Sweet Spiral Braid Bread With Vanilla Cream Cheese And Apple Filling
Bread has been a kitchen staple for years and years, but being so readily available and commonly used in the kitchen can also make bread a bit boring. Eating the same old bread-based meals over and over definitely gets repetitive after a while. Luckily, when you bake it yourself, there are so many variations you can put on bread that it's easy to get back the magic of that freshly baked loaf! This recipe for sweet spiral braid bread is the perfect way to breathe some new life into your everyday bread routine. From its gorgeous braided design to its sweet vanilla cream cheese & spiced apple filling, this spiral braid bread will impress anyone who tries it. Whenever you choose to serve it, this bread is bound to rise to the occasion!
Yield: 1
Prep time: 70 minutes
Cooking Time: 50 minutes
Inactive Time: 130 minutes
Difficulty Level: Moderate
You'll Need:
For the yeast dough:
- 1 cup water, lukewarm
- 2 tsp dry yeast
- ¼ cup sugar
- 4 cups flour
- ½ cup corn meal
- 1 tsp salt
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 whisked egg for the egg wash
For the cream cheese filling:
- ⅔ cup cream cheese
- 1 vanilla bean pod
- 2 tbsp sugar
For the spiced apple filling:
- 2–3 red apples, sliced
- ⅔ cup slivered almonds, toasted
- cinnamon sugar
Here's How:
1. For the yeast dough, stir together the lukewarm water, dry yeast, and sugar, then let the mixture rest for 10 minutes. Combine the flour, corn meal, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Add in the yeast mixture and vegetable oil and knead everything together by hand for about 10 minutes, until a smooth dough forms. Cover the yeast dough and let it rise in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours, preferably overnight. Once the dough has risen, preheat the oven to 325°F and line a baking tray with parchment paper. Roll the yeast dough out into a long rectangle, then make 1 horizontal cut across the dough, removing about ⅓ of it. Set the smaller piece aside for later.
3. Make thin, vertical cuts across the entire width of the large rectangular piece of dough, making sure the cuts stop about halfway down.
4. Twist every 2 strands of dough together until all of the cut segments of dough are twisted.
5. For the cream cheese filling, scrape out the caviar from the vanilla bean pod and stir it together with the cream cheese and sugar. Spread the cream cheese filling on the small rectangular piece of dough you set aside earlier, as well as on the base of the large one.
6. Toast the slivered almonds and sprinkle them on top of the cream cheese filling. Place the slices of apple on top of the almonds and sprinkle everything with cinnamon sugar.
7. Roll up the large piece of dough into a tight log.
8. Place rolled up log of dough on top of the small piece of dough, roll everything up together, and place the spiral braid bread on the baking tray lined with parchment paper.
9. Arrange the spiral braids in a decorative way around the rolled up dough. Whisk an egg for the egg wash and brush it over the surface of the dough.
10. Transfer the baking tray to the oven and bake the sweet spiral braid bread at 325°F for 50 minutes. If the spiral braids start getting too dark in the oven, cover the bread with some aluminum foil.
This gorgeous spiral braid bread looks incredible, but the real highlight is its delicious cream cheese & apple filling. You won't be able to keep your hands off of it!
Get the recipe for the Apple Dumpling Pull-Apart Bread featured in the bonus video.