Cinnamon Sugar Pull-Apart Bread
A soft tear-and-share loaf layered with butter, cinnamon and sugar, so every piece has a sweet, sticky edge.
- Measurements grams + cups
- Cuisine American
Why You'll Like This Recipe
- Every layer is a separate sweet edge, so there is no dry middle the way there is in a swirl loaf.
- It comes apart with your hands, which makes it a sharing thing rather than a slicing thing.
- Looks considerably more difficult than it is — the shaping is stacking squares.
Recipe
Cinnamon Sugar Pull-Apart Bread
A tear-and-share loaf layered with cinnamon sugar butter.
Ingredients
Ingredients scaled. The method below still refers to the original quantities.
For the dough
For the filling
Instructions
- Step 1. Combine the warm milk, sugar, yeast, melted butter and egg. Add the flour and salt.
- Step 2. Knead for 8 to 10 minutes, until smooth and slightly tacky.
- Step 3. Cover and rise for 60 minutes, until nearly doubled.
- Step 4. Roll into a rectangle about 30 x 45 cm / 12 x 18 inches. Spread with the softened butter.
- Step 5. Mix the filling sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle evenly over the butter.
- Step 6. Cut the dough into 6 strips, stack the strips, then cut the stack into 6 sections.
- Step 7. Stand the sections upright in a greased 9 x 5 inch loaf pan. Cover and rise 25 to 30 minutes.
- Step 8. Bake at 180 C / 350 F for 32 to 38 minutes, until golden and cooked through. Cool 15 minutes before turning out.
Notes
- Do not pack the sections tightly into the pan. They expand as they rise and bake, and a tight pan forces them upward into a solid block rather than distinct layers.
- Stand the pan on a baking sheet. Cinnamon butter reliably bubbles over the sides and burning sugar on the oven floor is a bad evening.
- Turn it out after fifteen minutes, not immediately. Any longer and the sugar sets and glues the loaf to the pan.
Cinnamon Sugar Pull-Apart Bread — Simple Table Recipes · https://simpletablerecipes.com/recipes/cinnamon-sugar-pull-apart-bread/
Ingredient Notes
- Softened butter for the filling
- Softened rather than melted. Melted butter runs off the dough and pools in the bottom of the pan, taking the sugar with it and leaving the upper layers dry.
- Brown or white sugar
- White gives a cleaner, crisper sweetness; brown gives a softer, more caramel one that stays stickier. Either works.
- Enriched dough
- Milk, egg and butter all soften the crumb. That is what lets the layers separate cleanly instead of tearing.
Equipment
- Large mixing bowl or stand mixer
- Rolling pin
- 9 x 5 inch / 23 x 13 cm loaf pan
- Baking sheet
Substitutions
- Filling
- Add 60 g of chopped pecans, or swap a third of the sugar for cocoa powder for a chocolate cinnamon version.
- Finishing
- A simple glaze of 100 g icing sugar with a tablespoon of milk, drizzled while warm.
- Milk
- Any plant milk works. The crumb comes out slightly less rich but the layers behave the same.
Storage & Freezing
Storing: Best warm on the day. Keep covered at room temperature for 2 days — individual pieces reheat in the microwave for 10 to 15 seconds.
Freezing: Freeze the baked, cooled loaf whole and wrapped for up to 2 months. Thaw at room temperature and warm in a 160 C / 325 F oven for about 15 minutes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did my pull-apart bread not separate into layers?
Usually melted butter instead of softened, which soaks into the dough rather than sitting between the layers. Packing the sections too tightly in the pan does it too — they need room to expand apart.
Why did the filling leak out of the bottom?
Some leaking is normal and it is why the pan should sit on a baking sheet. Excessive leaking means the butter was melted, or the layers were assembled while the dough was warm and slack.
Can I make this the night before?
Yes. Assemble the loaf in the pan, cover tightly and refrigerate overnight. Take it out an hour before baking to finish rising, and add a few minutes to the bake.
How do I cut the dough into even strips?
A pizza wheel and a ruler. Six strips from a 45 cm side means roughly 7.5 cm each. They do not need to be perfect — the loaf hides a lot.
Why is my loaf doughy in the middle?
Underbaked. The centre of a stacked loaf takes longer than the colour suggests. Check for about 90 C / 195 F in the middle, and tent the top with foil if it browns before the inside is done.
Is this the same as monkey bread?
No. Monkey bread is balls of dough rolled in cinnamon sugar and piled into a bundt tin. This is flat layers stacked upright, which gives sheets that peel apart rather than lumps.
Did you make this?
Let other people know how it went. One tap, nothing to fill in.
Thanks — that helps.
