Another Saturday means another sourdough bread, this one with lots of apple flavor and whole grains. Today’s recipe is one of my favorites. It’s just sweet enough to eat like a dessert bread, but savory enough for sandwiches. This recipe makes a very large loaf – one that won’t fit in a standard stand mixer bowl unless the ingredients are added in the correct order (solids added to liquids, not the other way around). If you are making it by hand, you may want to halve the recipe.

Sourdough Dried Apple Bread

Sourdough Dried Apple Bread Recipe

In a large bowl (or mixer bowl) combine:

• 2 cups of ripe sourdough starter (see how to make your own starter here)
• 1 cup water
• 1 1/4 cups apple cider or unfiltered apple juice

Mix well to combine

Add:

• 5 1/4 cups bread flour (all purpose flour works if you don’t have bread flour on hand)
• 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 Tbsp kosher or sea salt

Mix for 3 minutes or until the ingredients are well combined

Add:

• 1 1/2 cups of diced, dried apples

Mix for another 3 minutes or until smooth and slightly tacky. Transfer to a greased bowl, cover and let ferment for 2 hours, folding once.

Shape into a loaf, cover and let rise for an additional 2 hours, or retard in the refrigerator overnight.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Make one long cut the length of the loaf with a sharp knife. Place bread in oven. Reduce heat to 420 degrees after 15 minutes.

Bake for about 40 minutes total, or until the internal temperature reaches 200 degrees,

Let the bread cool for at least 15 minutes before slicing. Cooling allows the crumb to set, so you will get nice, even slices when cutting the bread.

This recipe was originally published on my old Hestia’s Kitchen blog. Republished here for your enjoyment!