Bread Machine Apple Bread (with Nuts)

This bread machine apple bread is easy to make & delicious. Our recipe uses chunky applesauce and chopped walnuts to create a fun, tasty & crunchy dessert. We like to use chunky applesauce (versus plain applesauce) for this apple bread recipe because it provides an extra boost of flavor with tiny “chunks” of apple. This sweet apple quick bread is perfect as a breakfast treat, lunch-time snack… or as a banana bread alternative if you have run out of bananas!

Bread Machine Apple Bread – Moist & Stuffed with Nuts

Since this apple bread recipe is done in a bread machine, it is simple & easy to make. It should take you only 5-10 minutes to prepare and then you let the bread machine do the rest of the work. You will also find a printable and “pin-able” recipe for the applesauce bread at the bottom of the page.

Bread Machine Applesauce Bread (with Optional Nuts on Top)

Ingredients – Bread Machine Apple Bread – 2 lb Loaf

• 1 Cup – Applesauce (chunky-style) – 230 milliliters
• 1/4 Cup – Vegetable Oil (use a neutral flavored oil such as canola oil) – 58 milliliters
• 2 – Eggs
• 2 Cups – Flour (all-purpose flour) – 240 grams
• 1/2 Cup – White Granulated Sugar – 100 grams
• 1/2 Cup – Light Brown Sugar (packed cup) – 107 grams
• 1 Teaspoon – Vanilla Extract – 5 milliliters
• 1 Teaspoon – Baking Powder (we prefer aluminum-free baking powder) – 5 milliliters
• 1 Teaspoon – Baking Soda – 5 milliliters
• 1/2 Teaspoon – Ground Cinnamon – 2.5 milliliters
• 1/2 Teaspoon – Salt – 2.5 milliliters
• 1 Cup – Chopped Walnuts – 115 grams

Servings – Roughly 12 slices

Equipment – Measuring cup & spoons, soft flexible spatula, oven mitts, wire cooling rack… and of course, a bread machine.

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Key Ingredient – Applesauce

Instructions – Bread Machine Apple Bread

• Unplug the bread machine and remove the bread pan.
• Lightly beat the eggs.
• Add the applesauce, vegetable oil, eggs and then the rest of the ingredients (except the chopped walnuts) into the bread pan. FYI – Consider premixing the ingredients before adding the batter to the bread pan if you want to prevent flour sticking to the sides of the bread pan and/or finding small flour “clumps” in the finished apple bread. See tips below.
• Place the bread pan back into the bread machine and then plug in the bread machine.
• Enter the bread machine settings (Quick Bread/Cake, Light Color) and press the start button. FYI – Before making this recipe, please READ the tips section below for more information regarding the sweet quick bread setting used to make this moist apple bread. On your machine, this setting might be called “quick bread”, “quick bread/cake”, “cake”, etc. However, some manufacturers use the “quick bread” setting for rapid sandwich-type breads that use yeast (and not for quick breads such as apple bread or banana bread that use baking powder/soda). Therefore, this setting can be very confusing… but the tips section below will help you to find the right setting to use on your machine. You need to enter the correct setting used by your SPECIFIC bread machine model or the apple bread could be under or overcooked.
• After the first mixing cycle by your bread machine and before the second/final mixing, add the chopped walnuts. FYI – See tips section below & read your bread machine manual to see when & how to add nuts in your specific bread machine.
• When the bread machine has finished baking the quick bread, unplug your bread machine. Remove the bread pan and place the bread pan on a wooden cutting board. Let the bread stay within the bread pan for 10 minutes before you remove it from the bread pan. Use oven mitts when removing the bread pan because it will be very hot!
• After removing the quick bread from the bread pan, place the bread on a cooling rack. Use oven mitts when removing the bread. Let the quick bread cool down for 60+ minutes or it will be more likely to break/crumble when cut into slices.
• Don’t forget to remove the mixing paddle if it is stuck in the bread. Use oven mitts as the mixing paddle could be hot.
• Please read the tips section below for extra information on how to make this recipe successfully and to avoid common bread machine problems with moister “quick bread” recipes such as apple bread.

