October ABC challenge: fruit and nut pull-apart muffins

The original recipe is for a pull-apart bread made in a loaf pan, but I'm more likely to eat half of it in one sitting when it's like that, so I opted to use muffin tins for individual servings.  I also reduced the recipe by half.  Other modifications are in italics and strikeout.

Here's what I used:

1¼ cup + 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour, divided (reserve 1 tablespoon)

1 tablespoons granulated sugar

1⅛ teaspoons active dry yeast

¼ teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons (1 ounce) unsalted butter

1½ ounces whole milk

2 tablespoons (2 ounces) water

1 egg (at room temperature)

½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Filling:

½ cup granulated brown sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ large tart apple, cored and diced small

2 tablespoons (1 ounce) unsalted butter, melted

1/2 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped

1/4 cup fresh cranberries, chopped

For the dough, in a medium mixing bowl whisk together 1 cup of the flour, the sugar, yeast, and salt. Set aside. Whisk the egg and set aside. Place the milk and butter in a small bowl (I used a liquid measuring glass) and heat in the microwave carefully until the butter has just melted. Add the water and vanilla extract, then let stand until it registers 115 to 125 degrees F (or just barely cool enough to hold your finger in.) Pour the milk mixture into the dry ingredients and mix with a spatula. Add the egg and stir the mixture until all is incorporated. Add the remaining flour (except the 1 tablespoon reserved) and stir with the spatula for about 2 minutes. The mixture will come together but be slightly sticky. (I had to stir for about 5 minutes with a wooden spoon, stretching the dough.) Place the dough in a greased, 2-cup glass measuring cup. Cover with plastic wrap and a clean kitchen towel. Place in a warm space and allow to rest until doubled in size, about 1 hour. (Make Ahead! >> The dough can be risen until doubled in size, then refrigerated overnight for use in the morning. If you’re using this method, let the dough rest on the counter for 30 minutes before following the roll-out directions below.)

For the filling, in a small bowl whisk together the sugar and cinnamon, then stir in the chopped apple, cranberries, and walnuts until evenly coated. Set aside. Grease and flour 8 muffin tins.

When doubled, deflate the risen dough and knead the remaining 1 tablespoon of flour into the dough. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let rest for 5 minutes. On a lightly floured work surface, use a rolling pin to roll the dough into a 12 x 10-inch rectangle. Brush the melted butter across all of the dough. Spread the sugar mixture evenly all over the dough (if there is any accumulated juices, drizzle that over the dough too). Slice the dough into 6 x 4 strips for a total of 24 squares/rectangles (they might not all be the same size/shape and that's okay). Create 8 stacks of 3 layers each and fit each into a greased muffin tin cut-side up. Cover with a kitchen towel and place in a warm place for 30 to 45 minutes, or until almost doubled in size.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cover a sheet pan with foil and place on the lowest oven rack to catch any drips. Place the muffins in the oven and bake for 20 minutes, until the tops are very golden brown, and an instant read thermometer placed into the center of a muffin reads at least 190 degrees F. (The top may be lightly browned, but the center may still be raw. A nice, dark, golden brown will ensure that the center is cooked as well.) Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 15 to 20 minutes. Run a butter knife around the edges of each muffin to loosen before removing. Serve warm or at room temperature. They are best served the same day.

I don't like overly fussy recipes, at least not when it comes to preparation. I don't know why she has us segregate the dough ingredients. And why did we hold out that small amount of flour at the end? Was it just to help manage the sticky dough while we did a quick knead? And this layering... Not a fan. Rollups are fussy enough, but this took it to a new level of hassle. I wish she had shown her pan full of layers before they had risen. It seems like there would have been a lot of room in that pan, letting the layers fall apart.

I made this recipe into muffins because I thought it might keep better that way (and help with portion control.  Ha!  I ate 4 immediately.) That change gave me some trouble with construction. I originally thought I wanted at least 4 layers and I assumed the loaf would serve 8, therefore 6 tins would be sufficient. Her loaf actually serves 12. I saw how messy and unwieldy those stacks were going to be, and then found 4 layers completely filled--overfilled--the tin, leaving no room to rise. Fortunately 24 divides by 3, so I expanded from 6 muffins to 8.  I was still concerned with how much they might overflow the tins while rising and baking, but they did okay.

Conclusion: These were very good, but as I was putting them together I wished I had added cheddar cheese. I guess this recipe is reminding me of another October challenge from 2014 with this apple cheddar twist bread. I'm glad I added the nuts and cranberries (could have used more cranberries) because the flavors were a little one-dimensional. I was surprised when I removed the muffins to find most tins had syrup in the bottom, so I turned the muffins upside down like sticky buns. The bread was very soft and pillowy and the muffins weren't too sweet. I like this recipe, but I prefer a chewier bread and found this technique too bothersome.  

Recipe: Apple Cinnamon Sugar Pull Apart Bread via Brown-Eyed Baker