I keep staring at the blank page and so I am just writing something down. Anything. So here you go:
1. You can’t argue with crazy because they think they are always right.
2. I’m happy Trader Joe’s carries varieties of goat’s cheeses…not just goat cheese like you know goat cheese.
3. Saw the movie The Kids Are Alright….and well. Hmmm. I know it won awards and all but boy was that movie, well odd.
4. I correctly guessed that my friend’s baby would be a girl. You may not think this is exciting but in the last 4 years I have been 22 out of 23 in correctly guessing the sex of my friends soon to be babies. And I am still waiting for proof on the one incorrect guess.
5. Schweddy Balls ice cream is a real thing. It’s also hard to find. My bff went to several stores to hunt it down for me. We like it. We even bought another pint of it…only to anger a woman who was also looking for it. As we knew where it was and she didn’t and she was talking about it on the phone while trying to look. We swept in and took it while she was chatting away. It was the last one. She hates us.
6. I like my dermatologist the best because she is pudgy and so I know she isn’t judging my weight. 🙂 I also like her because she always tells me that I take great care of my skin and it shows. There is something to be said about staying out of the sun or tanning booth. And let’s not discuss fake tans…I know you don’t think you look like Snookie but you are not far off.
7. What wake and bake means to me is something very different to most people. For me it means getting up early and baking before it gets too hot. But most people go with the other definition.
8. I don’t like most fashion trends right now.
9. Math for life, not for tests.
10. Cooler weather is making me want to bake bread. I saw this Apple Braid on Pinterest and decided what the heck I’d wake and bake this. 🙂 So I did. I like it. It’s kind of like apple pie in a bun. The original uses just a vanilla glaze but I decided that salted caramel was the way to go on this. I think I was right. But I could be wrong. Because I’m not crazy so I can admit if I am in the wrong. 😛
Apple Braid with Salted Caramel Glaze
For the Apple Filling :
3 medium-size Honey Crisp apples
3 TBSP granulated sugar
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
½ tsp. fresh nutmeg
For the Bread:
2 1/2 cups bread flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 TBSP instant yeast
3/4 tsp. salt
1 cup warm water
2 1/4 tsp. Vegetable oil
For the Glaze:
½ cup powdered sugar
¼ cup salted caramel sauce (I used Trader Joes)
Heavy whipping cream to thin, I used about 3 TBSP
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Preheat the oven to 350F.
Make the Apple Filling: Peel, core, and slice the apples into thin slices, then cut the slices in half. Toss the apple pieces with the sugar, cinnamon, and lemon juice. Bake the apple filling in an 8-inch square baking pan (or 9-inch pie tin) for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside. (Note: Do not turn the oven off at this point. You will be using it to bake the finished braid.)
Make the Bread: While the apple filling is baking, begin preparing the bread dough. Mix the dry ingredients together in a large mixing bowl. Add the water and oil and mix the dough for 6 minutes using an electric mixer on medium-high speed.
Spray a smooth clean surface with cooking spray and turn the dough out onto the surface. Knead the dough briefly to give it a smooth surface (this will only take several turns of the dough to accomplish). Spray a rolling pin with cooking spray and roll the dough out into a large rectangle, about 12-inches by 16-inches in size. Lift onto a greased baking sheet.
Using a pizza cutter or sharp knife, cut each side into strips about 1-inch wide down each side, leaving the center third of the dough uncut. Spread the apple filling down the middle third of the dough. Fold strips of dough into the center, crisscrossing the filling by alternating strips from each side. Lightly press ends to seal, and straighten out the braid with your hands, if necessary, to straighten.
Bake the braid in the oven for 25 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and let the braid cool for several minutes.
Make the Glaze:
Using a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, blend together the caramel and sugar on low speed, about two minutes. Add vanilla. Then slowly add heavy cream until you get the consistency you want your glaze to be.
Pour over top of braid.
Adapted from LaFujiMama who posted a guest post on Eat Live Run.
Desi says
This looks delish. I have found some awesome stuff on Pinterest. Oh & I like the random list…very entertaining. Maybe you should do one once a week or so to recap your random thoughts.
mis-cakes says
i like random i feel random a lot. it took me a minute to figure out what the other wake and bake was. maybe i baked too much as a kid 😉
Julia says
OH MY GOSH! I am actually drooling looking at the picture. Can hardly wait to go apple picking and make this. Thank you!
Gabriela says
Wait! Were you talking about me? (laced with paranoia). Uh-huh. Yup, I think you were talking about me. I’m unfamiliar with the term wake and bake. I mulled that one over 9 ways from Sunday and tried to apply as many naughty connotations as possible, but no dice. But wait! Were you talking about me?
