Cinnamon Pull-Apart Bread

This cinnamon pull apart bread recipe is basically your classic cinnamon roll but in bread form: it’s insanely delicious. Learn how to make this cinnamon bread recipe completely from scratch for a special breakfast. 

Making Yeast Dough

1. Add yeast to warm milk and stir. Let it sit for a few minutes.
2. Place sugar, butter, salt, and egg in the bowl and mix until the butter is distributed throughout the liquids. It may be chunky. Pour in the milk/yeast mixture and stir.
3. Add flour and stir until the dough forms a ball in the center of the bowl. If the dough is still very sticky, you can add an additional 1/4 cup of flour.
4. Spray a large bowl with cooking spray and place the dough ball in it. Spray the top of the dough ball with cooking spray (lightly) and cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Let sit for 2-4 hours until it doubles in size. 

How to assemble Pull Apart Bread

5. Stir together butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, and flour until it forms a paste.
6. Spray an approximate 9×5” loaf pan with cooking spray.
7. Once the dough is risen, roll it out on a lightly floured surface into a large rectangle and slice into 18 sections. Spread a little filling on each section, except for one (that will be your last piece, you don’t want the filling touching the end of the pan).
8. Stack half of the sections and place in the prepared pan. Stack the second half and place them in front of the first, making sure that the ends touching the ends of the pan have no filling on them. 
9. You have two ways to continue. (1) let the pan rise for 1 hour at room temperature then bake as directed or (2) cover the pan with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
10. When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350°F. Remove the rolls from the refrigerator (if you chilled them overnight) and let them warm up to room temperature while the oven is preheating. Remove the plastic wrap and bake for about 25 minutes, or until they are golden brown. 

Tip From Dorothy

Expert Tips

• You can use any fat content milk or nondairy milk.
• Want a semi-homemade pull apart bread? Skip making the bread dough and use canned biscuits (slice each biscuit into thirds). See my 2 ingredient pull apart bread!
• Store bread loosely covered at room temperature for up to 4 days or freeze for up to 3 months.

Cinnamon Roll Pull-Apart Bread Recipe

4.34 from 3 votes

Cinnamon rolls – in bread form! Cinnamon roll dough is cut into squares and formed into a loaf of bread for a new twist on breakfast. Filled with cinnamon and topped with maple glaze, this is your new favorite breakfast.

Prep Time 45 minutes minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Rising Time 3 hours hours

Total Time 4 hours hours 15 minutes minutes

Yield 12 servings

Serving Size 1 serving

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Ingredients

 

For the Dough:

• ▢ 1 package (7g) active dry yeast (2 ¼ teaspoons)
• ▢ ¾ cup (177ml) warm non-fat milk (heated to about 120°F, about 30-45 seconds in the microwave)
• ▢ ⅓ cup (67g) granulated sugar
• ▢ 3 tablespoons (42g) unsalted butter , softened
• ▢ ½ teaspoon salt
• ▢ 1 large egg
• ▢ 3 – 3 ¼ cups (372-403g) all-purpose flour (plus more for dusting)

For the Filling:

• ▢ 3 tablespoons (42g) unsalted butter , softened
• ▢ ⅓ cup (67g) packed brown sugar
• ▢ 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• ▢ 2 tablespoons (15g) all-purpose flour
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon salt

For the Frosting:

• ▢ 2 tablespoons (26g) unsalted butter , melted
• ▢ ¾ cup (85g) powdered sugar
• ▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon maple extract
• ▢ 2 tablespoons (30ml) heavy whipping cream

Instructions

Make the Dough:

• Place milk in a microwave safe measuring cup. Heat for 45-60 seconds in the microwave, until it’s about 120°F. (The time you heat it will need to be adjusted depending on your microwave. You can use a candy or a meat thermometer to test the temperature.) Add yeast and stir. Let it sit for a few minutes.
• Place sugar, butter, salt, and egg in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix until the butter is distributed throughout the liquids, although it may be chunky. Pour in the milk/yeast mixture and stir for a few seconds.
• Add flour and stir with the paddle attachment just until the mixture starts to stick to the paddle. Then replace the paddle with the dough hook. Continue mixing on low speed until the dough forms a ball in the center of the bowl. If dough is still very sticky, you can add an additional 1/4 cup of flour.
• Spray a large bowl with cooking spray and place the dough ball in it. Spray the top of the dough ball with cooking spray (lightly) and cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Let sit for 2-4 hours until it doubles in size. Note on rising: if your house is warm, it should rise no problem. If it’s cold in your house, it may take longer for the dough to rise.

Prepare your Bread:

• Stir together butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, and flour until it forms a paste.
• Spray an approximate 9×5” loaf pan with cooking spray.
• Once the dough is risen, roll it out on a lightly floured surface into a large rectangle, about 10” by 14”. Slice into 18 sections. Spread a little filling on each section, except for one (that will be your last piece, you don’t want the filling touching the end of the pan).
• Stack half of the sections and place in prepared pan. Stack the second half and place them in front of the first, making sure that the ends touching the ends of the pan have no filling on them. (You need to stack them in two sections because otherwise the weight of the top of the stack with seal the bottom of the stack together and it won’t be “pull-apart” anymore.) The stack won’t totally fill the pan, but it will once it rises again.
• You have two ways to continue. (1) let pan rise for 1 hour at room temperature then bake as directed or (2) cover pan with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
• When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350°F. Remove the rolls from the refrigerator (if you chilled them overnight) and let them warm up to room temperature while the oven is preheating. Remove the plastic wrap and bake for about 25 minutes, or until they are golden brown.

Make the frosting:

• Whisk the melted butter and powdered sugar until mostly smooth. Whisk in vanilla and maple extract (if using). Whisk in heavy cream and pour over warm bread and serve.

Recipe Video

Recipe Notes

• You can use any fat content milk or nondairy milk.
• Want a semi-homemade pull apart bread? Skip making the bread dough and use canned biscuits (slice each biscuit into thirds).
• Store bread loosely covered at room temperature for up to 4 days or freeze for up to 3 months.

Recipe Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 292kcal | Carbohydrates: 47g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 39mg | Sodium: 162mg | Potassium: 89mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 20g | Vitamin A: 325IU | Vitamin C: 0.03mg | Calcium: 41mg | Iron: 2mg

Nutritional information not guaranteed to be accurate

Course Breakfast

Cuisine American

Author Dorothy Kern

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Last Updated on June 13, 2023