Cinnamon and sugar are pretty much guaranteed to make just about any day better and boy does this Cinnamon Pull-Apart Bread deliver! It’s a delightful twist on the traditional flavors of a cinnamon roll in a delicate layered loaf.
If you’ve ever made our King Cake, that’s the dough I’m using. It’s The Pioneer Woman’s cinnamon roll dough and it’s not only light and flaky and fabulous, but I swear to you, it’s foolproof. I’m kind of fiercely loyal to and protective of that recipe–we have a special relationship.
Ingredients Needed
This is just a preview of ingredients and method, keep scrolling for full printable recipe.
Bread
- Whole milk
- Canola oil
- Granulated sugar
- Active dry yeast
- All-purpose flour
- Baking powder
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Cinnamon
Cinnamon Glaze
- Powdered sugar
- Melted butter
- Almond extract
- Vanilla extract
- Milk
How to Make Cinnamon Pull-Apart Bread
Step 1: Prep the Dough
- Place the milk, sugar, and oil in a large pot and heat until it just comes to a boil. Remove from heat and allow it to cool to 105-115°F (think hot shower temp). Add the yeast and let it stand for 5 minutes.
- Add 4 cups of flour, stir it up (it will be easy to mix even though you’re doing it by hand). Cover and allow it to rise for an hour.
- Add another 1/2 cup of flour, the baking soda, baking powder, and salt, stir it up again, and then cover it and let it hang out until you’re ready to use it. If you want to use it semi-immediately, you can either use it right away or let it rise, covered, for another 30 minutes or so. Or you can cover it with plastic wrap and pop it into the fridge for up to 24 hours or so.
Step 2: Shape and Layer
- Grease a 9×5″ loaf pan and set it aside. When you’re ready to use the dough, turn it onto a lightly floured surface and roll into a rectangle.
- Spread softened butter over the dough and sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon.
- Next, cut the dough into strips. You’ll want to make 6 3″-wide strips. Carefully stack the the strips so you have two stacks of three strips. Using a pizza wheel, cut each stack into 3 3″ squares. Pop each stack of squares into the greased pan.
- Drizzle a little more melted butter over the top and sprinkle with a little more cinnamon and sugar.
- Cover the pan and let it rise for another 30 minutes, then bake. Remove from the oven and allow it to cool completely.
Step 3: Glaze
- Whisk up some melted butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla and almond extracts until smooth. Add enough milk to reach your desired consistency.
- Transfer to a zip-top bag. Snip a corner off the bag and drizzle it over the cooled bread. You can either wait until the glaze firms up or start pulling the bread apart. If you are indeed human, I might lose a little respect for you if you wait. Just sayin’.
Storing and Other Tips
- Store cooled bread in an airtight container at room temperature and enjoy within 2 days for best results.
- Be careful not to stuff the dough too tightly into the pan. If you’re running out of room, you can use the rest of it to fill a mini loaf pan or make a few individual pull-apart rolls in a muffin tin. If it gets too tight in the pan, the insides will still be doughy and you will be sad and I don’t want either one of those things for you.
- I’d recommend sliding a baking sheet on the rack underneath the bread pan so it can collect any sugary butter drippings.
- If the top is getting too brown before the insides are done, cover the bread lightly with a sheet of aluminum foil.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use instant yeast and skip the rises?
I have not personally done this with this dough recipe. In theory it should work to make the dough, let it rest for 10 minutes, and then roll out and follow the steps as written. Note that the higher fat content in the amount of butter and whole milk may hinder the rise. You may want to follow the assembly method here but use this Everyday Cinnamon Roll dough, as it’s designed with a little less fat, specifically for rapid rise yeast.
Can I use add-ins?
Sure! Anything you would put in a cinnamon roll would be great here. Try it with chopped, toasted pecans, raisins, or even finely diced apples.
Can I make this bread with cream cheese frosting instead of glaze?
Sure, this Perfect Cream Cheese Frosting would be delicious here!
Cinnamon Pull-Apart Bread
Cinnamon Pull-Apart Bread is a delightful twist on the traditional flavors of a cinnamon roll in a delicate layered loaf.
Servings
Ingredients
Bread
- 2 cup whole milk
- ½ cup canola oil
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 package active dry yeast 2 ¼ teaspoon
- 4 ½ cup all-purpose flour divided
- ½ heaping teaspoon baking powder
- ½ scant teaspoon baking soda
- 1½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup sugar
- cinnamon
Cinnamon Glaze
- 8 oz. powdered sugar
- 4 tablespoon melted butter
- ½ teaspoon almond extract
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- Enough milk to make a glaze to desired consistency
Instructions
- In a large (at least 4-quart) pot or saucepan, combine milk, sugar, and oil. Heat just to boiling, stirring occasionally, and then remove from heat. If you’ve got lots of ice handy, dump all that you have into a clean sink and then place the pan of scalded milk over the ice. This way, the milk mixture cools quickly and the melted ice just drips down the drain.
