Applesauce Cinnamon Sourdough Bread Recipe


This applesauce cinnamon bread is an easy sourdough bread recipe that I make fairly often. It’s not a snack bread, it’s a “real” bread that would be good for sandwiches since it has a dense texture.

It does have a “make a sponge” step, so read the tips under the recipe to see what you should know about that in order for this recipe to work well!


applesauce cinnamon sourdough bread

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Applesauce cinnamon sourdough bread recipe:

cut loaf

Applesauce Cinnamon Sourdough Bread

A sourdough sandwich or dinner bread that has a hint of sweetness from apples and cinnamon.
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
rising and resting time 1 day
Course Bread
Cuisine American

Equipment

  • 1 large mixing bowl
  • 2 loaf pans
  • 1 set Measuring cups
  • 1 set Measuring spoons
  • 1 wooden spoon
  • 1 cooling rack

Ingredients
  

Sponge

  • 1/2 cup sourdough starter
  • 1 1/2 cups unbleached AP flour
  • 1 cup room temp or warm water

Bread ingredients

  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1 cup applesauce
  • 2 Tbsp veg oil
  • 2 Tbsp sugar
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 2 cups old fashioned oats
  • 3 1/2 cups unbleached AP flour
  • 1 to 1 1/2 cups unbleached AP flour for kneading
  • 2-3 Tbsp cinnamon

Instructions
 

Make the sponge 12-36 hours ahead of time

  • Mix the sponge ingredients in a large mixing bowl until everything is incorporated thoroughly and the sponge is like a thick cake batter.
    mixing the sponge
  • Cover the bowl and leave the sponge to develop at room temperature for at least 12 hours, but not more than 36.
    cover the sponge

Make the bread

  • Add 3 1/2 cups of the flour and the rest of the bread ingredients into the bowl with the developed sponge, and mix it thoroughly with a spoon for a couple of minutes.
    add liquid ingredients to the sponge
  • Add flour to a kitchen counter and turn the dough out onto it.
    turn the dough out onto the counter
  • Knead the dough for 8-10 minutes, adding more flour as needed to get to an elastic dough.
  • This dough will look lumpy because of the oats in it, so you won't be able to judge the "doneness" based on the texture. Use the elasticity of it to decide when it's ready to put into the pans. See more tips below!
  • Clean the mixing bowl and oil the inside, then put the bread back in to rise.
    oil the dough in the bowl
  • Cover the bowl and let the dough rise for 2-2 1/2 hours, until it's about doubled in size.
    risen dough
  • Grease the bottom of two loaf pans.
    grease bottom of two loaf pans
  • Divide the dough into two pieces and round them into a loaf shape, then put them into each pan.
    dough in the pans
  • Cover the pans with a kitchen towel and let the dough rise for about 1 1/2 hours, or until they're about doubled in size.
    cover pans for the second rise
  • About 15 minutes before the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 375F.
  • Bake the risen loaves for 40-50 minutes, testing the temperature of the bread after 40 minutes. The internal temperature should be at least 185F. (See below for tips)
    instant read thermometer in the bottom of the loaf
  • Cool on a rack in the pans. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.
    baked loaves
Keyword artisan bread, easy bread recipe, homemade bread, rustic bread, sandwich bread, sourdough bread


Tips for making this recipe.

The sponge.

The sponge is the leavener for the bread, so make sure that you give it enough time to develop.

If you don’t have a starter already, you’ll need to get one going before you can make this recipe. Here’s an article about how to do that.


dry ingredients in the mixing bowl

I left mine for about 24 hours, which is a good middle ground for most conditions.

If it’s really cold where you are it might take longer, but 24 hours is usually a good amount of time.


sponge with bubbles

When the sponge is ready, it will be bubbly because the yeast is actively producing gas. If yours is flat and it doesn’t look like anything is going on, you might have to leave it longer.

You can also cheat and add some commercial yeast to the bread, though. Don’t feel bad about that, because the goal is to get a good result. Any way you do that is up to you!

The sourdough starter will still give the sponge a tangy flavor, but the yeast can boost the rise, so it’s up to you.

Here’s an article with a basic sourdough bread recipe if you want to try that one out, too!



Mixing the dough.

This is an easy recipe because you just dump everything into the bowl and mix it at the same time, but make sure to reserve the flour that you’ll need for the kneading part.


stir the ingredients into the sponge

This starts out as a really wet and sticky dough, so during the stirring part you’ll be doing some work.

You can 100% make this using a stand mixer with a bread hook if you don’t want to work your arm.


mixed batter

It’s ready to turn out onto the counter for kneading when it’s dry enough to form a ball and pull away from the sides of the bowl, but it will still be sticky.


knead the dough

When you’re kneading the dough it’s going to start out really sticky inside, so make sure to incorporate flour as you go to make sure that it’s the same consistency inside and out by the time you’re done kneading it.


Pro tip: Remove any rings with stones in them that you wear before baking or cooking anything. You don’t want to look down and see that a diamond is missing from your engagement ring when you’re done, because it might be in whatever you’re making! Set them aside in a safe place while you’re working.


This bread dough is bumpy because of the oats in it, so you have to judge when it’s done kneading it by touch instead of looking at the surface texture.

When it springs back and is elastic when you press a finger into it, it’s ready, so keep an eye on that instead of looking for the usual surface appearance that you do with yeast breads.


See my list of baking essentials in my Amazon shop (affiliate link)


Second rise.

dough in the pans

The second rise is called proofing the dough, and you have to make sure that you’ve given it enough time to really rise.


risen dough in the loaf pans

If your bread doesn’t rise in the loaf pans, it’s not going to bake the right way, so that’s unfortunate.


If it’s really cold where you are it could take longer for the loaves to fill out the pans, and this particular recipe doesn’t rise that much more in the oven. If you check the loaf pans after 1 1/2 hours but they look like they might need more time to rise, put them on top of the stove while you’re preheating it.

You might actually benefit from getting a bread proofing box, which is going to keep the temperature and humidity consistent during the proofing process.

It sounds like it’s a little much, but proofing is an actual step in breadmaking, so it could be worth a shot if you never get a good proof going.


Baking.

This bread takes at least 40 minutes to bake, in my experience, and it’s usually a little longer.

Here’s the way to find out if your bread is done…Get an instant-read thermometer.

When you test the internal temperature of a finished loaf of bread right out of the oven, it should be 185-190F. If it’s lower than that, put the bread back in the oven for a little longer.


instant read thermometer in the bottom of the loaf

When I made these loaves this time, I put them in for 40 minutes, but they were only at around 165F, so I put them back in for ten more minutes.

They were done then, so this bake time was actually 50 minutes.

Test at the estimated “done” time, but be ready to add more time if you need to, or your bread will be underdone and gummy.

To test the temperature, run a knife around the edges of the bread on the pan, then turn the loaf out of the pan using an oven mitt to catch it in your hand as you turn the pan over with the other one.

Insert the thermometer into the bottom of the loaf to take the temperature.

You can do this by just sticking the thermometer into the top of the loaf without removing it from the pan, too, but that will leave a hole in the loaf. If that doesn’t bother you, you can do it that way.


Cooling and storing the bread.

baked loaves

Cool the loaves on a wire rack in the pans, and then store them in an airtight container at room temperature.

I just use a Ziplock bag for storing them, because they don’t last that long in my house anyway.


cut loaf

You can get a nice container that looks good on your counter if you want to get fancy, but make sure that it’s airtight or the bread can dry out.


bread with jam

This is a nice, dense bread that slices well, so you can use it to eat on its own (delicious) or use it for rustic sandwiches (also delicious.)


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