To Make the Dough:

Start by melting the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Once it has melted, add the milk. Heat it until it measures between 90° and 110°F, then pour it into a mixing bowl. Stir the sugar into the milk and butter, then sprinkle the yeast on top of the mixture and stir it in. Allow it to sit until the yeast has dissolved and become foamy, about 5-10 minutes.

Once the yeast has foamed, stir in the egg.

Add the flour and salt at the same time and stir them in until they are completely incorporated into the wet ingredients. With the dough in the bowl, fold the dough a couple of times by lifting one side and folding it down onto the rest of the dough, turning the dough as you fold to get each side. Do this 12-15 times using your floured hand or a bowl scraper.

Cover the bowl of dough with a clean dish towel and set it aside to rise until it has doubled. This generally takes 1-2 hours, depending on the temperature of your kitchen.

While the dough is rising, make your apple filling.

To Make the Apple Filling:

Peel and chop apples into small pieces (about 1/2″) until you have 1 1/2 cups. Add them to a frying pan and toss in 2 tablespoons of lemon juice. Add the butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon to the pan with the apples and begin to cook over low heat.

Cook for a couple of minutes, until the apples begin to release their juices and the butter has melted. Turn the heat up to medium low and cook for another 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the apples have softened and the sugar has become syrupy. Set aside to cool.

How to Make the Loaf of Apple Bread:

Grease a loaf pan well and set aside. Turn the bread dough out onto a floured surface and roll it out with a rolling pin until it measures about 10″x 18″. Using a sharp knife or pizza cutter, cut up the center of the dough lengthwise to create two 5″ wide strips. Cut the strips into 3-3 1/2″ sections (you don’t have to be perfectly precise). You should end up with 10-12 rectangles of dough.

Divide the apple filling between all but two of the pieces of dough, spreading it out on each one. Stack up three or four pieces at a time, then turn them so they’re standing upright and place them in the greased loaf pan. Make sure the pieces without any apple filling are on each end of the pan. You may have to gently compress some of the pieces to make them all fit. Cover the loaf with the clean kitchen cloth you used for the first rise and set it aside.

Immediately preheat the oven to 350°F with a rack in the center of the oven. Once it has preheat, and if the loaf has risen slightly, place it on the center rack and bake the loaf for 30-35 minutes, or until it is a deep golden brown on top and measure at least 180°F in the center (see notes).

To make the brown sugar glaze, melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium low heat then add the brown sugar and milk. Stir until the brown sugar has dissolved, then sift the powdered sugar into the wet ingredients and stir until completely combined. If it’s too thick to drizzle, add milk a teaspoon at a time until it’s the correct consistency.

Drizzle the glaze over the top of the bread immediately.