Cinnamon Sugar Pull-Apart Bread

Today is Friday. It's been a long week for some reason. Same for you? Would you like some comfort food?

I'm sure I've said it before, but for me, baking bread is therapeutic.

This is a sweet version of the Parmesan pull-apart bread that is so addictive. These breads are so simple and fun. The dough is rolled out, spread with fillings, and then cut into squares and sandwiched together in a bread pan. Then the yeast does its thing.

While this one is filled with sugar and cinnamon, I can imagine adding raisins. Or how about thinly sliced apples?  You could also drizzle a glaze over the top after removing the loaf from the oven. I think this would be perfect for Easter brunch too.  Or... you could skip the cinnamon sugar and fill the bread with jam or marmalade.

This bread is best on the day that it is baked (as if it would last any longer than that), and unlike most breads, you can serve this one warm. If you do have any left over, keep it wrapped at room temperature.

Enjoy the weekend. Relax. Pour a cup of coffee. Bake some bread.

I found this recipe, with great step-by-step instructions, on Joy the Baker, who adapted it from HungryGirlPorVida. There are tons of versions of this bread out there in the blogosphere (just do a search on "pull-apart bread")..... so humor me.... because it's really good.

Cinnamon Sugar Pull-apart Bread

Ingredients

Dough

12 3/4 ounce (3 cups) unbleached all purpose flour

1/4 C sugar

1 3/4 tsp instant yeast

1/2 tsp salt

2 ounces unsalted butter

1/3 C whole milk

1/4 C water

2 large room temperature eggs

1 tsp vanilla

Cinnamon Sugar Filling

3/4 C sugar

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

generous tsp ground nutmeg

2 ounces melted butter

Instructions

• In the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk 2 cups of the flour, sugar, yeast, and salt together. 
• Whisk the eggs in a small bowl.
• In a microwave safe bowl, heat the milk and the butter in 30 second intervals until the butter is melted. Add the water and vanilla. Let the mixture cool to 115 to 125 degrees F. 
• Add the liquid mixture to the flour mixture and stir with a rubber spatula or dough whisk. Add the eggs and stir until incorporated. Add 3/4 C of flour and knead with the dough hook for about two or three minutes while adding the final 1/4 C of flour by tablespoons until the dough is slightly sticky but comes together. 
• Scrape the dough into a greased dough rising bucket or large bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and allow it to double in size, about an hour. 
• Grease a 9 by 5 inch bread pan.
• Mix the sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
• Melt the butter. You can just melt it, or melt it until browned if you like. 
• On a lightly floured work surface, deflate the dough and sprinkle it lightly with flour.  Roll the dough out with a rolling pin to a 12 by 20 inch rectangle. 
• Brush the melted butter over the rolled out dough.
• Sprinkle all of the cinnamon sugar mixture over the butter. 
• Cut the dough lengthwise into six strips. 
• Stack the strips on top of each other and cut the stack into six equal pieces. 
• Turn the bread pan on its side, and lay the slices in the pan so that they are all lined up like 36 squares in a row. 
• Cover the dough with plastic wrap and let rise until almost doubled, about 45 minutes. 
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and place a rack in the center of the oven. 
• Bake the loaf for 30 to 35 minutes, until the top is a very deep golden brown. 
• Allow the bread to cool in the pan for about 20 minutes. Loosen the sides from the pan with a thin spatula or butter knife and turn the dough out onto a large piece of wax paper. Lift the dough carefully with the wax paper, and place it right side up on a serving plate.
• Enjoy while warm!