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Sourdough Apple Cinnamon Spice Country Bread (Boule)

Author: Jenny Prior

Equipment

  • Large Bowl or stand mixer
  • Rounded plastic dough scraper
  • Bench Knife also known as a Bench Scraper
  • 4-qt Cambro container for bulk fermentation
  • Banneton or Proofing Bowl/Basket
  • Flour duster shaker: very optional but easy to use for shaping to get just right coverage and not too much flour
  • Bread Lame or bread knife for scoring the dough before baking
  • Dutch Oven
  • Silicone Oven Mitts
  • Cooling Rack
  • Bread Knife for safe and efficient slicing. My favorites are Wusthof bread knife and the Shun bread knife

Ingredients

  • 360-370 mL/g water hold some back to incorporate after autolyse
  • 100-125 g approx. 2/3 c. active starter
  • 400 g approx. 2 2/3 c. white flour (all-purpose or bread flour)
  • 100 g approx. heaping ¾ c. or scant c. whole wheat flour
  • 360-370 g/mL water (hold some back to incorporate after autolyse
  • 10 g 1 1/2 t. sea salt
  • 75 g 1 large green apples, peeled and diced
  • 15 g 1 T. brown sugar, sucanat, or maple sugar granules
  • 1 T. Pumpkin spice mix or 2 t. cinnamon, 1/2 t. ground ginger, 1/4 t. ground nutmeg, 1/4 t. ground clove or allspice

Instructions

Make the starter

  • Make the starter: 6-12 hours (at least 6-8 hours in warmer months, 10-12 in cooler months) before you make your dough, mix together 60 grams of all-purpose flour (7 T.) and 60 grams of water (1/4 cup) with 20 grams of sourdough starter (about 1 T.) in a glass jar or clean container. Let this sit at room temperature to become active for 6-12 hours until it is more than doubled in volume and bubbly.

Mixing the Dough

  • Scaling: Start by adding 350 grams of water to a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer. Follow the water with the active sourdough starter and flour. Hold off on other ingredients.
  • Initial Mix: Mix the water, starter, and flour together using a spoon or a dough hook attachment, if using a stand mixer. Tip: Do not overmix! Once there is only a little bit of dry flour and dough is mostly come together, use a rounded plastic dough scraper to scrape the sides of the bowl and finish mixing the last bits of dry flour into the bread dough. Be sure to check under the dough and the sides of the dough for dry flour.
  • Autolyse: Cover the bowl of dough with plastic wrap or a cloth and let the dough rest for 20-60 minutes to help the dough strengthen and develop better elasticity.
  • Final Mix: After the dough autolyse time is complete, add the salt and the 10g* reserved water to the dough. Knead and fold the salt and water into the dough until it is completely incorporated. Let the dough rest for 30 minutes before adding the inclusions during the first stretch and fold.
  • ​During the autolyse, prepare the apple cinnamon spice mixture. The size of the apple pieces is a matter of preference. A finer dice will allow them to mix in more evenly. Chunks of apple will create some larger juicy bites in the bread.​Personally, I like to cut the apple pieces until they are the size of blueberries, about 1/4-inch squares. Mix the apples, sugar, and spices together in a small bowl.
  • Add the apple cinnamon mixture to the center of the dough.
  • Then, take the sides of the dough and pull it up and over the top of the dough. Keep stretching and folding the dough over itself until the apples and spices are evenly incorporated. Recover the dough or transfer to a dough bin.
  • ​Suggested step: After 30 minutes, do a second stretch and fold series.

