Apple Fritter Yeast Bread is soft, glazed apple & cinnamon sweet bread that tastes just like a sliceable apple fritter, except it gets baked in the oven in a bread pan instead of deep fried! It’s one of our favorite things that we look forward to each Fall when apple season begins.
We love apple season! Other reader favorite apple recipes include our Easy Apple Oatmeal Muffins, The Most Amazing Apple Salad with Candied Walnuts and Poppy Seed Dressing, and Instant Pot Homemade Applesauce!
Apple Fritter Yeast Bread makes the most amazing French toast and it’s excellent just toasted and slathered with butter. Or just eat a slice plain as an afternoon treat!
Years ago, I discovered this amazing apple fritter bread that Target used to sell under their Archer Farms label. I loved that stuff so much that I decided I needed to recreate it at home. Hence, this recipe that tastes just like apple fritters! Except not deep fried! And in sliceable, toastable bread form!
The problem with most apple fritter bread recipes that I have seen online is that they are all quick breads made without yeast and that’s not at all like what I was going for. Really those are closer to being like apple coffee cake, in my opinion, and even though totally delicious in it’s own right, it doesn’t really taste like apple fritters to me!
So to avoid any confusion, I’m calling this Apple Fritter Yeast Bread so it’s clear that this is not a quick bread.
This apple fritter yeast bread starts out with a slightly sweet, enriched dough that gets rolled out after rising. I use apple cider as part of the liquid in the dough itself, but if you don’t have it you could always sub in apple juice or even just water and it will turn out delicious.
Then you spread an apple filling made while the dough rises over the dough and roll it up sort of like you would with cinnamon rolls. Except that the apple filling is very syrupy and runs everywhere. Especially once you start slicing the rolled dough into chunks like in the photos below.
It makes a mess, but it’s the best way I’ve found to get even disbursement of apples and cinnamon in the dough and still have the loaf come out sliceable instead of more like a pull-apart loaf (which is also delicious, but again, not what I’m going for here – I want something I can stick in the toaster or dip in egg batter for French toast!).
I just make sure before rolling out my dough that my work surface is totally clean, then once the rolled apple fritter yeast bread dough is cut into chunks, I scoop them up using my bench scraper and just dump them into prepared bread pans, syrup and all. The syrup gets absorbed into the bread as it bakes, making a wonderfully moist and sweet, cinnamon-spiced apple studded loaf!
Remove the bread from their pans while still hot (a parchment paper sling really helps with this!) and glaze with the simple apple cider glaze while still hot. Then just try and wait for the loaf to cool entirely and the glaze to set before slicing into it.
It’s super hard to resist, but slicing into hot bread is almost impossible to do without destroying the loaf. Which is why it’s nice that there are two loaves with this recipe – one to eat while still hot and you don’t care that you are butchering it and smooshing it to cut off slices while it’s still hot from the oven and the other to save for the next day!
This is seriously one of the best things that comes out of my kitchen and the house smells like heaven on the days when I am baking apple fritter yeast bread. It’s not as simple as my Roasted Garlic & Rosemary No Knead Artisan Bread, but it’s definitely no harder than cinnamon rolls or pecan sticky buns. I really hope you try this one!
Recipe FAQ’s
I’ve been asked this a few times and the answer is that yes, you can freeze the bread. However, when you thaw it, the glaze on the outside will be quite sticky. The bread will still taste good, but be aware that glazes don’t always hold up well to thawing. An option would be to freeze the bread without the glaze for better results.
More Apple Recipes You’ll Love
- Best Homemade Apple Pie Recipe
- Slow Cooker Homemade Apple Cider
- Instant Pot Homemade Applesauce
- Slow Cooker Applesauce Pulled Chicken Sandwiches
- German Apple Cake with Streusel Topping [Apfelkuchen mit Streusel]
- Easy Apple Oatmeal Muffins
- Classic Apple Cider Donuts
- German Apple Pancakes with Cider Syrup
- Glazed Apple Pie Cookies
Did you make this recipe?
Let me know what you thought with a comment and rating below. You can also take a picture and tag me on Instagram @houseofnasheats or share it on the Pinterest pin so I can see.