- When the milk has cooled to around 105-115℉, remove from ice and sprinkle yeast over the milk mixture. Allow to stand for 5-10 minutes. Stir. Mix in 4 cups flour and cover. This can be done with a wooden spoon; the dough is VERY soft, more like a batter. Allow to stand for 1 hour.
- Mix remaining ½ cup flour with baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Sprinkle over the dough and then mix it in with the wooden spoon. Place a sheet of plastic wrap over the pan and refrigerate for at least a few hours and up to 24 hours.
- Grease a 9×5″ loaf pan and set it aside.
- When you’re ready to use the dough, turn it onto a lightly floured surface.
- Roll the dough out into a rectangle about 18 inches wide by 9 inches tall. Spread with 6 tablespoons of melted or softened butter. Sprinkle with ½ cup sugar and an even sprinkling of cinnamon.
- Using a pizza wheel, cut the dough into 6 3″ strips. Stack the strips 3 strips high (so you have 2 piles). Cut each of the stacks into 3 3″ squares. Place the squares, cut side up (not the flat, sugared side) into the prepared pan, being careful not to stuff too much dough into the pan. Any leftover dough can be baked in mini pans or muffin tins.
- Melt 2 tablespoons of butter and drizzle over the loaf. Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon. Cover and allow to rise for 30 minutes.
- While the loaf is rising, preheat oven to 350℉.
- Bake for 25-35 minutes (or until baked through). If you don’t want your fire alarm to go off, place a baking sheet on the rack below the loaf pan. If the loaf is getting too brown on top, lightly place a sheet of aluminum foil over the loaf while it finishes baking.
- Remove from oven and cool completely.
- Whisk together glaze ingredients until smooth and desired consistency is reached. Place the glaze in a Ziploc bag and snip a small corner off the bag. Drizzle over the loaf.
Notes
- Store cooled bread in an airtight container at room temperature and enjoy within 2 days for best results.
- Be careful not to stuff the dough too tightly into the pan. If you’re running out of room, you can use the rest of it to fill a mini loaf pan or make a few individual pull-apart rolls in a muffin tin. If it gets too tight in the pan, the insides will still be doughy and you will be sad and I don’t want either one of those things for you.
- I’d recommend sliding a baking sheet on the rack underneath the bread pan so it can collect any sugary butter drippings.
- If the top is getting too brown before the insides are done, cover the bread lightly with a sheet of aluminum foil.
Nutrition
Calories: 387kcal, Carbohydrates: 63g, Protein: 6g, Fat: 13g, Saturated Fat: 3g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g, Monounsaturated Fat: 6g, Trans Fat: 0.2g, Cholesterol: 13mg, Sodium: 344mg, Potassium: 102mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 32g, Vitamin A: 156IU, Vitamin C: 0.001mg, Calcium: 59mg, Iron: 2mg
Calories: 387kcal
Cost: $5
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Questions & Reviews
That looks so good… but I can’t have milk. Is there a suggested substitute for the milk in the dough recipe?
You can experiment; we’ve only ever made it with milk though.
Just want to make sure that I am doing this correctly……..the stacks of cut bread pieces are placed cut side down in the pan correct?
I SERIOUSLY love your blog and I even MORE seriously love your food! I have loved everything I have made from here and these are next on my list. I’m sure they won’t disappoint! PS: I have a family who is all allergic to milk and I’ve found almond milk to be the best substitute when baking (can’t do lactaid-it’s an actual allergy, not lactose intolerance). It has more fat than other non dairy milks so it seems to work the best. Just a tip!
I made this over the weekend and it turned out great! Thank you very much for the step-by-step instructions – they really helped. I am so glad I put a pan in the oven to catch the drips, thanks to your suggestion. As my bread cooked, several pieces of dough at either end jumped ship – it was very funny. Yummy! Thanks for sharing! 🙂
oh. dang.
Regardless of how delicious this will be, (I ‘ll know in an hour or so) your commentary totally made my day.
I know this is totally cheating, but is there a store-bought type of dough I can use ? This looks really similar to pizza dough actually ?!
Love the idea, but just don’t have enough time sometimes to make it from scratch!
I had a sick kid messy house week too! And the in-laws are coming tomorrow…I definitely need this buttery, cinamonny-sugar creation in my life – and someone to make it for me…
I tried making this today and it’s about to go in the oven, but the dough is REALLY soft. It was sticking to the board I rolled it out on, and I had to practically pour flour on top so I could actually roll it out. I used 2% milk, and I also live at sea level, so would that affect the recipe? It still looks amazing, it was just tricky to work with. Any ideas would be much appreciated so I can use them in the future. 🙂
It looks sinfully delicious!