Normandy Apple Bread with Levain and Apple Cider

This Normandy Apple Bread is made with both dried apples and apple cider in the dough. It's name is derived from the apple growing regions of France.

This recipe calls for dried apples, which you make yourself. I used some honeycrisp apples that I found at our local farmers market, and loved them. You an use any tart/sweet apple you prefer. I had a hard time judging how many apples to use to get to the correct amount, and made way more dried apples than necessary. Fortunately, the leftover apples were tasty on their own.


For the apple cider, I used unfiltered, which added an amazing apple-y flavor.

Bread geek talk alert: I used both a stiff levain (a sourdough starter that has a ratio of 60 percent water to flour ratio), and a small amount of yeast. The levain is mixed about 12 hours prior to making the final dough. If your sourdough starter has a different ratio of flour to water, you can either feed a portion of it a couple of times to bring it to 60 per cent, or just adjust the final dough.

This bread makes incredible grilled cheddar cheese sandwiches. We sliced the leftovers and stuck the slices in the freezer to save for making toast for breakfast. It's wonderful with butter.

The original recipe for this bread can be found in the wonderful book Bread by Jeffrey Hamelman. The book is the quintessential source for bread formulas and is a must own for anyone serious about bread baking.

Normandy Apple Bread Recipe

Makes two loaves
Slightly adapted from Bread by Jeffrey Hamelman, an amazing collection of breads. 

Ingredients

Starter

5.8 ounces bread flour

3.5 ounces water

1.2 ounces stiff levain (60 percent hydration sourdough starter)

Dried Apples

3 apples, cored, and cut into pieces

lemon or orange juice

Final Dough

1 lb 7 ounces bread flour

3.2 ounces whole wheat flour

7.4 ounces water

10.9 ounces (by weight) apple cider

1 T salt

1 tsp instant yeast

9.3 ounces of the levain

4.8 ounces of the dried apples

Instructions

To make the starter:

The night before making the bread, feed you starter with flour and water. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature for about 12 hours. 

To make the dried apples:

1. Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F.
2. Core and peel the apples. Cut the apples into chunks.
3. Toss the apples in the citrus juice and place them on a parchment lined baking sheet.
4. Bake for about 1 to 2 hours, until leathery.

To make the final dough:

1. Add everything but the apples to the bowl of a stand mixer. 
2. Mix on low for about 3 minutes with the dough hook.
3. Check the dough for the appropriate moisture levels. The dough should be tacky, but not too sticky. 
4. Mix the dough on speed 2 for about 3 minutes. 
5. Add the apples and mix just until mixed in.
6. Place the dough into an oiled bowl and let rise until doubled, about 1 to 2 hours. If the dough hasn't risen much after 1 hour, stretch and fold the dough.
7. Divide the dough in half and shape into two boules or oblong loaves. Cover and let rise for about an hour to 90 minutes. 
8. Bake the loaves on a baking stone in a 450 degree F oven with a steam pan. After 15 minutes, lower the temperature to 420 degrees F. and bake for 25 minutes more, until the interior of the loaf reaches about 200 degrees F. The boules can also be baked in preheated Dutch ovens. Remove the lids after about 20 minutes. 
9. Let cool before slicing.