Name: Farmhouse Apple Bread Recipe
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 50 min
Yield: 10 servings
Ingredients: 2/3 cup white sugar; 1/2 cup butter at room temp; 1 tsp ground cinnamon; 2 eggs; 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract; 1 1/2 cups flour; 1 3/4 teaspoons baking powder; 1/2 cup milk; 2 apples, peeled and chopped

Apple Bread - sliced loaf with a cinnamon streusel top and white glaze on a white platter, ringed by whole and diced green apples and cinnamon sticks

There’s nothing quite like the smell of homemade baked goods in the kitchen, especially when it includes cinnamon and apples. I first discovered this farmhouse apple bread recipe last fall when I went looking for something to serve at a brunch potluck. Since then, I’ve made it countless times, as my kids love eating this fresh-baked bread in the morning before school, and I enjoy it as a snack any time of day. It also makes a nice breakfast cake to have with coffee and keeps for several days. Ours never makes it past day two, but I have successfully frozen some to serve later, and it works well when reheated. Forget basic coffee cake recipes! Try this version with fresh, juicy apples, cinnamon and a light powdered sugar glaze and you’ll never go back. It tastes just like an apple fritter but is much healthier than that, with no frying involved, just fresh baked deliciousness. If you like this awesome baking idea, also try these 35 breakfast bread recipes we love so much or serve some of our other brunch ideas with it. Fall Baking - angled view of glazed cinnamon swirl apple bread slices on a white plate with red and green apples and a green bowl of chopped apple behind

Fall Baking - angled view of glazed cinnamon swirl apple bread slices on a white plate with red and green apples and a green bowl of chopped apple behind

Here’s how I make mine. It really does not take long- just gather the ingredients:

Farmhouse Apple Bread Ingredients:

1/3 cup light brown sugar
2/3 cup white sugar
1/2 cup butter at room temp
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups flour
1 3/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup milk
2 apples, peeled and chopped (any kind works, but I use Granny Smith)

There are thousands of apple varieties grown worldwide, but for baking you mostly care about one thing: does it hold its shape in the oven. A quick word on the apples. Granny Smith is what I reach for because it stays firm and its tartness cuts through all that brown sugar. Softer apples like Gala or McIntosh will cook down into something closer to applesauce pockets, which is not bad, just different. Peel them. The skins toughen in the oven and you feel them in every bite.

Room temperature butter matters more than it sounds like it should. Cold butter will not cream properly with the sugar, and creaming is what whips air into the batter and gives you a soft crumb instead of a heavy one. If you forgot to set it out, cut the half cup into thin slices and give it 15 minutes on the counter.

Glaze Ingredients:

2 tablespoons milk or cream
1/2 cup powdered sugar

The glaze is powdered sugar and a splash of milk, and it is completely adjustable. Two tablespoons of milk gives you a pourable drizzle. Cut it to one tablespoon and you get a thicker white icing that sets firm on top. I use cream when I have it because it makes the glaze taste less like plain sugar.

Quick Bread Recipes - flat lay of a yellow hand mixer, whole and chopped apples, flour, butter, eggs, brown sugar, cinnamon sticks and a red mixing bowl on a wood table

Easy Apple Recipes - ingredients arranged in a circle on wood, including whole apples, diced apple, eggs, brown sugar, flour, butter, cinnamon sticks, vanilla, milk and a glass baking dish

Steps for Making Homemade Apple Bread:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly coat a 9 x 5 loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray. This allows for easy slicing.
Mix the brown sugar and cinnamon together in a bowl and set aside.
Peel and chop two apples. Set aside.
In another medium-sized bowl, beat the butter and white sugar together using an electric mixer. Mix this until smooth, light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating them in until blended well. Add vanilla extract and beat for one more minute.
In a third bowl. incorporate the flour with baking powder, whisking until blended.

The layering step is the whole trick, so do not rush it. Half the batter, half the apples, half the cinnamon sugar, then repeat. If you dump everything in at once, the apple pieces sink and you end up with a soggy bottom and a plain top. Patting the apples gently into the batter helps them stay suspended where you put them.

When you swirl with the knife, go in a loose figure eight and stop after a few passes. Over-swirling blends the cinnamon sugar into the batter and you lose the ribbon entirely. You want streaks, not a uniform brown loaf.

Homemade Bread - two hands stirring cinnamon and sugar together with a spoon in a small red bowl, with whole apples and cinnamon sticks on the wood table

Apple Recipes - blue patterned bowl of flour surrounded by two butter sticks on a white plate, diced apples, brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon sticks, whole apples and eggs

Breakfast Recipes - yellow hand mixer beating butter and sugar in a red bowl while one hand steadies it, with apples and a bowl of diced apple nearby

6. Add flour mixture to creamed butter mixture, blending until smooth. 7. Now, layer your ingredients in the loaf pan. Start with the batter mix, adding half to the bottom of the pan. Next, cover this with half of the apples. After that, add half of the cinnamon mixture. Pat this down over the apples. Cinnamon Apple Bread - pale unbaked batter smoothed into a clear glass loaf dish with a dark wooden spoon at the edge and apples and cinnamon sticks around it

