Apple Cinnamon Pull-Apart Bread
Print This Recipe
My family loves monkey bread. And what’s not to love?! The simple combo of cinnamon & sugar is nostalgic for me, taking me back to so many childhood favorites (my mom’s cinnamon rolls, snickerdoodles, Grandma Bee’s cinnamon & sugar toast, cinnamon & sugar lefse, cinnamon & sugar crisps, my mom’s chunky apple pie). But I digress. Back to pull-apart bread. This time we mixed grated apple into the cinnamon-sugar syrup and baked it in a heart pan for a festive and comforting Valentine’s Day treat. With or without apple, this sweet gooey cinnamon pull-apart bread is sure to make your Valentine happy.
- 4 – 4½ cups flour
- 4½ tsp dry yeast
- 2 cups warm water
- ¼ cup oil
- 2 Tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 batch of Basic White Bread Dough or 2 loaves frozen white bread dough
- 1¼ cups sugar, divided
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup milk
- 1 Tbsp butter
- 1¾ tsp cinnamon, divided
- 1 apple, grated, optional
- Mix 2 cups flour and the yeast.
- Add the water, oil, sugar and salt.
- Beat on low for ½ minute and then on high for three minutes.
- Stir in the remaining flour until a moderately stiff dough forms.
- Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface for 8-10 minutes, or until it is smooth and elastic.
- Shape the dough into a ball and place it in a greased bowl, greased side up.
- Cover the bowl and let it rise for 1½ hours or until doubled in size.
- Punch the dough down and divide it into half, letting it rest for 10 minutes.
- To make the monkey bread, combine 1 cup sugar, brown sugar, milk, butter and 1¼ tsp cinnamon in a small saucepan.
- Bring the mixture to a boil and cook it for 1 minute.
- Remove it from the heat and let it cool for 10 minutes.
- Combine ¼ cup sugar and ½ tsp cinnamon in a shallow bowl.
- Pat dry the grated apple pieces with a paper towel to remove excess moisture.
- Coat them in the dry cinnamon-sugar mixture and sprinkle about half of them on the bottom of the pan.
- Cut each half of bread dough into 24 equal portions.
- Roll each portion into the cinnamon-sugar mixture and layer the balls of dough in a greased 12-cup Bundt or Angel Food Cake pan {or heart-shaped pan}.
- Place the remaining grated apple pieces over the first layer of dough balls and then layer the rest of the dough balls on top.
- Sprinkle any remaining cinnamon-sugar mixture over the layers.
- Then pour the cooled sugar syrup over the dough.
- Cover the pan and let it rise for 35 minutes or until doubled in bulk.
- Bake the bread at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until lightly browned.
- Immediately loosen the edges of bread from the pan using a knife.
- Place a plate over the top of the pan and carefully invert the bread onto the plate.
- TIP: If you are making the bread dough a day in advance, place the covered dough in the refrigerator after the first rising of 1½ hours. The following day, let the dough come to room temperature prior to forming it into the balls.
Tags: apple cinnamon monkey bread, cinnamon bread, heart-shaped monkey bread, monkey bread, pull-apart bread, Valentine's Day
Sun, Feb 10, 2013
Breads, Breakfast, Fun Family Activities, Holidays, Pancakes, Waffles & More, Search by Course, Valentine's Day, Yeast Breads