Apple Cranberry Tea Ring

Weather is so cold and snowing outside and the best way to warm up the house is doing some baking. But it is definitely not a good idea to make bread. Wrong move on my part and because of the cold making this loaf of bread took me over 6 hours from start to finished baking. It just refused to rise. I even stick it into the warm oven to help with the proofing. The end results, I would prefer it to rise a bit more and softer. Nevertheless, it tasted good. I think this tea ring will be great for Christmas breakfast or brunch.

Ingredients
Dough recipe adapted from Taste Of Home recipe book.

3/4 cup warm milk (70°F to 80°F)
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 egg, lightly beaten
3 tablespoons water (you might not need it)
3 tablespoons sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
3-1/3 cups bread flour
2-1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast

FILLING:

1/4 cup packed brown sugar
3 tbsp of sugar
3 tablespoons butter
1 cup of chopped fresh apple
1/2 cup dried cranberry
1/2 cup raisins
1/4 cup chopped walnuts

Egg wash

1 egg -beaten

Glaze

1/2 cup confections’ sugar
2 tbsp lemon juice

1. Place all the dough ingredients except for the water into a mixer attached with the dough hook. Mix the dough until comes together. If it is too dry add in the extra water a tablespoon at a time.
2. Continue to knead until the dough is smooth. Place it in an oil bowl, cover it with a cling wrap and leave it in a warm place to rise double in size for about 1 to 2 hours (depend on the temperature of your environment)
3. For the filling, combined sugars, cut in the butter until crumbly. Stir in the dry cranberries, raisins and walnuts and set it aside.
4. When the dough is done, turn it out onto a lightly floured work surface. Roll into a 20” x 10” rectangle, sprinkle with the sugar mixture and top it with the chopped apple within 1” of the edges.
5. Roll it up tightly like a jelly-roll, starting with a long side; seal ends. Place in a greased 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. baking pan; bring both ends together, seal it to form a ring.
6. With scissors, cut from outside edge two-thirds of the way toward center of ring at 1-in. intervals. Separate strips slightly; twist to allow filling to show. Cover and let rise until doubled, about an hour. Brush it with egg wash.
7. Bake in a preheated at 350° for 35-40 minutes or until golden brown. Remove and let it cool complete on a cooling rack. Mix the glaze and drizzle it all over the ring.

Note: To prevent overbrowning you can cover it with foil during the last 10 minutes of baking.

I am submitting this bread to Yeastspotting