Cinnamon Roll Dough

For this recipe, I took my classic cinnamon roll dough recipe and made a few tweaks. First, I increased the amount of filling that you’ll be using so that it’s extra gooey after it bakes (no one likes dry cinnamon bread!). Next, I made a little less cream cheese frosting as I feel that the bread doesn’t need as heavy of a frosting layer on top compared to the classic rolls. Lastly, we are of course going to be assembling this dough a bit differently to achieve the perfect pull-apart bread.

Assembling the Pull-Apart Bread

At first, I was a bit confused as to how I would approach the pull-apart bread to ensure that each layer could actually be pulled from the loaf. I didn’t want to create a dessert that made a huge mess for my guests when serving or a bread that didn’t actually pull off from the loaf at all without having to use a knife to slice it.

To show you how to assemble this bread, I have included step-by-step photos below:

Baking Time

A lot of cinnamon loaf recipes call for a 30-minute bake time. However, I found that when baking this loaf for 30 minutes, the very center was still a bit raw. For this recipe, you will need to bake it in the oven at 350 degrees fahrenheit for 35-40 minutes until the internal temperature reaches 190-210 degrees fahrenheit. Here is a link to a good thermometer on Amazon if you don’t already have one!

If the dough is still raw in the center, it may look tall and puffy when you first pull it out of the oven, but it will begin to sink in on itself as it cools!

Maggie Banko

Cinnamon Pull-Apart Bread

The Fall season is approaching and there's no better way to get in the mood than with a warm cinnamon dessert! My Cinnamon Pull-Apart Bread is one of those recipes that pairs perfectly with a cup of coffee in the morning or with a little vanilla ice cream for a midday treat.

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Prep Time 35 minutes mins

Cook Time 35 minutes mins

Rising Time 2 hours hrs

Total Time 3 hours hrs 10 minutes mins

Servings: 1 9″x5″ loaf

Course: Breakfast, Dessert

Cuisine: American

Ingredients Method

Ingredients

  

For the Dough

• ¾ cup warm milk 192mL
• 2 ¼ tsp rapid/quick yeast (This is equivalent to one packet of Fleischmann's RapidRise Instant Yeast)
• 1 egg + 1 egg yolk room temperature
• ¼ cup granulated sugar 56g
• ¼ cup melted unsalted butter 68g
• 3 cups bread flour 422g
• ¾ tsp fine salt 6g

For the Filling

• 6 tbsp softened unsalted butter 85g
• ¾ cup dark brown sugar 153g
• 1 ½ tbsp ground cinnamon 9g

Before Baking

• 2 tbsp heavy cream 30mL

For the Cinnamon Sugar Topping

• granulated sugar
• ground cinnamon (add as much or as little as you would like)

For the Frosting

• 2 oz softened cream cheese 57g
• 1 ½ tbsp softened unsalted butter 21g
• 6 tbsp powdered sugar 32g
• vanilla extract to taste

Method

 

For the Dough

1. Warm the milk in microwave for 40-45 seconds or until it reaches 105℉. Sprinkle yeast on top and give it a quick mix. Let the yeast rest in the milk for 5-10 minutes until it blooms.
2. Once the yeast has bloomed in the milk, add in sugar, egg, egg yolk, and melted butter. Whisk until well combined.
3. Next, stir in the bread flour and salt with a wooden spoon until a dough begins to form.
4. Sprinkle bread flour on a clean countertop and begin kneading the dough by hand for about 5 minutes. The dough should form into a nice ball and be slightly sticky. If it's sticking to the counter too much, add 1/2 tsp of bread flour at a time while you're kneading to loosen it up.
5. Transfer dough ball to a well-oiled bowl, cover the top of the bowl with plastic wrap and a warm towel. Allow dough to rise for 1-1.5 hours or until it has doubled in size. (May take more or less time depending on the temperature of the room! The colder the room, the longer the rising process which is why that warm towel helps.)
6. After the first rise, transfer the dough to a clean, well-floured surface and roll it out into an 11"x 16" rectangle using a rolling pin.
7. Mix all of the filling ingredients together in a small bowl and spread it over the top of the rolled out dough (I like to spread it almost all the way to the edge for this recipe as opposed to leaving a margin the way you would for cinnamon rolls).
8. Next, take a pizza cutter and slice the dough into 6 long strips starting at the 11" side.
9. Carefully stack all 6 strips on top of one another.
10. Using a serrated knife (I find that the knife is better for this step as it doesn't squish the dough down), slice the stack into 6 equal sections.
11. Line a 9" x 5" loaf pan with butter and parchment paper. Tightly pack all of the 6 sections that you just sliced into the loaf pan so that the cinnamon layers are facing upwards.
12. Cover the pan with plastic wrap and a warm towel for 30 minutes for the second and final rise.
13. Towards the end of the second rise, preheat your oven to 350℉ and prep the cinnamon sugar mixture (I just add granulated sugar and ground cinnamon to taste in a small bowl and give it a good mix – no specific measurements for this!)
14. After the second rise is complete, remove the towel and plastic wrap, pour the heavy cream over top of the dough, and sprinkle the cinnamon sugar mixture on top.
15. Bake at 350℉ for 35-40 minutes until the center is baked and the top has a nice golden brown color. Remember, the baking time will vary depending on your oven! You want the internal temperature of the bread to reach 190℉ – 200℉.
16. Allow the bread to cool off a bit in its pan before adding the cream cheese frosting.

For the Frosting

1. In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (you can also use an electric hand mixer), whip the softened butter and cream cheese together on medium speed until its pale in color and silky smooth in texture.
2. Next, add in the powdered sugar and vanilla extract and mix until everything is well combined.
3. Add the cream cheese frosting to a piping bag and cut a small piece off from the tip of the piping bag.
4. Once the bread is almost fully cooled, drizzle the frosting over top creating a fun zigzag pattern (you can also just do this using a spoon).
5. To easily serve this at the table, remove the bread from the loaf pan (this is why we lined it with parchment paper!), place on a pretty platter, serve warm, and enjoy!