Cinnamon Apple Bread - pale unbaked batter smoothed into a clear glass loaf dish with a dark wooden spoon at the edge and apples and cinnamon sticks around it

How to Make Apple Bread - hands pouring diced apples from a yellow bowl over the first batter layer in the glass loaf pan

8. Pour the remaining batter over the apple cinnamon mixture, then add the remaining apples and cinnamon mix. Pat the apples into the batter and use a knife the swirl the cinnamon mix through the batter. 9. Bake for 50 minutes to one hour, checking at 50 minutes to see when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. If you are using a convection oven, which cooks faster, check the bread starting at 40 minutes. 10. Let the bread cool. Make the glaze while you wait. Add milk to powdered sugar and stir until blended. Once the bread is cool (at least 20 minutes even if you want to serve it warm) add the glaze. Enjoy for breakfast and as a snack all day long!

Apple Desserts - whole baked apple loaf with a browned cinnamon streusel top, still unglazed, in a glass dish on a white platter — Farmhouse apple bread fresh out of the oven. Time to add the glaze once it cools

Glazed Apple Bread - white glaze being drizzled from a fork over the baked loaf in its glass dish, with sliced apples and mixing bowls behind — Once the apple bread has cooled a bit, add the glaze

Homemade Apple Bread - glass loaf dish with several slices removed beside a plated slice, surrounded by butter, whole and diced apples, cinnamon sticks and milk

Apple Cinnamon Bread - overhead of the glazed loaf sliced on a white platter with a small bowl of diced apple, whole apples and a ramekin of cinnamon sugar

Breakfast Bread Recipes - single slice of cinnamon apple bread on a white plate with the rest of the loaf in its glass dish, butter, an egg and apples behind — Slice and serve your homemade cinnamon apple bread

Ours never lasts long enough for this to be a concern, but if you want to save the bread for later, you can keep it fresh for longer like this. Storage tips: This apple bread can be left at room temp for 24 hours but should go in the refrigerator if you plan to keep it longer than that. It can also be sliced and frozen, then reheated.

Farmhouse Apple Bread Ingredients:
Glaze Ingredients:
Steps for Making Homemade Apple Bread:
What Goes Wrong (And How to Fix It)
Substitutions and Ways to Change It Up
Storing and Serving
Farmhouse Apple Bread FAQ

What Goes Wrong (And How to Fix It)

The most common problem is a loaf that looks done on top and is still wet in the middle. That cinnamon sugar browns fast, so the color lies to you. Trust the toothpick, not your eyes. If the top is getting dark before the center sets, lay a piece of foil loosely over the pan for the last 10 minutes.

The other one is glaze that vanishes. Pour it on a warm loaf and it soaks straight in and leaves a sticky sheen instead of white ribbons. Give the bread at least 20 minutes, longer if your kitchen is warm. I have glazed too early more than once and it still tastes good, it just does not photograph.

If your slices crumble, the loaf was probably cut too hot. Quick breads firm up as they cool, and a serrated knife with a gentle sawing motion beats pressing down with a chef’s knife every time.

Substitutions and Ways to Change It Up

No milk in the house? Buttermilk works and adds a little tang. Half and half is fine too. For the flour, all-purpose is what this recipe is built around, and a one-to-one gluten free blend will bake up slightly denser but perfectly edible.

A half cup of chopped walnuts or pecans folded into the batter adds crunch against the soft apples. A pinch of nutmeg alongside the cinnamon pushes it toward apple pie territory. And if you want it less sweet, skip the glaze entirely and serve slices with butter instead. Nobody has ever complained about that version at my table.

You can bake this in two mini loaf pans instead of one 9×5. Start checking those around 30 minutes, since smaller pans cook considerably faster.

Storing and Serving

Covered on the counter, this keeps for about a day. After that the apples make it too moist to leave out, so move it to the refrigerator. Cold slices warm up beautifully in about 15 seconds in the microwave, and the glaze softens back to how it was.

For longer storage, slice the cooled loaf first and freeze the pieces flat with parchment between them. Then you can pull out one slice on a Tuesday morning without thawing the whole thing. I keep a bag in the freezer through October for exactly that reason.

Farmhouse Apple Bread FAQ

What apples work best in apple bread?

Granny Smith is the recommendation here because it holds its shape and its tartness balances the brown sugar. That said, any kind of apple will work in this loaf. You need two of them, peeled and chopped.

How do I know when the apple bread is done baking?

Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes to an hour, then slide a toothpick into the center. It should come out clean with no wet batter clinging to it. If you are using a convection oven, start checking at 40 minutes because it will run ahead of schedule.

Why do you layer the batter and apples instead of mixing them in?

Layering keeps the apples and the cinnamon sugar distributed through the loaf instead of settling at the bottom. Half the batter goes in first, then half the apples and half the cinnamon mixture patted down, then you repeat with the rest. A few passes with a knife swirls the cinnamon into the batter.

How long does apple bread keep?

It is fine at room temperature for up to 24 hours, and after that it should go in the refrigerator. You can also slice the loaf and freeze it, then reheat individual slices when you want one. Let the bread cool for at least 20 minutes before glazing or slicing either way.