Wholewheat Spiral Apple Bread

This has been on my mind ever since I saw it on a site and was really itching to try my hands on. However, not being an apple fan, I kept on lingering it until no further. My baking instinct could no longer hold the excitement of experimenting with the design. While the original recipe called for an only all purpose flour dough and butter for kneading, the calorie conscious me gave it a healthy twist and limited to using butter only for brushing. The taste was superb. Crusty on the outside and soft and gooey (from the apples) on the inside. I was in fact confused whether to call it a bread or a pie! Enjoy it on your breakfast table or with your evening tea/coffee.

                                     

Ingredients

1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1/4 cup all purpose flour

3/4 cup warm milk

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 tablespoon brown sugar

1 tsp instant yeast

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon (you can increase as per your liking)

3 apples peeled cored and sliced

TOPPING

Melted butter for brushing

1/4 C brown sugar or to taste

Direction

In a bowl or glass, take the warm milk, half the sugar, and dissolve the yeast. Let it stand for about 10 minutes until frothy and slightly tanned in color. 

In a separate bowl, mix the salt and flour and the remaining sugar. Add the yeasty mix little at a time and form a smooth dough. The dough might feel sticky at the beginning. After the initial kneading, add the olive oil and continue kneading till you get a moist but non-sticky dough. Since we are using wholewheat flour, it is important to get a moist dough. If you feel the dough is too dry, add a dash of warm milk and knead. When you hold the dough in your hands, the dough should fall off and not leave any dough on your hands apart from a little moisture. The last few minutes of kneading is important as this is the time when the flour absorbs all the oil and moisture and transforms into a smooth dough similar to the baby bum!

                                         

Now lightly oil the dough and cover in a cling wrap and keep in a warm place for 1-1.5 hours until doubled in size. My dough rose beautifully and a part of it even popped out of the cling wrap, tearing it into two. What force!

                                         

Meanwhile, in a bowl, mix the sliced apples and cinnamon. Cover and keep aside until further use.

After the dough has risen sufficiently, take it out on a smooth lightly floured surface and punch a few times. Now with the help of a rolling pin, roll out an even disc not too thick. Make horizontal cuts onto the disc to get thin strips.

                                         

Now take a round baking dish, big enough for your dough, and grease it slightly. Now pick the smallest strip and make a small triangle and place it in the middle of the pan. Now place the cinnamon apple slices one by one around the triangle and cover it up with the dough strips from the back. Gently press the dough strips at the ends when you pick a new one. Continue with the apple and dough spiralling until you finish all the strips.

                                         

Cover with a cling wrap and keep in a warm place again for 45 mins to 1 hour for the second proofing. When you are reaching the end of the second proofing, it is good to start preheating the oven at 190 degree celsius for about 20 minutes.

Now brush a little butter on the spirals from the top and bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes until golden on top. Remove from oven and brush again with the remaining butter and sprinkle the sugar on top. Cover with a kitchen towel and let it remain for 10 minutes. Cut into wedges and serve warm.