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Other Bread Dad Sections

• Bread Machines – My favorites
• Bread Machine Cookbooks
• Bread Mixes – Ingredient kits
• Bread Tools – Baguette pans, etc.
• Ingredients, Sandwich Books, etc.

Another Key Ingredient – Chopped Walnuts

Tips – Bread Machine Apple Bread

• The tips below are aimed at helping bread machine novices and/or helping everyone else to maximize the success of their bread machine endeavors (as bread machines vary and may utilize different settings).
• Click on our “print recipe” link if you want to print out this recipe. It includes all of the recipe’s ingredients and instructions. However, the recipe print function does not include our tips section. Please read the tips section in order to avoid common recipe problems.
• This recipe is part of our series on easy Bread Machine Recipes.

• Warning – The number 1 error that people make when creating a bread machine apple bread is using the WRONG setting. The people who have a problem often use the “quick” setting designed for fast sandwich bread recipes that use yeast… and NOT the “quick bread” setting designed for moist quick breads (i.e. banana bread & apple bread) that use baking soda/powder. These are two totally different settings. You need to find the correct baking soda/powder “quick bread” setting used with YOUR specific make & model of bread machine.
• IMPORTANT – If your machine’s electronic display is showing 50-60 minutes (total time for mixing & baking) before you press the “start” button, you have entered the WRONG setting. The total time should be roughly 1:40-1:55 hours (100-115 minutes). Moreover, the baking length of the “quick bread” setting is roughly 1:10-1:20 hours (out of the total 1:40-1:55 minutes for this setting). Yeast breads spend a long time on kneading/rising and much less on baking (where as moist quick breads spend only a short time on rising – as they are using fast rising baking powder/soda – and a long time on baking). Therefore, a 1:55 hour yeast bread setting will NOT work for a 1:55 hour moist “quick bread” setting.
• This recipe will NOT work in smaller bread machines that have only 1 lb loaf capacities. It will only fit larger bread machines with 1.5 lb or higher capacities. “Quick bread” loaves such as zucchini bread and banana bread don’t rise very much (unlike sandwich-type breads). Therefore, this 2 lb loaf should fit into a 1.5 lb or higher capacity bread machine.

• An applesauce bread is not a dry & air-filled sandwich bread. Rather this apple bread is a sweet, delicious & moist “quick bread”.
• If you don’t have chunky-style applesauce, you can use smooth applesauce. However, in my opinion, the chunky applesauce version is better for this apple bread recipe because the chunks provides small “bursts” of apple flavor (whereas the smooth applesauce variety seems to only provide a very mild apple taste to the applesauce bread).
• Some people also like to cut up a small apple into tiny pieces in order to make apple bread. However, we recommend that you use only applesauce from a well-known food manufacturer (because you know it has been properly cooked and is soft). Depending on the size of the raw apple pieces, there may not be enough time in a bread machine to properly bake and soften the raw apple pieces (as larger pieces take longer to soften). Raw/hard apple pieces can be a potential choking hazard.

• You can add all of the chopped walnuts after the first mixing cycle (and before the second & final mixing cycle). This will result in all of the chopped walnuts being in the interior of the quick bread. Or you can add 75% of the chopped walnuts after the first mixing cycle and then sprinkle the final 25% on top of the batter RIGHT AFTER the second mixing has finished (before the baking process commences). I usually do the second option in order to ensure that some chopped walnuts are on the top of the quick bread (see the “optional nuts on top” picture above). Of course, for safety reasons, you should not put your hands inside a bread machine. Moreover, you should always wear oven mitts when dealing with a bread machine because the interior can get quite hot.
• Nevertheless, ALWAYS follow the manufacturer’s instructions for your specific bread machine on how and when to safely add ingredients such as nuts or chocolate chips once a bread machine is turned on.
• FYI – Some bread machines come with an automatic fruit & nut dispenser and this unit adds the fruit/nuts at the right time for those specific machines. Other bread machines will beep when it is time to add fruit or nuts. Check your bread machine manual for further details.

