Apple braid
Description
These apple braids are quite worthy of a festive table. Your guests will gladly eat them with tea, despite the presence of a cream cake. As for the nuances of preparing this wonderful pastry, I want to say the following – I never put fresh apples into pies or turnovers. No starch that is sprinkled on the dough will hold back the abundance of juice released from the apples during baking, and the pie will inevitably be soggy. Therefore I always pre‑stew the apples. For the same reason I don’t put raw fish or raw meat into pies. They can be served with tea or coffee.
Instructions
- 1
Step 1
Prepare the starter for the dough. Pour warm milk into a bowl. Add the yeast, 2 tablespoons of flour and a tablespoon of sugar.
- 2
Step 2
Mix well with a whisk.
- 3
Step 3
Place the pre‑ferment in a warm place. After 20 minutes the pre‑ferment will be ready.
- 4
Step 4
Add the egg and melted butter to the starter. Also add salt, vanilla sugar and the remaining granulated sugar. Mix all the ingredients.
- 5
Step 5
Gradually add the sifted flour.
- 6
Step 6
Knead the dough. Cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm spot.
- 7
Step 7
In an hour, the dough will increase in volume and will be ready for use.
- 8
Step 8
While the dough rises, prepare the filling. Wash the apples, peel them, remove the core and cut them arbitrarily, but not coarsely. Place them in a skillet and simmer until all the juice evaporates. Cool.
- 9
Step 9
Divide the dough into three equal parts. Roll each part into a rectangle. Lay a strip of apples on the middle of it. Make cuts on both sides.
- 10
Step 10
Make a braid.
- 11
Step 11
Place the apple braids in a baking dish. Brush with beaten egg. Let rise at room temperature for 30 minutes.
- 12
Step 12
Bake the pies in an oven that should be preheated to 175-180 degrees. Baking will take 35-40 minutes.
- 13
Step 13
Apple braids are ready. This amount of ingredients yields three braids.