Apple Fritter Bread
Ingredients
Dough
- 3/4 cup milk
- 1/4 cup salted butter
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 Tablespoon active dry yeast
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup apple cider or water
- 1 large egg lightly beaten
Apple Filling
- 3-4 apples peeled & diced
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 2 Tablespoons salted butter
- 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 Tablespoons cornstarch
Glaze
- 3/4 cup powdered sugar
- 1 Tablespoon salted butter melted
- 3 teaspoons apple cider or milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
Dough
- Prepare the dough by first heating the milk in a small saucepan until hot and bubbles appear around the edges of the pan, but do not bring to a boil. Add the butter to the hot milk and stir until completely melted, then allow to cool slightly.¾ cup milk, ¼ cup salted butter
- In a large bowl, combine the flour, yeast, brown sugar and salt and mix well. Add the apple cider or water, beaten egg, and the warm milk/butter mixture. Stir until the dough forms into a ball and then knead for five minutes, until smooth. This can be done in a stand mixer using a dough hook.3 cups all-purpose flour, 1 Tablespoon active dry yeast, ½ cup brown sugar, ¼ teaspoon salt, ¼ cup apple cider or water, 1 large egg
- Transfer the dough to a clean, oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Allow to rise until doubled, about 1 hour.
Apple Filling
- While the dough is rising, prepare the apple filling by combining the diced apples, brown sugar, butter, lemon juice, vanilla, cinnamon and cornstarch in a large skillet and cooking over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the apples soften and release their juices. The juices will thicken slightly from the cornstarch, but it will still be very syrupy.3-4 apples, 1 cup brown sugar, 2 Tablespoons salted butter, 1 Tablespoon lemon juice, 1 teaspoon vanilla, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 2 Tablespoons cornstarch
- Remove from heat and allow to cool while the dough rises.
Assembly
- Prepare 2 large bread pans with a parchment paper sling.
- Divide the dough into two equal-sized portions. On a very clean, lightly floured surface, roll out one portion of dough into a rectangle. Evenly spread half of the apple filling mixture, including juices, over the dough. Roll the dough starting from the long edge, cinnamon-roll style. Don't worry about the syrup leaking out too much as you roll.
- Using a bench scraper or sharp knife, cut the loaf diagonally in 1-inch slices, then change your angle and cut again in the other direction, creating an “X” pattern and slicing the rolled dough into small chunks.
- Scoop the chunks of dough and apple filling into the prepared bread pan, using the bench scraper to scoop up and add any spilled syrup into the pan. This part gets messy but it's the best way I've found to make sure there is even distribution of apples and syrup throughout the bread loaf. Repeat with the remaining bread dough and apple filling, then cover the loaves lightly with plastic wrap and let rise for 30 minutes.
- Heat oven to 350°F. Bake loaves for 35-45 minutes, until brown on top and cooked through. When done, immediately remove the loaves of bread from the pans and place on wire racks.
- Prepare the glaze by whisking together the powdered sugar, butter, vanilla and apple cider or milk in a bowl. Drizzle over the top of both loaves of warm bread and allow to set before slicing.¾ cup powdered sugar, 1 Tablespoon salted butter, 3 teaspoons apple cider or milk, 1 teaspoon vanilla
I have been looking forward to seeing this recipe ever since I saw the list of apple recipes for today. You did not disappoint!
Aww, thanks so much Sandy!
Healthier apple fritters…all the great taste without any frying?!! Yes, please.
We have been anxiously waiting to see this and it does not disappoint! I cannot wait to give this a try. What a wonderful way to kick off AppleWeek!
Thank you, Carlee! I hope you love it as much as we do!
OMG this looks delicious. I don’t want summer to end, but I so love all the fall flavours. This would be perfect for an afternoon tea or coffee break, but AWESOME for the weekend brunch.
This looks amazing! I think it would be perfect if you guest over for breakfast. Definitely an eye catcher!
Thanks for sharing this on the Celebrate 365 All Things Apple Blog Party! Such a great recipe.
This looks so yummy! I love that you made it a yeast bread and I bet, if there are any leftovers, it would make a great french toast!
Wow. Just Wow. This looks amazing.
This sounds like a nice ritual to make this decadent apple bread to start fall on a good note! This bread looks so fluffy yet moist, I ll try it this weekend! YUM!
HOKAY I’m OBSESSED with this recipe! I’ve been meaning to bake more breads this fall (personal vendetta) and this is gonna be #1!! It looks absolutely delicious!
