Apple Braid

Good morning!! How did your weekend go? Ours was nice....extremely quiet but very nice!

Last night, my sister and I decided to bake our version of this apple braid that I had seen a while back. We changed up a couple of things, and for some reason ours didn't stay braided, but everyone really liked it and we're definitely planning on making it again!!! :D Here's what we did:
Apple Braid

Ingredients:
For the apple filling:

• 3-4 apples (3 medium or 4 small)
• 4 tablespoons sugar
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice

For the bread:

• 2 1/2 cups flour, plus more for dusting
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon instant yeast
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup warm water
• 2 1/4 teaspoons oil
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the glaze:

• 1/3 cup sugar 
• 3 tablespoons heavy cream
• 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• pinch salt

Directions:

For the apples:

1. Peel and core apples. Cut them into thin slices and then cut the slices in half. Toss with the sugar, cinnamon and lemon juice, place in a buttered dish and bake for 15 minutes at 350. 

For the bread:

1. While the apples are baking, combine all of the dry ingredients for the bread in a large bowl. Stir in the water, oil and vanilla. Mix until smooth, adding more flour if dough seems too sticky. 
2. Turn out onto a floured surface, knead a couple of times to make the dough smooth again. Roll out to a rectangle about 12 inches long and 6 inches wide. Transfer dough to a greased baking sheet.
3. Using a sharp knife, cut strips 1 inch thick along both sides of the rectangle, leaving about 1/3 of the dough in the middle uncut. Spread the apples down the middle section of the dough. 
4. To braid, fold strips of dough into the center, alternating sides. When you reach the end, pinch seams to seal. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes or until the bread is golden brown. For more information on how to braid the bread, click here.

For the glaze:

1. While the bread is in the oven, make your glaze, by combining all of the ingredients in a small saucepan. Heat until simmering and cook until it thickens, about 2 minutes. If after 2 min, it still seems thin to you, add more sugar by the tablespoon, while cooking the mixture over low heat until the glaze is the right consistency for you. When the bread is done, brush the glaze over the top and serve! 

So there ya have it....our version of the apple braid!!!!! :D It was sooooo yummy!!!!! The apples tasted like pie filling and the bread was really awesome too!!! The main difference in our version was that we used a little more sugar than in the original, because our apples aren't too sweet and we also really like sweet stuff! :D Also, the glaze was completely different but that's only because I didn't happen to have any confectioner's sugar on hand so I had to make a warm glaze. It turned out nicely, though! 

Well, I'm hoping that my slice of apple braid this morning will fuel me through some school work.....only two more weeks left! whohoo!! What are you up to today????

See ya'll later!