German Apple Bread Recipes

GERMAN APPLE STRUDEL

Steps:

• Place flour in a mixer bowl; beat in 1/4 cup oil (mixture will be slightly crumbly). In a small bowl, slowly whisk warm water into beaten egg; add to flour mixture, mixing well. Beat in remaining oil until smooth. Transfer to a greased bowl, turning once to grease the top. Cover and let rest in a warm place, about 30 minutes., Preheat oven to 350°. Spread bread crumbs into an ungreased 15x10x1-in. baking pan. Bake 10-15 minutes or until golden brown, stirring occasionally. Cool completely., Tape a 30x15-in. sheet of parchment onto a work surface; dust lightly with flour. Divide dough in half; place 1 portion on parchment and roll to a very thin 24x15-in. rectangle. (Keep remaining dough covered.) Remove tape from parchment., Sprinkle 3/4 cup bread crumbs over rectangle to within 1 in. of edges. Starting 3 in. from a short side, sprinkle 3 cups apples and 1/4 cup raisins over a 3-in.-wide section of dough. Mix sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle half of the mixture over fruit. Drizzle with half of the melted butter., Roll up jelly-roll style, starting at fruit-covered end and lifting with parchment; fold in sides of dough as you roll to contain filling. Using parchment, transfer strudel to a 15x10x1-in. baking pan; trim parchment to fit pan., Bake on lowest oven rack 45-55 minutes or until golden brown, brushing top with sour cream 2 times while baking. Repeat with remaining ingredients., Using parchment, transfer to a wire rack to cool. Serve warm or at room temperature.

GERMAN APPLE KUCHEN

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350°F.
• Add the milk, vanilla, shortening, and egg to a bowl and whisk together.
• Add the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt to the bowl and gradually combine with the milk mixture until it comes together into a dough.
• Place the dough on a lightly greased baking tray, with a slight rim, and spread out towards the edges. Scatter the apples evenly over the dough.
• In a small bowl, combine the topping ingredients. Crumble the topping evenly over the apples.
• Bake the kuchen for about 40 minutes, until the crumble has turned golden brown and the apples have softened.

GERMAN APPLE STRUDEL (APFELSTRUDEL)

Steps:

• Combine the flour and salt in a stand-mixer. Using the paddle attachment, add in the water, oil, and vinegar while mixing on low speed until you get a soft dough. Change out the paddle attachment for the dough hook, then knead the dough on medium speed until a soft ball forms.
• Transfer the dough to a clean work surface and knead for 2-3 minutes, until smooth. Slam the dough onto the work surface a few times to enhance gluten development, then shape into a ball and transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl, giving the dough a quick torn to lightly coat it in oil on top so it doesn't dry out. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let the dough rest for 60-90 minutes.
• When the dough is almost done resting, heat the oven to 375 degrees F. Place the raisins in a bowl of hot water to soak. Peel, core, and slice the apples into thin slices. Mix the sugar and cinnamon together. Cover your kitchen table or large counter space with a clean tablecloth or sheet.
• To stretch the dough, first move it from the bowl to a clean, dry surface and cut it cleanly in half with a bench scraper, pizza cutter, or large knife. Set one half of the dough to the side. Shape the other half of the dough into a ball and roll it out as thin as you can.
• Gently lift the dough and transfer it to the clean, flat surface covered by the tablecloth. Working gently, lift and stretch the dough a little at a time. When you first start, you can use your knuckles (be sure to remove all jewelry first) underneath the dough to stretch it like a pizza with the back of your hands. Continue to stretch the dough by lifting gently from the thicker edges and wafting a little air under the dough as you pull away from the center of the dough. As it thins out, the weight of the dough will mostly hold it in place on the tablecloth while you stretch out one side, then the other, increasing the size of the dough and stretching it thinner and thinner each time. As you lift and gently pull, you will see areas where the dough is thinning out and you will know the dough is thin enough when you are able to see the pattern of the tablecloth through the dough.
• Continue to stretch and pull the dough until it is paper-thin and a large rectangular shape. If there is a thick band of dough around the edges, remove it by gently tearing it away or carefully tug on the band, stretching the dough even a bit further to thin that thick band of dough out.
• Using a your hands (or a very soft pastry brush, although I find that my hands work best), gently spread 1/4 cup of the melted butter over the entire surface of the dough, leaving a 1-inch border around the edges. Sprinkle half of the breadcrumbs over half of the dough, then place half of the sliced apples on top of the breadcrumbs. Cover the apples evenly with half of the raisins (and walnuts, if using) and half of the cinnamon-sugar mixture.
• Fold the short end of the dough over onto the filling, then fold the sides over as well to create a sort of envelope edge that will keep the filling in place as you roll the strudel. Grab the tablecloth close to the short, filled end of the strudel and lift it, allowing the strudel to roll or fold onto itself. Keep lifting the tablecloth, rolling the strudel into a log, making sure the filling stays tucked inside.
• Carefully transfer the strudel onto a parchment-lined baking sheet, seam side down. Repeat with the remaining half of the dough and filling ingredients, reserving 1/4 cup of melted butter. Both strudel should fit side by side on the same baking sheet with space between them. Brush the tops of both strudel with the remaining melted butter.
• Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the dough is golden brown. Remove from oven and allow strudel to cool for 10 to 15 minutes before slicing. Dust with powdered sugar before serving.