I would enjoy this anyway someone would want to serve it. French toast, warm with butter, wouldn’t matter to me. It looks amazing and I love apple fritters!
I love that you use apple cider in the dough. This bread looks fantastic!
That is one killer looking loaf of bread! I love you made this a yeast bread!
This bread looks so moist and delicious!! Thanks for sharing!!!
I can’t wait to give your GLAZED APPLE FRITTER YEAST BREAD a try! Looks incredibly tasty!
I’ve been looking for a recipe with yeast. Can’t wait to try it! Thanks!
Yeah, there are loads that are quick breads, but I love a good yeast bread recipe!
This reminds me of the apple bread I used to buy at the cider mill in MI. This looks so delicious! I’m going to make this very soon 🙂
I love all the ingredients but I am also loving the way you make this – not only do I want to try this I want to play around with the idea!
Lol – it’s definitely not fancy, but it certainly is fun and gets the job done!
This looks wonderful! I’ll be making it for my next Sunday brunch party!!
I am totally in love with this recipe! It looks SO delicious! Totally a must make for fall!
Thanks, Jenni! It definitely is something we look forward to each year!
This sounds like the perfect fall recipe! I will have to try making them!
This looks incredible! I don’t have a huge sweet tooth so it’s rare for me to come across a dessert recipe and feel an immediate need to go home and make it RIGHT AWAY buuuuuut it’s going to be really hard for me to get through the rest of the day at work because I kind of just want to leave and buy some apples to make this!
We LOVE apple fritters in our house. It’s one of the few things we ALL love:) I will have to try this, I can almost smell them through my computer screen;P
These look SO delicious and perfect for fall! I’d love to have this recipe ready to go for breakfast or even dessert. Seriously looks amazing!
What a beautiful thing to serve guests during the holidays! Love the suggestion about this being great for French toast too!
This bread is absolutely GORGEOUS!! I’m loving those chunks of apple and that glaze is sooooo dreamy!
Oh my Lawd, Your pictures are amazing!! I caught myself involuntarily chewing at nothing while staring at these images! Definitely a must try for me! While I love cinnamon, my hubby isn’t too fond of them so I’m going to experiment with some replacements (any suggestions?) Or maybe I’ll just make them and hide them somewhere for my cheat snack!
OMG! This looks heavenly good. It’s so moist and so flavorful. And look at that glaze. Since I’m huge fan of apples, I’m putting this on my list to try.
Any way to get more delicious apple fritters in my life, and I’m sold. Then you add in that their not deep fried and I am in heaven! This is my new favorite go-to autumn treat!
Oh my holy heavens…. this is a dangerous thing for me!
This almost looks too good to be true! I’ve definitely going to have to add this to my weekend baking list!
I recently mad this and my Hubby say ths is the BEST thing I’ve maede in some time. The apples didn’t mix in well with the bread dough so I would suggest kneeding them into the dough itself! I’m going to try that next time. Perhaps his favorite.! I took a couple of photos of how wonderful it looked but didn’t know where to put them. Thanks for sharing!
I made this recipe pretty close to as written but I did add about 1/4 cup more flour, as the dough was pretty sticky. Initially it was mixed for about 7 minutes in the stand mixer with the dough hook. I turned it out onto the counter and kneaded the dough, adding the additional flour, for a couple of minutes more. Even with the additional flour, it was a fairly wet dough, but came together quite well. The diced apples and brown sugar syrup in which it was cooked were delicious. I did cook the apples at a robust simmer about 10 minutes to reduce some of the moisture, soften the apples, and thicken the syrup. It was quite messy to make but well worth the effort. It was a wonderfully tender dough, with a perfectly placed swirls of filling throughout. I highly recommend this recipe.
Thank you for sharing such a thoroughly thoughtful review! I’m glad you enjoyed the bread, and yes, it’s a messy, sticky bread to make and it seems like it won’t come together, but it bakes up so well!
Hi – found this recipe/site after going apple picking and searching for a way to make fritters without frying. Thank you for making this a yeast and not a quick bread! I made the recipe as written except for putting the entire batch in a greased & floured Bundt pan. I baked it for 40 mins and let it stand for 10 while carefully loosening the sides & center. It unmolded beautifully and on top was a perfect ring of the caramelized juices. I cooled it a bit and then drizzled the glaze in top to create a gorgeous looking cake. And it tastes as good as it looks! Thanks for this recipe. Will definitely make again.
