Dutch Apple Bread

Somewhere between a quick bread and a coffee cake, this Dutch apple loaf has a tender, buttermilk crumb studded with chopped apples and walnuts, all capped with a buttery cinnamon streusel that crisps up golden in the oven.

The buttermilk is doing important work here. It reacts with the baking soda to give the bread its rise, and it adds a subtle tang that keeps all that sweetness in check. Alternate adding the flour mixture and buttermilk to the creamed butter and eggs so the batter stays smooth and doesn’t curdle.

Fold the apples and nuts in at the very end with a gentle hand. Overmixing at this stage develops gluten and makes the bread tough. You want the fruit and nuts evenly distributed but the batter barely stirred.

The streusel topping is a simple mix of flour, sugar, brown sugar, and cinnamon with cold butter cut in until crumbly. Sprinkle it over the raw batter before it goes in the oven. It bakes into a crunchy, caramelized crust that shatters when you slice through it.

Pro Tips

• Use a firm, tart apple like Granny Smith. Soft apples break down into mush during the long bake
• Cut the butter for the streusel into small pieces and work quickly so it stays cold
• Test with a toothpick at 55 minutes. The center of a loaf this thick can be deceptive
• Cool in the pan 10 minutes, then remove. Leaving it longer traps steam and softens the bottom crust

Variations

• Add ½ cup of dried cranberries to the batter for tart pops of color
• Replace walnuts with pecans for a Southern twist
• Swap the streusel for a simple powdered sugar glaze drizzled over the cooled loaf