Discard Apple Walnut Bread Loaf Recipe

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You’ll love this light and tender discard apple walnut bread loaf recipe. The crunch of the cinnamon sugar walnut streusel topping paired with the sweet fruit, crunchy walnuts, and soft tender bread makes for the perfect fall treat when apple season rolls around. 

If you find yourself with an abundance of fresh apples from apple picking at the local apple orchard? Or do you have apple trees full of apples and with plenty of apple pie filling and apple sauce in the panty already? Then this sourdough apple bread recipe is the perfect way to use all those apples. It’s right at the top of the list with apple cider and cinnamon rolls for some of my favorite fall treats.

This delicious apple bread is an excellent way to use your discard so it doesn’t go to waste. The acid from the sour cream and the sourdough discard react with the baking powder to produce the softest bread with a delicate crumb. Enjoy a slice topped with butter for a quick breakfast or a with cup of coffee for an afternoon treat. This is a great bread to enjoy at any hour.

Looking for other sourdough discard recipes that are perfect for breakfast? You’ll love my sourdough discard granola or sourdough discard blueberry muffins with crumb topping.

Is Discard Apple Walnut Bread Loaf Healthy?

While I wouldn’t say that quick bread recipes are at the top of the list for healthy foods, you can improve the health of this sweet treat by fermenting the grains. I love any chance I get to ferment my grains and this is no exception. Pairing the benefits of sourdough with this quick bread recipe is a great way to improve the digestibility of the grains and also helps to break down some of the gluten.

Ingredients for Discard Apple Walnut Bread Recipe

Wet Ingredients

• Butter – Use room-temperature salted butter
• Brown sugar
• Sugar
• Eggs
• Vanilla Extract
• Sour cream – Adds moisture and acid to the batter to react with the baking powder, producing a light bread.
• Sourdough discard – Use sourdough discard or active starter

Dry Ingredients

• All-purpose flour – I always use unbleached organic all-purpose flour.
• Baking soda
• Baking powder – Make sure your baking powder is active and hasn’t expired
• Cinnamon
• Salt
• Diced apple chunks – Small chunks will make for bite size pieces in your final bake. I like to do a combination of honey crisp and granny smith apples. If you want the apple flavor without the chunks, use grated apples instead.
• Walnuts – If using measuring cups instead of weighing the walnuts, measure out and then chop.

Streusel Topping Ingredients

• Butter
• All-purpose flour
• Brown sugar
• Cinnamon
• Walnuts

Same-Day Discard Apple Walnut Bread Loaf Instructions 

It’s best to prep all of the ingredients before mixing the batter. When you add the dry ingredients to the wet, you’ll want to work quickly to fold in the apples, walnuts, add the streusel topping, and get your loaves into the oven. 

Prep the Apples, Walnuts, and Streusel Topping

With the oven rack in the center of the oven, preheat it to 350 degrees.

Prep the apples. Wash, peel, and dice the apples into small chunks. They can be as small or large as you prefer, but I would suggest dicing them on the smaller side so the bread has nice-sized apple pieces. Place in a small bowl and set aside.

Next, dice your walnuts. You will need walnuts to fold into the bread batter as well as walnuts for the strudel topping. Give the walnuts for the bread a rough chop if using whole walnuts similar in size to the apple pieces. Add to the bowl with the apples. 

Prep your loaf pans by lining each loaf pan with a piece of parchment paper. 

To make the streusel topping, in a separate bowl add the room-temperature butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, and flour and mix to combine. Chop the walnut pieces into small, fine pieces and mix them with the other streusel ingredients. Set aside.

Mixing the Batter

Beat the butter with a half cup of sugar and a half cup of brown sugar in a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer until light and fluffy and fully combined. 

Add the eggs, a half cup of sourdough starter followed by a teaspoon vanilla extract and sour cream and mix on low speed until combined.

Add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon until just mixed. You do not want to over-mix the batter. 

Working quickly, place the chopped apple chunks and the chopped walnuts into the bowl and fold into the batter. Divide the batter into each prepared pan. Use a spatula and smooth the top of the batter.

Sprinkle the streusel topping over the top of each loaf and gently press it into the batter. This will help the streusel to bake into the batter versus just sitting on the top. 

