Apple Cinnamon Pull-Apart Bread

Sun, Feb 10, 2013

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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.

Apple Cinnamon Pull-Apart Bread

Recipe Type: Baking

Author: Itsy Bitsy Foodies

Prep time: 2 hours 30 mins

Cook time: 30 mins

Total time: 3 hours

Serves: 8

For this cinnamon pull-apart bread we layered grated apple with the sweet rolls and baked it in a heart pan for a festive Valentine’s Day treat.

Ingredients

Basic White Bread Dough
4 – 4 1/2 cups flour
4 1/2 tsp dry yeast
2 cups warm water
1/4 cup oil
2 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
Monkey Bread
1 batch of Basic White Bread Dough or 2 loaves frozen white bread dough
1 1/4 cups sugar, divided
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup milk
1 Tbsp butter
1 3/4 tsp cinnamon, divided
1 apple, grated, optional

Instructions

Mix 2 cups flour and the yeast.
Add the water, oil, sugar and salt.
Beat on low for 1/2 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 1 1/2 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 1 1/4 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 1/4 cup sugar and 1/2 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 1 1/2 hours. The following day, let the dough come to room temperature prior to forming it into the balls.