Bulk Ferment (first rise)

  • Leave the covered dough for 5 to 7 hours at room temperature to complete the bulk fermentation until it doubles in volume and has a smooth, shiny appearance (see links in post for help with evaluating)

Shaping

  • Once the dough has doubled in volume and has a smooth appearance, it's time to shape it. Pre-Shape: Transfer the dough to an unfloured surface. Use a dough scraper or bench knife to take one end of the dough and fold it over the top of the rest of the dough. Then, rotate the dough on the unfloured surface or tuck the ends of the dough under the whole to create a smoother, round shape.
  • Bench Rest: Let the rounded dough rest for 20 to 30 minutes. Prepare the proofing bowl (banneton) with a dusting of rice flour or all purpose flour, set aside.
  • Final Shape: After the bench rest lightly flour the rounded top of the dough and gently rub the flour over the top until there is no sticky dough exposed on top. Then complete the following series of folds:
  • Take the bench knife or straight edge of a dough scraper and zig zag it under the dough to pick it up then flip it over with the flour side down.
  • Gently pick up the edges and stretch the dough by jiggling until it's about 7 to 8 inches wide.
  • Take each side (right and left) of the dough and fold them into the center and press to seal.
  • Then, take the narrow bottom end of the folded dough (nearest you) and roll the dough onto itself into a spiral. The seam should be inside the rolled up dough with the smooth floured side facing up.
  • Use the bench knife or straight edge of the dough scraper to tighten the ball of dough by rotating the dough and tucking the edges of the dough under itself until the ball of dough is tight and smooth.

Proofing

  • Let the shaped dough sit at room temperature for 1 to 2 hours or place in the fridge for a cold proof for 8 to 12 hours.

Baking

  • Near the end of the proof, preheat the oven with the Dutch oven to 500 degrees F.
  • ​Once the oven is preheated, take a long piece of parchment paper and place it over the top of the proofing bowl. ​Hold the parchment over the edges of the bowl then quickly flip the bowl upside down so that the smooth top is facing up.
  • Use a bread lame or serrated bread knife to score the top of the dough so there's a 1/8 to 1/4-inch deep cut across the top.
  • Pick up the edges of the parchment and lift the scored bread dough into the preheated Dutch oven. Place the lid snugly on top to seal the dough inside then carefully place in hot oven.
  • Reduce oven temperature to 450 degrees F and bake for 20 minutes.
  • After 20 minutes, remove the bread from the Dutch oven (or remove manual steam element*) and place directly on the oven rack to complete baking for 15-20 minutes until its a nice deep brown.
  • ​Once your loaf is baked, place it on a cooling rack to cool down. ​Let the bread cool for one hour.

Notes

*Ingredient Notes: You can use all white flour in place of the whole wheat flour, however the dough will be more sticky. If using all white flour, I highly recommend choosing bread flour rather than all-purpose for better dough development and less stickiness.

Tips 

  1. Use fresh spices for the best flavor. Ground spices only last 1-2 years.
  2. Cooling the bread sufficiently will allow it to store more easily, however, due to the presence of the apples in the bread I would recommend storing it in the fridge in a plastic bag.
  3. You can also made this into a sandwich loaf shape by placing it into a loaf pan. See this post on sandwich loaves for more help: How to Shape a Sourdough Sandwich Loaf and Bake with Steam
  4. Apple piece size will affect the texture of the bread and flavor. Finer pieces will add more moisture into the bread overall for a more chewy texture. Larger pieces will create juicy bites of apple more sporadically spread throughout the sourdough bread.
  5. Apple choice will also impact the bread flavor and texture. Opt for apples that are best for cooking and baking. Green granny smiths are perfect for this since they don't break down too much and add a sweet and tart flavor! Fujis will keep a nice shape and texture and add more sweetness.
  6. During shaping, don't use too much flour. Too much flour can change the flavor of the bread and it can make it difficult to create tension. Dust just enough on top of the preshaped dough that when you gently rub it over the top that your hand doesn't feel any stickiness.

Variations

  • Swap chocolate chips for the apples for a chocolate and spice version
  • White chocolate chips for extra sweetness
  • Experiment with different spices to create a warm flavor
  • Love cinnamon and apple? Try some of the other quick bread and enriched sourdough bread recipes below!