Amanda B. says
I haven’t made any breads before but want to try and this looks fantastic. Since I haven’t done any breads before, can you clarify what bread flour is for me? Thanks!
Peabody says
@Amanda B- bread flour is just a type of flour. It has more gluten in it. You should be able to easily find it at that grocery store. If not you can use all-purpose flour.
Erika says
I like random thoughts for the day!
Cheryl | Black Girl Chef's Whites says
I am so glad I am not the only one who was not impressed with The Kids are Alright! All I could think after I saw it was “That one an Oscar? Really?”
Oh, and your recipe sounds delish as always Peabody!
Jill says
I like this post!
Tanna says
I know the salted caramel is perfect!
VeggieGirl says
Major writer’s block here too… hence no posts from me 🙁
Lisa says
That looks SO good!
Carrie Higa says
I’m kind of intrigued by the Schweddy Balls ice cream, but I’m afraid to see what Google brings up when I search it. … 😉
EG says
I loooooved The Kids are Alright. And I saw it before the Oscars, thanks. Her speech about how marriage is hard – perfection.
Becca says
I liked this post. Random jibber-jabber can sometimes make the best of posts. And I have never heard of Schweddy Balls ice cream; I had to look it up. The ice cream doesn’t appeal to me, but yay you for making a stranger hate you! *thumbs up*
Melinda says
Random Comments for today…I,ve got responder block.
1. Had major annoyance fit with shop assistant. I couldn’t find anyone at pay counter for 20 minutes. She was chatting up bloke at Bureau de Change, so much so, I thought she was a customer there.
I was so cross!
2. I need to buy a coat. I am having difficulties finding, right colour, right price, right size. I have looked at some very ugly and expensive coats this
season! All I want is a swing coat, black, raglan sleeves in gabardine fabric, size 12 that doesn’t cost the earth. Is that too much to ask? I think it might be.
3. I am worried about my luggage weight.
Thank you for listening. By the way, the carmel sauce looks dazzling. Good choice.
Brett says
I hate that we don’t have Trader Joe’s in Colorado.
And honey crisp apples ain’t easy to come by either.
Then again, this recipe is beyond my skill level anyway. All dough related things go to Kim.
Tracy says
a) giddy and high on life due to dinner with THAT michael symon tonight so forgive me for anything I may say.
b) people that get up and don’t turn on their oven in order to wake and bake really piss me off. grow the F up people.
c) because of this here post of yours.. I think I love you.
d) Apple Braid. YUM! Salted Caramel Sauce. DOUBLE YUM!
Dad says
You are your mothers daughter. Remember when you kids would come home from school, it had snowed and your mom started baking. I always said she had a chemical reaction to cold and snow and turned on the oven.Of course we benefited. Nothing like her donuts.
Diana @ frontyardfoodie says
No joke, I’m always right in guessing babies too!
I only got one wrong and even though it was a girl and I thought it was going to be a boy….that girl looks exactly like her dad….so I’m not entirely wrong right? haha
Nicole says
This looks so good. I love anything with apples.
I like your random observations, especially about the “you can’t argue with crazy.” I’m reminded of that with one patron here in the library.
Erin says
Totally agree on #1. #4 is amazing you should open up a business like tarot card reading for babies. #5 I haven’t tried looking for it yet because I’ve only just found out it exists. Memphis stinks for fun things tho (no Trader Joes either) so we’ll see if it’s in any grocery store nearby. And #10? Love that you put salted caramel icing on this!
Erin says
Besides pumpkin apples and caramel are the best fall foods!
jacquie says
oh i want to try the Schweddy Balls ice cream ….. i haven’t seen it here (maryland) what stores are you seeing it in?
Peabody says
@Jacquie- QFC which is a Kroger affiliate
SarahK says
this looks fantastic! i wish i had some apples in the house so i could wake and bake this tomorrow before work.
i think i’m going to be saying “math for life, not for tests” for the next couple of days. i love that saying, i wish someone would have told me that 20 years ago in pre-algebra…maybe me and algebra could have been buddies :-/
Lauren at Keep It Sweet says
LOL on just about everything, especially your dermatologist:-)
This looks amazing in so many ways!
Rebecca says
Math is so important.. and a very undervalued but important life skill. Knowing how to count is just as important as knowing how to read or write. No matter what you do in life, you will have to deal with math.
Humph.
Also, this looks awesome.
Kim says
This will be the ultimate Jewish New Year dessert, if the bread doesn’t intimidate me too much…
Patricia Scarpin says
I have got to use the last fall apples in something delicious like this bread, Pea. That glaze is calling out my name!
Fashion trends are usually for skinny people. So I don’t have to tell you that I don’t wear them very often… 😉