Yum Peaceful Cooking: HBin5 Whole Wheat Apple Strudel

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

HBin5 Whole Wheat Apple Strudel



Apples, pecans and cinnamon......Oh my!

This is the final bread from this particular assignment with HBin5 club being hosted by BigBlackDogs....


There was a lot of talk about how this particular recipe works or doesn't work. I'm glad I waited until the end to make mine cuz I think I learned an awful lot from the others. Actually I know I did.

One of the biggest issues was the wetness of the bread due to the baked apples. Another concerns were too much filling and air pockets. (making mental note)

When it came time to make mine, I didn't have the required amount of dough left in my bin after making my Soft Sandwich bread and my Hamburger buns. I think I had about a pound instead of 1 1/2 pounds. Normally that would have really worried me and I would've other thought everything but the way this bread is made and assembled.....for some reason I was pretty calm. I figured it would either work or it wouldn't....

Only time would tell.

Sooo...I got out the good stuff and got to work...


One of the suggestions was to use only one apple instead of the recommended two apples. Noted. And since the issue had to do with moisture I picked out what I consider a rather dry apple....Red Delicious.

For the rest of the ingredients, I pretty much kept those amounts the same, even though my dough was "smaller" than the recipe called for....but I eyeballed it so I can't be positive but does it really matter?


And then I thought.....how yummy would this be if I added.....

wait for it....

wait.... for.... it............

CHEESE!!!!

Brie Cheese to be exact!



Yaaaa...that's the ticket. 

So I sliced off probably a bit more than half of this little "wheel". And I proceeded to roll out my dough into a rectangle.....sprinkled the cinnamon fruit goodies and laid out the cheese



Note to self: next time maybe lay them out the other direction...it will be easier to roll

And the next step was to roll this baby into a log, starting on a short end


It took some work but I did it.

Then came an obstacle. I wasn't really paying attention....but ummm....my log is longer than my bread pan. eerrr....crap. That was dumb. What the hell was I thinking? (someone's voice in my head keeps saying "that's the problem...you weren't thinking) yaya..whatever. Shut up and let me think. Ok...not a lot I can do here....other than.....yep....you got it....squuuuuiiiiiiiiish


(ssshhh...don't tell anyone but..I had to squish this poor little loaf twice because I had forgotten to grease the pan....so I had to un-squish, grease and re-squish. That's a lot of squishing. It's beginning to look a little bit like a caterpillar isn't it.)

I'm trying to think.....that picture might be after the rise. but I can't remember. So I'll include this one also...which shows the top sprinkled doused in cinnamon sugar just before going into the oven. Oh ya, I had almost forgotten to add the cinnamon sugar....this little guy was already in the oven for a splint second when I remembered that step....(whew...not my day for "thinking" AT ALL!). 

Ya, so I gave it an egg wash and cinnamon sugar bath while it was all squished in its little tub.




Now because I had used less dough I set the timer for 45 minutes. (instructions had said 50 - 60 minutes). I purchased an instant read thermometer which is totally useless for my intended purpose as the instructions (which were read after I got home and the next day after every important paper, receipt was tossed in the trash and taken out) said not to use it in a closed oven. And by the time it "instantly reads" anything? The temp has changed. Good thing it was cheap.

Anyways...I ended up cooking this little caterpillar for pretty close to the full time of 60 minutes.

(apparently my breads have a "thing" going on with San Andreas)

But check this baby out......


See those little bits of white? The tell tale signs of the brie. Which added a slight tang that only brie can do while meshing with the sweet interior.

This makes the most awesome toast! My first slice had spun honey....that was so good even Simba was begging for a bite


The kids and I have discovered that it's even better as cinnamon toast. This lovely loaf has been a great hit! Loved it and I would make it again...espeically for a holiday. 

25 comments:

  1. wow yours turned out so much better than mine - mine had so much filling toasting was not a possibility. One apple and BRIE! You are a genius, I am giving you a round of applause!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Fun post and great looking bread.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Brie? Awesome Idea... And you cant even tell that you had to double-squish it. Look divine. Hurry, pass me a slice... Pleeeeeeeeeez

    ReplyDelete
  4. LOVE..LOVE Brie Cheese and with apple it is the best!

    Great idea!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Wow!! You are a bread Goddess!!
    I'm so jealous!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Holy crap. That looks ridiculously good. Love the brie in there, thats a great touch.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Wow, when I first saw the picture I thought that was honey butter, which would also be fantastic on this... but spun is good too :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Wow! I seriously wish I could take a big bite of this! I love brie, especially when it is melted!!!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Brilliant idea to add brie! My favorite sammie is sour dough, turkey, apple butter and brie. Melted. Yum.

    ReplyDelete
  10. This is awesome. Love the picture with the honey dripping, the idea with the brie and it looks like you rolled that dough out pretty thin which is perfect for that bread. Nice looking loaf on top of that all. Maybe I think to much and that was my problem:)

    ReplyDelete
  11. WOW in every way. The brie is genius, and your photos are really amazing

    ReplyDelete
  12. Thanks guys!!! I think this is my favorite of all the assignments so far. It was sooooo darned good!!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Yum! It looks to die for. I'll bet my Pete would really like it. You are the bread queen!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Alright. It's official. you are a genius! I can't believe I didn't think to add brie. That looks and sounds fantastic!

    ReplyDelete
  15. When you talked about Apple strudel, I didn't realise it was a type of bread. Looks wonderful, both simple and toasted with honey, OMG!

    ReplyDelete
  16. I am blown away by the fact that you added brie! I LOVE that! I really do. What a wonderful idea. Bring on the brie :D

    ReplyDelete
  17. Genius takes work and experimentation. Your cracked edge may have something to do with uneven temp. or hot spots inside your oven. Have you tried shifting or turning your loaf during baking? Doesn't really matter as if still looks great!

    ReplyDelete
  18. Brie, nice addition, I love it.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Awesome looking bread, and brie makes it extra special

    ReplyDelete
  20. OK that picture of the bread with the spun honey is delectable!

    ReplyDelete
  21. WOW, BRIE? You are so creative! Your recipe rocks!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  22. What could be better? Brie and apples and cinnamon!! Only wish I could have helped you sample it.

    ReplyDelete
  23. danielle. this looks PERFECT! seriously, the swirl, the crumb, the flecks of apple and cheese. i'm in awe--bravo!

    ReplyDelete

I apologize for having to use the word verification but you know how spammers are. All comments with links will be treated as spam. Thank you for visiting. I will do my best to return the visit.
Cheers!