GERMAN APPLE CAKE I

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour one 9x13 inch cake pan.
• In a mixing bowl; beat oil and eggs with an electric mixer until creamy. Add the sugar and vanilla and beat well.
• Combine the flour salt, baking soda, and ground cinnamon together in a bowl. Slowly add this mixture to the egg mixture and mix until combined. The batter will be very thick. Fold in the apples by hand using a wooden spoon. Spread batter into the prepared pan.
• Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 45 minutes or until cake tests done. Let cake cool on a wire rack. Once cake is cool serve with a dusting of confectioners' sugar or with a Cream Cheese Frosting.

GRANDMA GELDNER'S APFEL KUCHEN (APPLE KUCHEN)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Mix 1 1/4 cup flour, baking powder, 2 tsp sugar, and salt and sift once.
• Cut 1/2 cup butter into dry mix with a pastry blender to pea size.
• In a small bowl, beat egg with 2 T milk and add to dry mix.
• Mix thoroughly and pat dough into a greased or oiled 9x13-inch baking dish.
• Pare and core apples.
• Cut into thin wedge slices and place on dough in rows until covered. We would cover the thin end of one apple with the thick end of the other.
• Dot apples with 2 T butter and mix 3/4 cup sugar, 1 1/2 Tbs flour and cinnamon together.
• Spread dry topping over dotted apples, and bake in oven for 30-45 minutes, until golden brown.

BRATAPFELN (GERMAN BAKED APPLES) RECIPE

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients. Preheat oven to 450 F.
• Core apples (or cut into quarters, core, and put back together).
• Mix together the butter and sugar. Add raisins and walnuts.
• Pack the filling into the hollowed-out apples.
• Place in buttered baking dish and cover with lid or aluminum foil.
• Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until the tip of a thin knife can easily pierce the apple. Meanwhile, make the vanilla sauce.
• Gather the ingredients.
• In a medium heatproof bowl, beat together the egg yolks and both sugars (if you are using vanilla extract instead of vanilla sugar, it will be added later) until the yolks are thick and pale yellow and the sugar is dissolved, about 4 minutes.
• In a heavy-bottomed 2-quart saucepan, bring the 2 cups of milk to a boil. Pour the hot milk slowly in a thin stream over the egg yolk mixture, whisking continuously by hand or with an electric mixer.
• Pour the tempered egg-yolks back into the saucepan and heat without boiling until mixture coats the back of a spoon
• Remove pan from heat and stir in the vanilla extract, if you are using it instead of the vanilla sugar. Serve warm drizzled over baked apples.

GERMAN APPLE BREAD RECIPE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees and line 2 standard loaf pans or 5 mini loaf pans with parchment paper. Sift together all dry ingredients in one bowl, add raisins and set aside. Mix together wet ingredients in another mixing bowl, add shredded apples and set aside. Add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients in two parts, scraping sides and bottom of bowl until all are just moistened. Do NOT over mix. Divide batter into prepared loaf pans and tap on a flat surface to remove air bubbles. Bake in preheated oven for 35 - 55 minutes depending on type of loaf pan used. Allow loaves to cool 10 minutes before turning out on cooling racks. Slice and serve slightly warm.

GERMAN APPLE CAKE (APFELKUCHEN)

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Grease and flour a 9.5-inch cake springform pan. You can also line the bottom with parchment paper.
• Beat the butter, sugar, and vanilla extract with your hand mixer in a large bowl. Add the egg and beat again.
• In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and a pinch of salt. Add the mixture to the liquid ingredients in small increments while using your hand mixer (and later your hands) on a low setting to avoid the flour from making a mess. You'll have to stop using your mixer about halfway through since the dough will become quite sticky. Just use your hands for the last bit and make sure not to overmix! Stop once everything is well combined and there are no lumps.
• Take the dough and roll it out with a rolling pin until it is slightly bigger than your springform pan (you'll need it for the edge/crust!). Make sure to put some flour on the surface and on the rolling pin first to avoid unnecessary sticking. Alternatively, you can also flatten the dough with your hands, then place it directly in the springform pan and form it to the bottom of the pan and up the sides (for crust). Make sure the dough has an even thickness and also make sure you have an approximately 1.5 inches high edge along the removable ring part of the springform pan (this is the crust).
• Peel the apples, remove the cores, and cut them into approx. 1/4-1/2 inch-sized cubes. Place the apple cubes into a bowl, add the cinnamon and mix well. Now evenly place the apple cubes over the cake base.
• For the crumbles, mix butter, sugar, vanilla extract, and flour using your hands (not your mixer!). The dough should be quite crumbly but the flour should be fully mixed in with the other ingredients (there should not be a lot of white flour spots). This might take a couple of minutes. If your dough feels too soft/sticky, add slightly more flour until it reaches the desired consistency (this shouldn't happen though). Rip the dough into small pieces and place it on top of the apples.
• Bake the cake for approximately 50 - 60 minutes. Since every oven is different, your baking time might vary slightly. Once the cake is done baking, remove it from the oven and let it cool in the springform pan. Remove the cake from the pan once it has cooled sufficiently.

GERMAN APPLE BREAD

Steps:

• Heat oven to 325°F.
• Mix all ingredients in large bowl.
• Grease and flour 2 loaf pans.
• Divide dough between 2 pans.
• Bake for 1 hour and 15 minute.