Baked Apple Twists with Brown Butter Glaze
Check out the video tutorial!
FAQs
Questions and answers will be added here. Have a question? Email BEL@bakeeatlovebox.com
1.) How thick should my apple butter be?
Answer: Your apple butter will continue to thicken after it has been cooled in the water bath. After cooking and chilling the apple butter, take your spoon and scoop up a tablespoon of the mixture. If you can turn the spoon upside down and the mixture stays on the spoon, then your apple butter is the right consistency. If your apple butter mixture is still runny after cooling it. Return it to your small saucepan and cook it on medium low, stirring it occasionally, bring it back to a low simmer and cook for 2-3 more minutes. It is important that the applesauce consistency is not runny. If the mixture has too much liquid in it, it will throw off the consistency of the filling and the dough.
*Note: Apple butter usually contains sugar as an ingredient, but because half of the apple butter is mixed with the sugars in the filling mixture, there is not additional sugar added to the applesauce mixture.
2.) I would like to enjoy my Baked Apple Twists as soon as possible, what is the expedited oven proofing method?
Answer: Click on the link and check out our article on How to Oven Proof!
3.) I would like to make my dough today and finish the recipe tomorrow. What should I do with my dough?
Answer: This recipe is great for starting one day and finishing the next. After making your dough, place it in the greased bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and drape a kitchen towel over it (this will keep the dough from drying out). Place the dough in the refrigerator and refrigerate overnight or up to two days. When you are ready to continue making your apple twists remove the dough from the refrigerator and proceed with the next step. The dough can be worked with as soon as you take it out of the refrigerator or up to 30 minutes after you take it out. The dough continues a slow proof overnight in the refrigerator and if it is left out longer than 30 minutes before working with it, it can become over proofed.
4.) I don't have a stand mixer. How to I make the dough by hand?
Answer: If you don't have a stand mixer, don't worry! You can easily make this dough by hand. Follow the directions up until it says to put the dough in a bowl of a stand mixer. With all of the dough ingredients in a medium bowl knead them together with your hands until they form a cohesive ball. lightly dust your cutting board with a little bit of flour and turn the dough out onto the surface. Take the dough in your hands and push down on it with the palms of your hands while moving it in a forward motion. Turn the dough and repeat this motion several times until the dough is smooth and shiny. This process is called kneading. The stand mixer does this process with the dough hook, but it is often done by hand in order to feel the texture of the dough. Once your dough is smooth and shiny spray your bowl lightly with cooking spray and cover it with a kitchen towel to proof. The dough will be a little bit sticky.
5.) How do I know if my dough has proofed long enough and is ready to roll out?
Answer: You are looking for your dough to have doubled in size before moving on to the next step and rolling it out. When you poke the dough, it should slowly spring back and fill in the hole that you poked when it is ready.
6.) I would prefer to create twists rather than braids. What is the step by step method to create twists?
Answer: If you would like to create twists rather than braids. Follow the steps below or check out the video tutorial!
1.) Cut the dough strip in 2 pieces. 2.) Lift up one strip and place it over the other strip.
3.) Continue this process, ensuring to angle the cut portion of the dough on top of each twist. This will create a nice, beautiful twist when the dough is baked. Once you reach the ends of the dough strips, pinch them together in your fingertips and tuck them under slightly.
7.) I haven't braided before, but I would like to learn! Do you have step by step instructions?
Answer: Braiding is a cinch once you get the hang of it! Below are step by step instructions on how to braid your dough strips.
Step 1: Cut and separate the three strips.
Step 2: Cross the middle strip over the strip on the right.
Step 3: The strip that was on the right is now the center strip, Cross the center strip over the strip on the left.
Step 4: The strip on the left now becomes the center strip. Cross this strip over the strip on the right.
Step 5: Repeat this process until you reach the end of your dough strips.
Step 6: Pinch the ends of the dough strips together and tuck them under the braid.
Check out the braid and twist video tutorial!
8.) I have cut my dough into strips and am creating my twists/braids, but the dough is getting soft, what should I do?
Answer: The heat in your kitchen and the warmth from your hands will cause the dough to warm up as you are working with it. If the dough becomes difficult to work with, just pop it back in the fridge for 10-15 minutes to let it firm back up. You can also keep a portion of the strips in the refrigerator to keep them cold while you work with the other half.
9.) Some of my filling came out while I was twisting/braiding. What should I do?
Answer: This is completely normal for a little bit of the filling to come out while creating the twists/braids. After your finished twists/braids have been placed on your prepared baking sheets, take a butter knife or silverware spoon and scrape up all of that filling goodness from your work surface! Using your finger distribute the filling mixture onto each of the twists/braids that you noticed lost a little bit of filling. Spread the filling along the top of each.
10.) How thick should the glaze be?
Answer: The glaze should coat your spoon or whisk but drizzle off when the whisk or spoon is lifted out of the bowl. You want the glaze to be thick enough to coat the twist and not run off when you brush it on. The brown butter glaze is delicious. You can add multiple layers of glaze if you like:)
11.) I don't have any cooking spray. What can I do?
Answer: Cooking spray is great for coating your bowl before adding your dough. It prevents the dough from sticking to the sides of the bowl. If you don't have any cooking spray, you can use a little neutral flavored cooking oil and a paper towel! Drizzle about 2 teaspoons (you can eyeball it) of neural cooking oil into your proofing bowl. Fold up a paper towel and dip it into the oil in your bowl. Wipe the oil all over the bottom of the bowl and the sides, almost as if you are polishing it. This will spread the oil out in a nice event coat in the bowl.
12.) I would like to reheat some twists that I baked previously. What is the best reheating method?
Answer: If it is not already in a heat safe bowl or container, spoon your desired amount of brown butter glaze into a heat safe bowl. Place the bowl in the microwave and heat for 30 seconds. Remove the glaze from the microwave and set aside. Place the desired number of twists on a microwave safe plate and microwave in 30 second intervals until warm. The twists can also be reheated in the oven. For this method, preheat the oven to 350°F. Place the twists on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or foil. When the oven is pre-heated place the twists in the oven and heat for 5-10 minutes or until warm. Using your silicone pastry brush, brush the warm twists with the brown butter glaze. Enjoy!
Best Practices
- Make sure your oven racks are in the center of your oven before pre-heating. For best results these treats should be baked in the center of the oven. If the baking sheets are placed on a bottom rack of the oven, the sugar will caramelize more rapidly and cause the bottoms of each apple twist/braid to have darker/almost burnt bottoms.
- Don't skip step 9, chilling the dough. After the dough has been filled and folded it is important to chill it before cutting it and creating your desired twists or braids. Chilling the dough gives it an opportunity to firm up and makes it easier to work with.