• “Quick Bread” Confusion – According to Wikipedia and most bakers, applesauce bread is a type of “quick bread” (that uses baking soda/powder instead of yeast). Unfortunately, this term (quick bread) has led to a lot of confusion because bread machine manufacturers often use similar setting names to make rapid/express/quick sandwich-type breads as well as completely different sweet quick breads (i.e. applesauce bread or banana bread).
• IMPORTANT – You need to make sure to use the setting on your specific bread machine designed for SWEET QUICK BREADS/CAKES. This setting is used for sweet quick bread recipes (i.e. applesauce bread or banana bread) that use baking soda/powder (and not yeast).
• Be aware that the setting name used for applesauce bread recipes can vary by bread machine manufacturer. Here are some examples of the setting names used to make applesauce breads on various bread machines – the Sunbeam Breadmaker 5891 uses the “Quick” setting, the Hamilton Beach Bread Maker 29881 uses the “Quick” setting, the Black & Decker BOOONJBYXO Bread Maker uses the “Quick Bread” setting, the Zojirushi BB-PAC20 Bread Maker uses the “Cake” setting and the Cuisinart CBK-100 Bread Maker uses the “Cake/Quick Bread” setting. Therefore, you must check your bread machine’s instructions for the exact setting used to make sweet quick breads on your specific bread machine model.
• To find the setting names used by some of the most popular bread machines, you should visit my Bread Machine Quick Bread Settings page. I set this up to help people find the correct setting for their particular machine.

• Moreover, older and newer bread machine models from the same manufacturer can even use different setting names. Therefore, you need to read the manual included with your specific model in order to determine the correct setting used by your bread machine. Don’t guess with settings or assume that the setting used by a similar model from your bread machine manufacturer is the same as the setting used by your model.
• Don’t be fooled by setting names like Rapid or Express Bread (as these settings are often used for very rapid baking of sandwich-type breads and are not used for sweet quick breads). They will leave your applesauce bread undercooked. For example, on my Sunbeam, the sweet quick bread setting lasts for roughly 1:40 hours versus the express setting which lasts for only 58 minutes.
• Be aware that some bread machine manufacturers even label the rapid/express bread setting as “Quick Bread” and this can cause lots of confusion (because they use the name in order to describe a setting to make a rapid sandwich bread and not a sweet quick bread recipe).

• Moreover, in many bread machines, the “sweet bread” setting is used for sweet breads that use yeast (not sweet applesauce breads that use baking soda/powder). “Sweet bread” recipes are different from sweet quick bread recipes (i.e. applesauce bread or banana bread) and utilize different mixing & baking times. Therefore, a bread machine applesauce recipe is unlikely to work on the “sweet bread” setting.
• If you are still having trouble finding the sweet quick bread setting, check your bread machine manual for details regarding the “Cake” setting on your machine. Some bread machines have a cake setting that states that they can be used for sweet quick breads (and the mixing & baking will last roughly for 1 hour 40-50 minutes). However, other bread machines have a cake setting that is not designed for sweet quick breads. For example, my bread machine (Sunbeam) has a “Cake” setting (that lasts for 2 hours 50 minutes) and a “Quick” (used for sweet quick breads such as applesauce or banana bread) setting (that lasts for 1 hour 40 minutes). Therefore, this apple bread recipe would probably not work well with the cake setting on my machine.
• FYI – A couple of visitors have mentioned that their Pohl machines can occasionally underbake moist “quick breads” (i.e. banana bread & apple bread). As a solution, these visitors like to premix the batter and then use the “bake” setting (not cake setting) to create a longer baking time (versus relying on the preset cake setting) in order to fully bake their quick bread. Given this issue, please read the Pohl manual carefully on how to make moist quick breads with your specific machine.
• However, be aware that some bread machines have only a limited number of settings and may NOT have a setting that can be used for sweet quick breads (i.e. applesauce bread). These bread machines are primarily focused on making sandwich-type breads. You can not use regular sandwich-type bread settings in order to make this bread machine apple bread recipe. For example, the length of the baking time often differs.
• I know this can be super confusing… but always READ your bread machine manual and look for the specific setting designed for sweet quick breads (that use baking soda/powder and have lots of sugar & butter/oil in the recipe).

