This delicious dessert bread isn’t easy to make, but is worth the effort! Be careful to rotate the oven and the lid and make sure to use a deep oven or you’ll end up with some burned spots.

Ingredients:

Dough

• 5 cups unbleached flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 Tbsp. active dry yeast
• 2 tsp. salt
• 1 3/4 cup scalded milk, cooled to lukewarm
• 2 eggs, brought to room temperature and beaten
• 1/3 cup melted butter

Coating

• 1/2 cup melted butter
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 Tbsp. ground cinnamon

Filling

• 3 granny smith apples, peeled and chopped
• 3/4 cup raisins
• 3/4 cup chopped walnuts
• 1/2 Tbsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 3 Tbsp. melted butter

Frosting

• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 2 Tbsp. hot water
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Preparation:

Dough – In a small bowl, mix the milk and 2 Tbsp. of the sugar. Add the yeast and let it sit in a warm location until the yeast is foamy. In a large bowl, combine 2 cups of the flour, remaining sugar, and salt. Mix well. Add yeast mixture, eggs, and butter. Beat until smooth. Add remaining flour 1/2 cup at a time and work until the dough forms a ball. Place the dough on a floured surface and knead for 5-7 minutes. Place the dough in a greased bowl and turn so the top side is greased. Cover the bowl and let it sit in a warm location free from drafts until the dough has doubled in size. Meanwhile, prepare the coating and filling.

Coating – Mix together the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Place melted butter in another small bowl.

Filling – In a medium mixing bowl, combine all of the filling ingredients and stir until the brown sugar is dissolved and the fruit is evenly coated.

Frosting – When the rolls are nearly done, mix the frosting ingredients together and beat until smooth.

Punch down the dough and cut it into thirds. Cut each third into 16 equal-sized pieces (by dividing into halves, fourths, eights, and sixteenths). On a lightly-floured surface, press each piece of dough into a small circle (about 2 1/2 inches in diameter). Place 1 teaspoon of the filling in the center of the circle. Wrap the dough around the filling, pinching the edges together to form a ball. dip the ball in the melted butter, and then roll in the cinnamon-sugar coating. Place in a 12-inch deep dutch oven, starting around the outside and working in toward the middle until the bottom of the oven is covered. Spoon about 3/4 cup of the filling evenly over the top of the rolls. Repeat the process until the dough has been completely used. Cover the oven and let the bread raise for 30 minutes.

Bake using 8-10 briquettes bottom heat and 18-20 briquettes top heat for 30-40 minutes or until bread is barely golden-brown, rotating the oven and lid in opposite directions every 10 minutes to avoid dark spots. Remove the dutch oven from the heat and cool for 10 minutes with the lid on. Turn the rolls out onto a serving platter and drizzle the top and sides of the rolls with frosting.

Serves 12-14