I'm planning this loaf for the apples we bring home from Apple Holler in Wisconsin on October 3. I want tender chunks of apple with browned edges, so I’m cooking them in butter and cinnamon before folding them into a yogurt batter. We haven't baked this version yet. We'll cook it after the orchard trip and report back on the timing, texture, and anything we'd change.

Ingredients

2 cups (240 g) all-purpose flour
1½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp fine salt
3 tsp ground cinnamon, divided
8 tbsp (113 g) unsalted butter, divided
½ cup (100 g) packed light brown sugar, divided
2 large eggs, at room temperature
½ cup (120 g) plain whole-milk yogurt, at room temperature
¼ cup (60 ml) milk
2 tsp vanilla extract
3 cups (360 g) peeled, cored, diced apples (about 3 medium or 4 small; measured raw)
1 tbsp (12 g) granulated sugar, for the top

Let’s make it

Get the pan and oven ready. Heat the oven to 350°F conventional or 325°F convection with a rack in the center. Lightly butter a 9 × 5-inch metal loaf pan and line it with a parchment sling. Set aside ½ tsp of the cinnamon and mix it with the tablespoon of granulated sugar for the topping.
Cook down the apples. Melt 2 tbsp butter in a wide skillet over medium heat. Cut the peeled apples into ⅜-inch dice. Add the 3 cups diced apples and spread them out. Cook for 8–12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until tender with some golden edges and most of the released juice has evaporated.
Glaze with cinnamon. Stir in 1 tbsp of the brown sugar and cook another 1–2 minutes, until glossy. Add 1 tsp cinnamon for the final 30 seconds. The pan should have no puddle of juice, and the pieces should still hold their shape. Lower the heat if the butter or sugar starts to darken too quickly.
Cool the apples; mix the dry ingredients. Scrape the apples and buttery coating onto a plate. Spread out and cool for about 10 minutes, until barely warm. Meanwhile, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and 1½ tsp cinnamon in a large bowl. Spoon flour into the measuring cup and level it, or use the gram weight; packed flour makes a dry loaf.
Mix the wet ingredients. Melt the remaining 6 tbsp butter and let it cool slightly. In another bowl, whisk it with the remaining brown sugar (88 g). Whisk in the eggs, then the yogurt, milk, and vanilla until smooth. The butter should be warm, not hot, before it meets the eggs.
Fold in the cooked apples. Add the wet mixture to the flour and fold gently until a few dry streaks remain. Fold in all the cooled apples and their buttery coating just until the flour disappears. Use the whole cooked batch; don't top it up with raw apples to reach a cup measurement. The batter should be thick and scoopable. Avoid beating it smooth.
Top and bake. Scrape into the pan and smooth the surface. Sprinkle all the cinnamon sugar evenly over the top. Bake for 55–65 minutes, checking at 50. If the top browns early, loosely tent with foil. A skewer in the center should come out without wet batter; test a second spot if you hit a piece of apple. Give it another 5 minutes if needed.
Let the crumb set. Cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then lift onto a rack with the parchment. Let it cool at least 1 hour before slicing. Cutting too early can make the center seem gummy. Allow about 1¾ hours through baking, plus 75 minutes to cool the finished loaf. The cook time includes both the skillet and oven stages.

Which apples?

Use firm apples that hold their shape, ideally a mix of sweet and tart. For the first bake, I'll use whatever suitable varieties we bring home. Start with 3 cups (360 g prepared), roughly 3 medium apples or 4 small ones, to allow for moisture loss. Weigh after peeling and coring; apple sizes vary considerably. Measure before cooking, then use the whole reduced batch. Keep the pieces small enough to distribute through the loaf, but big enough to survive the skillet.

A little restraint, a little butter

Yogurt adds moisture, and the apples provide sweetness as well as texture. Two tablespoons of butter cook the apples; six go into the batter. The tablespoon of brown sugar for the skillet comes from the half cup measured for the loaf. The tablespoon of cinnamon sugar on top gives each slice a crisp edge without frosting or a thick streusel layer.

For the first test, I'm keeping nuts and other mix-ins out so I can judge the apple-to-batter ratio. A toasted slice with salted butter is the version I'm looking forward to.

Keep it for breakfast

Let the loaf cool completely before wrapping. Keep it covered at cool room temperature for up to 2 days, or refrigerate for up to 5 days. For longer storage, freeze individual slices and rewarm in a toaster oven.

We'll report back

After we bake it, I'll add a photo and notes on the apple varieties, actual cooking times, and how the loaf slices once cool. We'll also check the sweetness the next morning and update the recipe with what we learn.

Apple Cinnamon Bread