• After removing the bread pan from the bread machine (and the applesauce bread successfully passing the optional skewer test), you need to leave the applesauce bread in the bread loaf container for 10 minutes after you take it out of the bread machine. Denser & moister quick breads take a little longer for the interior dough to be fully baked.
• Be careful when removing the applesauce bread from the bread loaf pan. The exterior of quick breads is much softer than sandwich-type bread loaves. Therefore, they can break or “dent” more easily when you remove them from the bread loaf pan. When removing the quick bread, you should be careful not to let the handle of the bread pan damage the bread.
• Like applesauce recipes? Then you should also try our oven-baked recipes for Applesauce Bread and Applesauce Cranberry Bread.

• If you have a problem with a quick bread recipe, please make sure that you are following the recipe exactly. You will need to make sure that you are inputting the correct bread machine settings (see tips above about the Sweet Quick Bread setting), using the exact ingredient measurements (i.e. don’t eyeball the measurements versus using a measuring cup), using the exact ingredients called for in the recipe (i.e. baking soda/powder versus yeast or all purpose flour versus bread flour), etc. Please don’t “wing” things with recipes unless you are willing to live with your experiments!
• In addition, you should try to use relatively fresh baking soda & powder for the best results. For example, using baking soda from an open container (that has been deodorizing your refrigerator for months) may lead to subpar results. Old & hard baking powder/soda may lead to rising problems and/or leave small bitter clumps in your bread machine apple bread.
• Optional – If you are finding small white clumps of flour in your quick breads, you can use a fine mesh strainer or flour sifter to sift your flour (before mixing the flour with the wet ingredients). This “aerates” the flour and breaks up & screens out small flour lumps.
• Finding flour on the sides of your apple bread? Some people get around this issue by PREMIXING their ingredients. They will first mix all of the ingredients by hand in a mixing bowl and then add it to the bread machine bread pan (versus adding all of the ingredients to the bread pan and letting the bread machine mix everything). While this is an extra step, premixing the ingredients greatly reduces the potential for any unwanted small flour “clumps” and/or flour sticking to the sides of the finished apple bread. After hand mixing the ingredients, you should just follow the rest of the recipe instructions (i.e. enter proper bread machine settings and so on). However, always remember to add the ingredients (or hand mixed batter) to the bread pan when the bread pan is out of the bread machine and the bread machine is unplugged.

• Please read the instructions/manual included with your bread machine in order to use it safely and effectively. Recipe instructions & settings may differ slightly depending on the brand & model of bread machine utilized.
• If you liked this bread machine “quick bread” recipe, you should try some of Bread Dad’s other quick bread recipes such as Bread Machine Banana Bread, Bread Pumpkin Bread, Bread Machine Cinnamon Bread, Bread Machine Gingerbread Bread Machine Cornbread and Bread Machine Zucchini Bread.
• My recipes are based on US ingredient measurements (i.e. US cups & tablespoons). However, as a courtesy to our European visitors, I have also included some very ROUGH European equivalents (i.e. grams & milliliters). Since I rarely use European measurements when baking, please let me know in the comment section below if any of the European ingredient measurements need to be changed (i.e. for XYZ ingredient, milliliters are more commonly used versus the grams information listed in the recipe).

• Always wear oven mitts/gloves when dealing with a bread machine. The bread pan and the rest of the bread machine can get very hot during the baking process. This means that the bread pan and bread machine is likely to be very hot when you attempt to remove a baked good from the bread machine and/or bread pan.
• This recipe contains nuts. Do not serve to anyone with potential nut allergies. Nuts can be a potential choking hazard. Do not serve food with nuts to young children.
• For more easy bread machine recipes (i.e. white bread, banana bread, pizza dough, cornbread, French bread, whole wheat bread, etc.), please visit Bread Dad’s main Bread Machine Recipes section.

If you liked this recipe, please leave a comment below and give us a 5 star rating. Beginning bakers learn a lot from your comments, baking tips & recipe variations. Jump to comment section

Reference Sources

• Wikipedia, Applesauce
• Wikipedia, Bread Machine
• Wikipedia, Quick Bread

Your fantastic comments motivate us to write more easy & delicious recipes. Also beginning bakers learn a ton from your helpful suggestions, tips and amazing recipe variations. Thank you!

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