This apple-stuffed challah bread blends the sweet flavors of fall into one soft, honey-sweetened loaf studded with cinnamon apple chunks.
If you love baking with apples, you will also want to try my Apple Banana Bread, Salted Caramel Apple Pie, and Pumpkin Challah Bread.
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I found this recipe years ago on King Arthur Flour and dreamed about baking it for two years before I finally did. It is made with a honey-sweetened challah dough rather than my usual sugar-based one, though I still add a pinch of sugar to the yeast while it proofs, a habit I picked up from my great aunt.
A staple for Rosh Hashanah, this bread carries the symbolic sweetness hoped for in the year ahead.
Why You Will Love This Round Challah
- A beautiful, fluffy loaf studded with soft apple chunks and warm cinnamon.
- Straightforward to put together, even though it looks impressive.
- Versatile enough for breakfast, an afternoon snack, or dessert.
- Yields one generous round loaf, perfect for sharing at a gathering or gifting.
- Fills your kitchen with the smell of baked apples and cinnamon.
I did follow their challah bread recipe and didn't use the one I usually make. This is a challah dough with honey instead of sugar. Although I always add a little bit of sugar to my yeast when it's proofing.
It's what my great-aunt used to do and it's a baking habit I can't break. I also decided to cook my apples a little bit in the cinnamon sugar. I wasn't too excited about baking with completely raw chunks of apples. I like my apple desserts with very soft pieces of apples. I was envisioning a bread almost like an apple pie.
Ingredients
- Water, yeast, and sugar: These are the base ingredients needed for the bread dough to rise.
- Flour: This is the main substance of the bread, providing structure.
- Eggs: These add richness and help with the structure of the bread.
- Vegetable oil and honey: These add moisture, flavor, and a delicate sweetness to the bread.
- Salt: This enhances all the flavors in the recipe.
- Apples: They bring a natural sweetness and a bit of tartness to the bread.
- Cinnamon and sugar: These give the bread its classic autumn flavor.
Variations/Substitution for this Challah bread with honey
- You can use whole wheat flour in place of white flour for a healthier option.
- Instead of regular sugar, natural sweeteners like maple syrup or agave nectar can be used.
- For a nutty twist, add some walnuts or pecans.
- If you don't have access to apples, try using other fruits like pears or peaches.
- For a more indulgent bread, add some chocolate chips or cinnamon chips.
How do you make an apple harvest bread?
I didn't take any photos of the dough making process. But once you get the dough together, it's pretty easy to assemble.
When you have your dough rolled out and filled and folded over with the apple pieces, it's time to slice it carefully into large pieces. A very sharp knife is important.
Once your dough is prepped and filled with the apple cinnamon chunks, it gets cut into large sections and placed in your baking dish. And it's totally fine if apple pieces fall out when you move it around, just place on top and tuck in or leave it out. The important step after that is to let it rise again (should take about an hour).
Expert Tips for This Apple Challah Bread
- Brush with egg wash. This is what gives the loaf its golden, shiny crust.
- Keep the water lukewarm. Too hot and it can kill the yeast, too cold and it will not activate.
- Add flour gradually. Mixing it in a little at a time helps avoid lumps in the dough.
- Test the rise with a poke. If the indentation stays, the dough is ready to shape.
- Do not overfill with apples. Too much filling and the apples will spill out while baking.
Serving Suggestions
This bread is perfect as a dessert or an afternoon snack. It also makes for a great addition to any fall-themed breakfast or brunch spread. Serve it warm with some whipped cream or vanilla ice cream on the side for an indulgent treat. You can even toast slices of this bread and serve them with your favorite spread, like butter or apple butter.
Storing and Reheating
- Room temperature: store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 2 days.
- Freeze: wrap slices or the whole loaf tightly in plastic wrap, then store in a freezer-safe bag for up to 2 months.
- Reheat: place frozen slices or the whole loaf in a 350°F oven for 10 to 15 minutes, until warmed through.
More apple recipes I love:
- Apple Banana Bread
- Salted Caramel Apple Pie
- Sourdough Discard Apple Galette
- Teresa's Vegan Apple Cake
- Cinnamon Raisin Challah
- The Best Pumpkin Challah Bread Recipe
Did you make this and love it? Please RATE THE RECIPE below:)
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Apple Stuffed Challah Bread
Ingredients
Bread
Filling
- 2 medium-to-large apples NOT peeled; cored and diced in ¾" chunks (I peeled some)
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- egg wash-
- 1 large egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water
Instructions
- In a mixer, with a dough hook attachment, add the warm water and yeast. Mix until blended. Add the sugar and mix about a minute. Slowly mix in 1 cup of the flour until combined.