I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe, Jen! I haven’t tried it in a bundt pan but now I think I’m going to!
I just made this. Possibly the most delicious thing I have ever eaten. I was looking for exactly what you were looking for and you nailed it! I live in maple syrup country, so I put a little in the apples. Ambrosia!
Umm, I’m making this right now, but have no idea what size a “large bread pan” is?! I have 8 in and 9 inch. Help!
Hopefully you figured this out already but I would use the bigger of the two!
OMG this is the best recipe in the world!! Its easy and always turns out. Thanks for such a delicious fritter bread,,,moist, tasty, fun to serve. The best!
Your apple fritter bread looks good. But with all the adds you have popping up on the site it difficult to actually read. I am reading a section and an add opens pushing the paragraph I reading off the screen. I get back to where I was and a add poo over covers a quarter of the screen. You need to do better.
I’m sorry about that! I reached out to my ad network that handles all of the ads on my site and hopefully that problem has been fixed for you now.
Do you have a rough measurement for what 3-4 apples is. Kind of depends on the size of the apples, what’ll you’ll get. Maybe a couple of cups???
I would say you will need about 3-4 cups of chopped apples. They will cook down a bit before adding them to the bread anyway.
Hello!
I am in the process of making this, and I see you call for 1 tablespoon of yeast…just confirming this is correct.
Yes, that’s correct.
I had to add almost 3/4 c more flour to get it so it rolled into a ball for me to knead. Other than that, it look terrific and I can’t wait to try it.
Oh my goodness. Novice baker- new to yeast bread. I literally just ate half the loaf for dinner. Absolutely amazing!!!!!! I made this recipe into 2 mini loaves (3×5 inches) and 1 regular loaf pan.
I don’t know how to add a picture to this but it turned out gorgeous. 🙂 thank you!!!!! Make. This. You will not regret it. On fact go ahead and make two makings bc you gotta share the love too!
This recipe was good, HOWEVER it was really frustrating the first time I made it as the dough was useless since I didn’t activate the yeast before hand as per the recipe (it did not rise at all!). I’m a pretty novice baker but knowing now that it’s best to activate the yeast first, I would have used instant yeast if combining straight into the dry ingredients. The apple cider vinegar also made the dough smell quite strong, so I ended up having to throw out the first dough I made (as there was no rise). I remade the dough the next day, activated the yeast before hand and omitted the apple cider vinegar in the dough and it turned out great. Not sure why the recipe says to mix the yeast in with the dry ingredients though!
Great recipe! I have made it many times already! Turns out perfectly all the time.
Thanks, Bev! I’m so happy to hear that!
This is truly a phenomenal apple bread! Second time I’m making it. Delicious!!!
I love hearing this! Thank you, Vera!
This is truly a phenomenal apple bread! Second time I’m making it. Delicious!!! Just a note that I put the yeast and a tablespoon of sugar together first to make sure the yeast was active!
This is Vera again. I put the yeast and sugar into the hot milk. Sorry about that!
Smart! I should mention that in the recipe, shouldn’t I? 🙂
I am wondering if this can be frozen?
Yes, you can freeze this bread, although the glaze on the outside will be sticky when the bread thaws. It’s not bad and the bread still tastes good, but just be aware. One option would be to freeze the loaf without the glaze.
Hi I was just wondering if I could make in advance and freeze this ?
Yes, although the glaze will make the outside of the bread sticky once it thaws. It’s not terrible and tastes fine, but it is a little messy. You could always skip the glaze before freezing.
I love this bread!! I am doubling the recipe and making 5 smaller loaves. Any suggestions on any ingredient quantity adjustments when doubling?
I’m so glad you love it! I would just do a straight doubling of the recipe and it should turn out just fine!
Delicious bread! I felt like the dough was too loose so I added another half cup of flour before rising a a little more when I rolled it out but it all came together. Not only is it the best apple bread I’ve ever tasted it’s beautiful too. Thanks Amy for responding to my email so quickly when I was unsure! I’ll definitely be making this again.
What have you found to be the best apples to.use for this bread?
Good question- really you could use any type of apple but I would stick to apples that are less sweet. Granny smith are my personal favorite but you could also even do a mix of granny smith and Jonagold to have a good balance of sweet and tart and both apples hold their shape well when baking.