This yeasted bread is only very slightly sweet, with minimal sugar in the dough, a touch of honey in the filling and a dusting of sugar on top. The small amount of honey in the filling allows for the tangy apricot flavor to shine through. Serve slices of bread with afternoon teas or coffee or as a breakfast bread.
Course Breakfast, Snack
Cuisine American
Keyword apricot, bread, dried blueberries, yeast
Prep Time 20 minutesminutes
Cook Time 25 minutesminutes
Rise Time 2 hourshours
Servings 8
Calories 264kcal
Author Irvin
Ingredients
Dough
1/4cupunsalted butter
1/2cupwhole milk
2 1/4teaspoonsactive dry yeast
1large egg
1teaspoonvanilla extract
1/4teaspoonalmond extractoptional
2cupsall-purpose flour280 g
1/4cupwhite sugar50 g
1/2teaspoonkosher salt
Filling
12ouncesapricotsabout 6 to 7 medium ones, chopped about 2 1/4 cups
1/4cupdried blueberries45 g
1tablespoonshoney
1teaspoonvanilla extract
1teaspooncinnamon
1/4teaspoonnutmeg
1tablespooncornstarch
To finish
1egg yolk
1tablespoonwater
2tablespoonsSwedish pearl sugaror white sugar
Instructions
Melt the butter in a glass measuring cup in the microwave, or on the stovetop in a small saucepan. Once melted, add the milk to measuring cup or saucepan.
Stir in the active dry yeast to the liquid until it dissolves. The liquid will start to lump up. That’s normal. Add the egg, vanilla and almond extract (if using) to the liquid. Again, don’t worry if the liquid looks lumpy like cottage cheese.
Place the flour, sugar and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Add the yeasty liquid to the dry ingredients, making sure to scrape out any lumps as well. Turn the mixer on slow and let it mix the ingredients until they form a soft dough. You might need to scrape down the sides of the bowl to make sure all the dry ingredients are incorporated.
Increase the speed of the mixer and knead the dough until it is smooth and supple, about 5 minutes on medium speed. The dough will be tacky but it shouldn’t be sticky or limp. If the dough is too wet to work with, add more flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, until you can handle the dough properly.
Lightly grease a bowl with cooking oil, then gather the dough into a ball and place the rough side down into the bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside in a warm place to rise. Let the dough rise until double in size, about 1 to 2 hours, depending on how warm your kitchen is.
While the dough is rising, making the filling by pitting the apricots and then cutting them up into 1/2-inch chunks. Place the apricot pieces in a medium-sized bowl and add the blueberries, honey, vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg reserving the cornstarch for later. Stir until ingredients are combined, then cover the bowl and set aside while the dough rises.
Once the dough has risen, put a piece of parchment paper down on a surface and dump the dough onto the paper. Roll the dough out into a 10 x 13-inch rectangle. Using the parchment paper, move the dough to a rimmed baking sheet.
Take the filling and stir in the cornstarch. Spoon the filling into the center of the dough, leaving a generous 3-inch border all the way around.
Cut the dough into 1-inch thick strips on both sides of the long edge of the dough around the filling. Don’t cut under the filling, just start cutting at where the filling edges. Make sure there are an equal number of strips on both sides of the dough.
Take the bottom strip and flip it up and over the filling, making a “U” shape on top of the filling. Repeat with the other end.
Now stretch one side of the dough strip over the filling, and do the same with the other side.
Repeat, alternating the dough strip from side to side, overlapping each strip, making it look like a braid.Once all the strips are folded over and the filling is sealed in, cover the bread with plastic wrap and let sit for 45 minutes, or until the dough looks a little puffy (it won’t have risen or doubled much, just gotten a little puffy is all). About 30 minutes into letting the dough rise again, preheat the oven to 350°F.
Once the time is over, beat the egg yolk with the water. Then brush the egg wash over the bread.
Sprinkle the Swedish pearl sugar or white sugar all over the top of the bread.Bake in the top 3rd of the oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the top of the bread is golden brown.Let the bread cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then move the bread to a wire cooling rack, by lifting up the parchment paper and using it as a “sling” to move the bread. Serve warm or at room temperature.