Cinnamon Sugar Pull Apart Bread

August 8, 2012 in Breakfast, Sweets, Yeast dough

After the dough has risen for a second time, and is ready to bake.

I describe this as OH. MY. GOODNESS. It’s amazing from start to finish. The dough smells like heaven – yeasty, sweet, and buttery. The filling is made up of cinnamon, sugar and a touch of nutmeg. It rises twice and stacks up like a deck of cards.

And once it’s baked and ready, it’s very hard to wait until it’s cool enough to take a bite out of the pan.

Just ask me and my burned thumbs.

Who says patience is a virtue?

Not this girl.

This dough can be made in advance by allowing it to rise once, then wrap in saran wrap and store it in the fridge overnight. If you’re going to go with that method, you need to let it rest for 30 minutes on a warm counter top prior to rolling it out and continuing on.

This tastes great with breakfast, lunch, dinner, midnight, three AM, any time, really. And you laugh, but taste it, then tell me who’s the funny one.

 

Here’s how to make it!

recipe adapted from Joy the Baker (my favorite ever) (also, if you want step by step photos, hers are far better than mine would ever be. So check them out.)

Ingredients

For the Dough:

3 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 1/4 teaspoons (1 envelope) active dry yeast
1 tablespoon water
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 ounces unsalted butter
1/3 cup milk
1/4 cup water
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For the filling:

1 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg
2 ounces unsalted butter, melted until browned

Directions

In a small bowl, mix together yeast and 1 tablespoon lukewarm water. Add a pinch of sugar for good measure. Allow it to sit and ferment for 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, mix together the flour, sugar and salt.

Beat the eggs together in a small bowl, set aside. (To make room temperature, place in a bowl of warm water and let sit until outside is warm to touch.)

Melt the butter and milk together in a small saucepan until butter is just melted. Let sit for a minute or two until cooler.

Combine the dry ingredients with the yeast, butter/milk mixture, vanilla extract and 1/4 cup of water. Mix with the paddle attachment slowly until just combined. Then add the eggs. It’s going to feel like the eggs are never going to mix in. That’s good. Mix until the dough is sticky and the eggs are starting to come together with the dough – about two minutes.

Place the dough in a large greased bowl and set to rise in a warm place until doubled, about an hour.

*Now is the time to wrap it in saran wrap if you want to bake it the next day.

Meanwhile, brown the butter in the saucepan. Remove from heat and mix in the cinnamon and nutmeg. Set aside.

On a floured surface, roll out the dough to measure about 20 inches by 12 inches. It doesn’t have to be perfect. I have small counters, and can usually only get it to 20 x 8. It still tastes the same.

Once it’s rolled out, brush on the browned butter/cinnamon mixture until the entire surface is covered. Then sprinkle on the sugar. I know it seems like a lot, but it’s really not. Go for it. You’ll thank me later.

Using a pizza cutter, slice it long wise six times, creating six long strips about 20 inches long.

Then stack those six slices on top of each other.

Then, cut the now one long strip into six stacks, as if it’s six decks of cards.

In a greased bread pan, stack the dough facing upwards until all six stacks fit snugly in the pan.

Cover and allow it to rise for another hour, until doubled in size.

Once it’s good and risen, bake it at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes. Let cool and eat!

 

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