Cinnamon Sugar Pull-Apart Bread

Rosie The Londoner had a blog post about this recipe a while ago, and although it was only brief, the photograph of Joy The Baker’s Cinnamon Sugar Pull-Apart Bread was the ultimate in food porn. Obviously, I was powerless to do anything other than follow the link and was rewarded with copious pictures of sugary, cinnamony dough, all stuck together in an oozing loaf that looked INCREDIBLE. Never have I wished Wonka Vision was an actual thing rather than a made up concept in a Roald Dahl novel. The solution was a no-brainer – I HAD to make the loaf.

And what a decision that was! It ended up like a several cinnamon swirls stuck together in a loaf that was almost crunchy on the outside and soft, chewy and doughy on the inside. Lashings of cinnamon sugar – practically too much to comprehend – fell out of every orifice helping to make this a decadent, indulgent and oh-so-bad-for-you loaf.

Joy states that you may eat the entire thing in one sitting, and I’m sure for some that’s possible! This lasted my family several days, but still be careful not to gobble it up in one go!

Quick warning: DO NOT MAKE THIS IF YOU ARE ON A DIET. You will only hate yourself if you eat any of it / make it and force yourself to do no more than stare at it.

You can find more of Joy’s recipes here, and the Cinnamon Sugar Pull-Apart Bread here, but I’ll put the recipe below so you can get baking quicker!

Ingredients:
For the Dough:
3 cups all-purpose flour
¼ cup granulated sugar
2 ¼ tsp (1 envelope) active dry yeast
½ tsp salt
2oz unsalted butter
1/3 cup whole milk
¼ cup water
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 tsp pure vanilla extract

For the Filling:
1 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp fresh ground nutmeg
2oz unsalted butter, melted until browned

**Some bakers have found that the dough doesn’t rise, because the yeast is not first activated in warm water.As a fail-safe, feel free to activate your yeast first. To activate yeast, whisk yeast into 3 tablespoons of warm water. Add a pinch of granulated sugar and allow the mixture to sit for about 5 minutes, until the mixture is foamy and frothy. If the mixture does not foam and froth, toss the yeast and try again with another package of yeast. Add the activated yeast when you combine the wet and dry ingredients.**

Method:
In a large mixing bowl whisk together 2 cups flour, sugar, yeast, and salt, and set aside. Whisk together eggs and set aside.

In a small saucepan, melt together milk and butter until butter has just melted. Remove from the heat and add water and vanilla extract. Let mixture stand for a minute or two. Pour the milk mixture into the dry ingredients and mix with a spatula.

Add the eggs and stir the mixture until the eggs are incorporated into the batter. The eggs will feel soupy and it’ll seem like the dough and the eggs are never going to come together. Keep stirring. Add the remaining 3/4 cup of flour and stir with the spatula for about 5 minutes. The mixture will be sticky. That’s just right.

Place the dough is a large, greased bowl. Cover with clingfilm and a clean kitchen towel. Place in a warm space and allow to rest until doubled in size, for about 1 hour.

While the dough rises, whisk together the sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg for the filling. Melt 2oz of butter until browned. Grease and flour a 9x5x3-inch loaf pan.

Deflate the risen dough and knead about 2 tablespoons of flour into the dough. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let rest for 5 minutes. On a lightly floured work surface, use a rolling pin to roll the dough out. The dough should be 12-inches tall and about 20-inches long. If you can’t get the dough to 20-inches long… that’s okay. Just roll it as large as the dough will go.

Use a pastry brush to spread melted butter across all of the dough. Sprinkle with all of the sugar and cinnamon mixture. It might seem like a lot of sugar. DON’T PANIC – that’s absolutely fine!

Slice the dough vertically, into six equal-sized strips. Stack the strips on top of one another and slice the stack into six equal slices once again. You’ll have six stacks of six squares. Layer the dough squares in the loaf pan like a flip-book. Place a kitchen towel over the loaf pan and allow in a warm place for 30 to 45 minutes or until almost doubled in size.

Place a rack in the centre of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Place loaf in the oven and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the top is very golden brown. The top may be lightly browned, but the centre may still be raw. A nice, dark, golden brown will ensure that the centre is cooked as well.
Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 20 to 30 minutes. Run a butter knife around the edges of the pan to loosen the bread and invert onto a clean board. Place a cake stand or cake plate on top of the upside down loaf, and carefully invert so it’s right side up.

OMG this is the part where you make a cup of tea, peel several slices of the bread and get comfortable, as very soon you’ll have descended into a cinnamon-bread coma.

I implore you to try this out. You’re very welcome indeed.