Cinnamon Crumb, Yum!

   I have been making bread, randomly picking recipes from the Bread Bible in no particular order, just what sounds good. And now I'm having trouble keeping track of what I've made when, and what I'll make next. So, I have decided to go back to my original idea of baking my way through the book, cover to cover. The very first recipe was for a cinnamon crumb cake with apple filling. This was perfect for two reasons: 1 - We had family staying in town Tuesday night and the crumb cake would make a perfect Wednesday morning breakfast with coffee. 2 - A very good friend of mine was celebrating her last day at work as she is moving north for a better job opportunity. I made a second loaf to take to work for a morning snack. Also, this friend is one of my biggest bread fans and therefore deserved her own "going away bread."
   This recipe came from the "batter breads" section of the Bread Bible. It was a quick mix and bake. Ingredients included flour, white and brown sugar, walnuts, cinnamon, lots of butter, vanilla, and sliced apples. I started by making the crumble topping, combining the walnuts, cinnamon and sugar in a food processor until the nuts were cousely chopped. I reserved a cup of this mixture and set it aside and then added the butter and pulsed it a little longer to form the crumb. Then I let the crumb sit in the fridge to firm up a little while I made the batter.
   In 2 greased loaf pans, I poured half the batter, sprinkled the reserved nut mixture, layered the sliced apples and then covered it with the remaining batter. With a fork I sifted the crumble and topped the batter in the loaf pans. Bake for 50 minutes at 350 for perfection. However, I suppose I could have been more generous with the Pam when I greased the pans, because after cooling, the loaves were very difficult to get out of the pans. Ian "came to the rescue" and tried separating the bread from the pan with a knife. I was using a spatula. The crumble was crumbling! It was a mess. Our guests came into the kitchen to see what the fuss was. We couldn't let the delicious crumb topping go to waste so all four of us began scurrying around the counter, picking at the crumbs like little mice. It took a lot of self control to not pick apart the whole loaf and just eat it that way.
   The second loaf came out looking a little more presentable, so I took that one to work. My bread fans say it was the tastiest bake so far. Four days later, there is a small piece left in the bread container, and it's still very moist and delicious!