- Mix in the eggs one at a time until they are combined. Add another 2 cups of the flour, oil, honey and salt.
- Mix together on medium-low speed stopping the machine to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Slowly add the rest of the flour (the remaining 4 cups) and mix until combined. Stop the machine as you add each cup of the flour to scrape the sides of the bowl and incorporate the flour.
- Mix on low speed for 12 minutes until dough is incorporated. Be sure to give your mixer a break, as you don't want to burn it out. Add flour if needed 1 tablespoon at a time. The dough will be a little sticky but also firm.
- Take dough out of mixer bowl. Form the dough into a ball and place into an oiled bowl (when I put the dough in the bowl I swish the dough around the bottom of the bowl and then flip it over so all of the dough is covered in a light film of oil. I use vegetable oil).
- Cover with plastic wrap and let it rise at room temperature until doubled in size (about 1-1 ½ hours. It could take a full 2 hours to double in size, depending on where you have the bread rising).
- Lightly grease a 9″ round cake pan that's at least 2″ deep. Or grease a 9″ or 10″ spring form pan.
- Gently deflate the dough, transfer it to a lightly greased work surface, and flatten it into a rough rectangle, about 8″ x 10″.
- Spread half the apple chunks in the center of the dough.
- Fold a short edge of the dough over the apple to cover it, patting firmly to seal the apples and spread the dough a bit.
- Spread the remaining apple atop the folded-over dough.
- Cover the apples with the other side of the dough, again patting firmly. Basically, you've folded the dough like a letter, enclosing the apples inside.
- Take a bench knife or a knife, or even a pair of scissors, and cut the apple-filled dough into 16 pieces. Cut in half, then each half in halves, etc. This could become messy because the apple pieces will start to fall out. (Not to worry if pieces do fall out while assembling. Simply place them on top. )
- Lay the dough chunks into the pan; crowd them so that they all fit in a single layer (apple pieces may fall out. Tuck them in between the dough pieces and place them on top. I had a few extra dough chunks leftover, and added them to a mini rectangular baking pan).
- Cover the bread gently with lightly greased plastic wrap or a proof cover, and allow it to rise for about 1 hour (could take a bit longer than an hour, depends on where you leave it rise), until it's a generous 2″ high. It should just crest the rim of a 9″ round cake pan. Towards the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 325°F.
- Whisk together the egg and 1 tablespoon water. Brush the dough with the egg mixture
- Place the bread in the lower third of the oven. Bake it for 55 minutes, or until the top is at least light brown all over, with no white spots
- Remove the bread from the oven, and after 5 minutes loosen the edges and carefully transfer it to a serving plate.
- Best served warm but even great the next day.
Nutrition Disclaimer
Please keep in mind that the nutritional information presented below is an approximation and may vary depending on the exact ingredients used.
Notes
- Flour: add it gradually while mixing to avoid lumps, and only add extra a tablespoon at a time.
- Rise time: can vary depending on the temperature of your kitchen, so go by how the dough looks and feels, not just the clock.
- Apples: peeling is optional. I like a mix of peeled and unpeeled for texture.
- Storage: keep at room temperature up to 2 days, or freeze up to 2 months.
- Nutrition: is an estimate for the whole loaf and will vary depending on the exact ingredients used.
Nutrition
FAQ'S
Absolutely! Pears or peaches can make a great substitute for apples.
Yes, replace eggs with a flaxseed or chia seed 'egg', and honey with maple syrup, to make this recipe vegan.
Apart from the round shape and the inclusion of sweet ingredients, Rosh Hashanah challah may also have other symbolic elements. Some bakers choose to decorate the top of the challah with bird shapes or ladder shapes, symbolizing prayers ascending to heaven.
Challah is distinguished from regular bread by its rich, sweet flavor, attributed to the use of eggs, honey, and sometimes, raisins in the dough. The braiding or specific shaping of the dough also sets challah apart. In Jewish tradition, some challah is separated and discarded before baking, a practice rooted in ancient customs.
partially precooking the apples is a trick to keep them from slumping in your pie they might also keep their shape better in the bread- I will have to try this-I have made this bread without precooking the apples it was great.
Hi Judi-I do partially cook my apples for so many of my apple desserts and love the results. Happy you like the bread even without precooking the apples! Happy baking!