit so the weight measurement is the most accurate.
Absolutely love this recipe are used Macoun apples, which tasted wonderful ! However, I did forget to add baking powder but nonetheless, the bread was a hit. I used active starter so I was able to get a rise out of the bread. It’s slightly dense, but definitely next time I will add the baking powder.
Hi Jessica,
Thank you for sharing! The apples sound delicious. I hope you get to try it again soon!
Love this recipe! So good my husband ate half a loaf in one setting. Followed exactly and it came out perfectly. Baking time and temperature are spot on. Mine is a glass loaf pan so I use a dab of butter to keep the parchment in place. Appreciate the tip to cut the parchment as I’ve never done that.
Hi Tina! Thank you so much for sharing! It is so addictive! 🙂
I’m new to sourdough. But this is by far the best discard recipe I’ve come by. It is DELICIOUS!!!
HIGHLY RECOMEND 10/10
Thank you so much for the kind words Kyle! Welcome to the fun world of sourdough baking!!
The directions say to parchment loaf pans so does this recipe make 2 loaves?
Hi Jill,
This recipe is for one loaf of sourdough apple fritter bread.
Is it ok to add just one egg?
Hi Aleks,
Yes, that would be okay and shouldn’t cause an issue. Let me know how your change turns out!
Should this batter be somewhat stiff? Mine is very stiff after being hydrated.
Hi Michelle,
This batter starts out fairly thick and loosens up if you give it time to ferment. If you are having trouble mixing in flour, then you may need to add a small amount of liquid since variations in flour type or flour measurement (if using volume) could impact the hydration needed. I usually add a teaspoon or 10g/mL of liquid at a time, mix and then reassess.
Have you tried making muffins with this recipe? If so, do you think temperature would need to be adjusted?
Hi Caitlin,
I haven’t made muffins with this particular recipe (although that sounds delicious!) but with my overnight sourdough muffin recipe (not posted yet), I use a higher temp. Usually I do 400 degrees for 15-18 minutes depending on how wet the batter is. Give it a test with a toothpick or cake tester.
Very good but I found the bread to be a bit dry. Maybe add 1/4 c oil? Tastes like apple fritter!
Hi Deb,
So glad you enjoyed it! If you used volume measurements that can create some variability in the flour. Scale will give you most accurate results.
But in your kitchen, sometimes our baker’s intuition can help us with those adjustments! So if your bread was dry, you could add a bit of oil or use a scale to make sure the measurements are accurate.
The feel of the dough is often a good indicator if you are a seasoned baker! Which it sounds like you are 🙂
Hi! How should I store the bread after baking?
Hi Katie,
I’d recommend storing it in an airtight container at room temp. The fridge could pull moisture out unless the bread is very well sealed.
I love the old-fashioned tip of adding a slice of regular bread to keep treats like this sweet quick bread from staling.
I made this tonight after seeing it roaming around the sourdough discard group. I wasn’t impressed. I found the bread to be dry and tasteless. The apple mixture needs to be doubled, IMO and some lemon juice to brighten it up. I made lots of notes so I’ll try it again but adding Greek yogurt or sour cream will make the bread less dry. Some cinnamon, nutmeg and cardamon will add a great flavor and by doubling the apple mixture and strudel give this the flavor boost I’m after.
Hi Jenn, I’m sorry you experienced those results. A lot can vary if metric measurements are not used. Good luck on your adaptations!
Made this tonight and shared with friends. Was very good but we also found this to be quite dry. I also think that more apples throughout the dough would be delicious. I followed the scale measurements and baked for 50 minutes. I may try adding a bit of sour cream like the previous comment to moisten the dough.
Thanks for a fun recipe!
Hi Becky,
Thank you for sharing! I hope the next bake is even more delicious!
I made this bread on Friday and it turned out so delicious! I did what someone else suggested and doubled up the apple cinnamon mixture and it was just so full of flavor.
Yes! Love that idea! Apples can be so variable in size. I always love extra apple and spices in recipes like these.