Whole Wheat Cinnamon Apple Chai Tea Bread

This recipe we saw on Baking Bites Blog and knew we just had to make it, we changed the recipe by using whole wheat flour, and Cinnamon sugar instead of brown sugar......it was really good the only thing I found funny was so many apples, I only used about 1 1/4 cups instead of 2. I also found that this is best served toasted with either butter or my other favorite Almond Butter!

Enjoy!

Esther DeL 

Cinnamon Chai-Tea Apple Bread

1 tbsp yeast
1 cup stong chai tea, brewed and cooled until warm (105F)
1/2 cup powdered milk (nonfat is fine)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp salt
3 tbsp cinnamon sugar
2 1/2 - 3 cups Whole Wheat flour, plus more for dusting
1 1/4 cups apples, peeled and chopped, plus 6-8 thin apple slices
1 tbsp cinnamon sugar

Mix yeast, tea and 1 cup of flour in a large bowl. Let stand for 15-20 minutes, until foamy and the mixture has risen a bit.
Stir in powdered milk, cinnamon, salt, sugar and 1 cup flour. Add remaining flour gradually until the dough comes together and pulls away from the side of the bowl. Transfer dough to a floured work surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Place in an oiled, covered bowl and let rise until doubled, 1 1/2 hours.

Meanwhile, combine apples with 1 tbsp brown sugar in a small bowl.
Once dough has risen, flatten in gently onto work surface. Place apple mixture onto dough, reserving the apple slices. Knead apple pieces into dough gently, giving the bread about 4 turns. They will look almost ready to poke through. Shape into an oblong loaf and place on a cornmeal dusted baking sheet. Make 6 or 8 small slashes across the bread and tuck one apple slice into each one. Allow bread to rise until nearly doubled, 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 400F.
Bake bread for 30 minutes, until the bottom sounds hollow when tapped and the loaf in nicely browned. If it starts to get too dark on top, just cover the bread loosely with a bit of foil.
Allow to cool on a wire rack before slicing.