Step 1

Toss the diced apples with the brown sugar and salt, allow to macerate while your are making and rising the dough (at least 60 minutes).

Step 2

In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Set it aside.

Step 3

In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the buttermilk, melted butter, eggs, sugar and yeast. Mix with the paddle or beater until combined (or mix by hand). Add some of dry ingredients until it forms a thick batter. Switch to the dough hook. Add the remaining dry ingredients.

Step 4

Knead the dough on the mixer for 5 minutes. If working by hand add as much of the flour as you can with a wooden spoon then knead in the remaining flour by hand. The dough will be slightly sticky.

Step 5

Turn the dough out onto a well floured surface and knead until the dough is smooth and supple. Use a little more flour as needed. Form the dough into a ball and place it into a lightly oiled bowl, turning once to coat the dough. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside until doubled in volume (about 1 ½ hours).

Step 6

Drain the juice from the apples and reserve the juice. Sprinkle cinnamon over the drained apples and toss to coat them with the cinnamon. Line a sheet pan with parchment or a silpat and generously flour the pan.

Step 7

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and pat it to a rectangle shape. Roll the dough to a 18" x 12" rectangle. Distribute 2/3 the apples evenly over 1/2 the surface of the dough going all the way to the edges. Fold the dough over the apples.

Step 8

Press with your hands or rolling pin until the dough is flattened to ½" thick and the apples are embedded in the dough. If you get air bubbles just poke the dough with the tip of a knife to release the trapped air. Scatter the remaining apples over 1/2 the dough and fold in half again. Flatten to embed the apples into the dough and roll into a 12" x 9" rectangle. Cut into 12 even pieces.

Step 9

Using plenty of flour to prevent sticking, use your hands to pinch the sides of each piece of dough to contain the apples. If some pieces of apple fall out, push them back into the dough. Don't worry if they're not perfect, they aren't supposed to be. If some fritters have too much apple and some have too little simply pluck pieces of out of one and push it into the other.

Step 10

Place the fritters on the flour dusted pan. Cover and allow to rise until almost doubled, about 1 hour. The fritters should feel light and puffy. When you poke the dough with the tip of your finger the dent should slowly fill in. If it bounces right back it's not ready.

Step 11

While the fritters are rising combine the powdered sugar with ½ cup of the apple juice and cinnamon to form a glaze that has the consistency of thin pancake batter. If the glaze is too thick add a little more apple juice. If it's too thin add more sugar.

Step 12

Heat 2 quarts of oil to 350 °F in a large Dutch oven. Set a cooling rack over a clean sheet pan and place it near the fryer.

Step 13

Fry the fritters a couple at a time, about 2-3 minutes per side. Drain on a cooling rack while continuing to fry.

Step 14

While the fritters are still warm dip the top of each fritter into the glaze and return it to the cooling rack until the glaze sets. They are best eaten warm or within a couple of hours of frying.