Bake for 55-60 minutes. The top of the bread will be a lovely golden brown.

Ways to Check if Your Bread is Done

Because the bread bakes from the outside in, the center is the last part of the bread to finish baking and this is where you will want to check when it’s done. Insert a toothpick in the center and if it comes out clean then the bread is done. If the toothpick comes out with wet dough or set crumbs on it then the bread needs more baking time. 

Another way to check when the bread is done is to press the center of the loaf lightly. When the center of the bread is fully baked, it will spring back when lightly pressed. If the center is visible wobbly still or your finger leaves an indent when pressed then it’s not done. 

When the loaves of bread pass these simple tests and are done remove them from the oven and allow them to cool for 10 minutes in the pan. Using the parchment paper, lift the breads out of the bread pans and onto a wire rack to cool. 

Cut when fully cool and enjoy!

Long Ferment Discard Apple Walnut Bread Loaf Instructions

To long ferment the discard apple walnut bread, add the sourdough discard, sour cream, and eggs to a bowl. Mix until well combined. Next mix in your flour until it’s combined. It will look like a thick paste. Cover and allow to sit out at room temperature for an hour or two. This will allow the discard to start working to ferment. Then move to the refrigerator for 12-18 hours.

When ready to bake, remove the mixture of sour cream, flour, and eggs from the refrigerator and allow to come up to room temperature. Doing this as well as using a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment will make it easier to mix this mixture with the other ingredients. 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

Prep the apples, walnuts, and streusel the same as the same-day baking instructions.

Line the loaf pans with parchment paper.  

Start by combining the butter, sugar, and vanilla in a bowl of a stand mixer. Add the sour cream, flour, and egg mixture to the stand mixer bowl and mix on low. The batter will come together, slowly increase the speed of the mixer to medium.

Then sprinkle the salt, baking powder, and baking soda in the bowl and continue mixing until it’s fully combined. Remove the paddle attachment and fold in the apple and walnut pieces. 

Divide the batter between the two loaf pans, smoothing out the tops of the batter with a spatula. 

Sprinkle the streusel topping over the top of each loaf, pressing lightly into the batter. 

Continue baking the same as the same-day instructions.

Storage Instructions

The delicious bread is best the day it’s baked but will also store very well. Place bread into an airtight storage container and in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. 

Can I Freeze Discard Apple Walnut Bread Loaf?

This easy walnut apple bread recipe freezes beautifully. This is my favorite way to have homemade baked goods ready anytime we need them. 

Allow the apple walnut bread to cool completely. Wrap in plastic wrap, label with the date and place into the freezer. Best used within 3 months.  

Discard Apple Walnut Bread Muffins

Easily convert this delicious bread loaf into muffins. Line the muffin pan with muffin liners and fill 2/3 full of batter. Top with streusel topping and bake for 22-24 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Remove from the oven and move the muffins to a wire rack to cool completely.

Expert Tips

• This apple nut bread recipe produces bread with a tender crumb, which is delicious to eat but can be difficult to move when still warm. I highly suggest using parchment paper to help lift the bread out of the loaf pans. Because each bite is loaded with apples this adds additional moisture to the bread. Allowing it to fully cool before cutting will keep that moisture in ensuring that the bread is soft and tender. 
• You want to choose a type of apple that holds its shape when cooked. Granny Smith, Honey Crisp, Pink Lady, Jazz, and Fuji apples are all excellent choices.  Some apples are considered sauce apples and will break down when cooked, which isn’t what you want for this recipe.
• The bread is still delicious with only one variety of apples. But if you really want to amp up your bread you can use two varieties that will give your bread a more complex flavor profile.

Substitutions 

• You can substitute plain yogurt for the sour cream. Both are fermented foods and will add the acid you need to produce a light baked good. 
• I am a huge fan of walnuts and enjoy them in most baked goods, but some people are not. This bread is delicious if you choose to leave the nuts out. Or if walnuts aren’t your thing, swap them out for pecans, almonds, or cashews.
• Substitute a cup of golden raisins for a cup of apples for a slightly different flavor and texture.

I’d love to hear from you! Please leave a comment and rate the recipe. Tag photos #Lockremhomestead over on Instagram to share your Discard Apple Walnut Bread Loaf! I can’t wait to see it!