Apple Cinnamon Pull Apart Bread

Apple cinnamon pull apart bread has multiple layers of soft bread studded with sweet apple bits and warm cinnamon sugar. It’s a like a loaf of apple cinnamon rolls!

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Apple cinnamon rolls fans will love this pull apart bread! Instead of rolling yeast dough into spiral, you but the dough into rectangles and stack them together with apple cinnamon rolling. It’s not easier or harder than making classic cinnamon rolls, just a different assembling technique. Think of this as a cousin of pull-apart monkey bread, baked in a loaf pan instead of a bundt.

Fair warning: assembling this loaf can get a little messy! Filling escapes, dough stacks shift, butter ends up on the counter. It’s totally worth it- and that’s part of the fun!

It’s a pull-apart bread, meaning no slicing required once it’s baked. Just grab a piece with your fingers, they way you would with monkey bread. Best of all, this apple cinnamon pull-apart bread is great any time of day. I’ve served it for Sunday brunch, as a hostess gift, and even as an unconventional sweet appetizer.

Recipe Highlights

• The dough is forgiving. This is similar to the enriched dough I use for regular cinnamon roll. Easy to work with, and genuinely hard to mess up once you know the two things that trip people up (more on that below). If you’re newer to yeast baking, my yeast baking guide walks through the basics.
• Resting the dough is the real trick. Kneading builds gluten, which is what makes bread chewy, but it also makes dough tight and springy, so it fights you when you try to roll it out. Give the dough a full rest (about 1 hour for stand mixer dough, closer to 90 minutes if you knead by hand) and that tension relaxes. The payoff: dough that rolls out easily and doesn’t shrink back on you.
• Best enjoyed immediately. This bread is best the day it’s baked . The texture is at its softest and stickiest right out of the oven.

Apple Cinnamon Filling

The filling is a mixture of diced Granny Smith apples, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Granny Smith work best in this recipe because it retains its shape during baking. Plus, their slightly tart flavor pops through the sweet cinnamon mixture. 

Other apple varieties may turn into mush. Or, they may make the filling taste even sweeter. I chopped up the apples in a fine dice. You can slice them any which way you’d like. Thinly sliced apple also work great!

Honey Glaze

This wonderfully aromatic, warm and inviting apple cinnamon pull apart bread is delicious straight from the oven. I highly suggest adding a generous drizzle of honey glaze. The honey glaze is a simple mixture of butter, honey, confectioners’ sugar, and milk.

You may add a touch of vanilla extract or almond extract to add even more flavor! The honey glaze may used in a variety of recipes including: lemon shortbread cookies, banana bundt cake, or morning glory muffins.

More Apple Cinnamon Recipes

• Apple Cinnamon Rolls
• Apple Cinnamon Pop Tarts
• Cinnamon Apple Pancakes
• Apple Pie Mochi Cake

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Apple Cinnamon Pull Apart Bread

By Maryanne Cabrera

This apple cinnamon pull apart bread is a like a loaf of cinnamon rolls with tiny bits of apple surprises sprinkled throughout.

Yield: one 9×4-inch loaf pan (or 9×5-inch)

Servings: 10

Prep Time: 30 minutes mins

Cook Time: 55 minutes mins

Dough Rest Time: 1 hour hr 30 minutes mins

Total Time: 2 hours hrs 55 minutes mins

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Ingredients

Dough:

• ▢ 7 grams ( 2 ¼ teaspoon) active dry yeast*
• ▢ 170 grams (¾ cup) whole milk, warmed to 110℉
• ▢ 30 grams (2 ½ Tbsp) granulated sugar
• ▢ 1 large egg
• ▢ 57 grams (¼ cup) unsalted butter, melted
• ▢ ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• ▢ 390 grams ( 3 cups) all-purpose flour

Apple Cinnamon Filling:

• ▢ 57 grams (¼ cup) unsalted butter, softened to mayonnaise consistency
• ▢ 1 large Granny Smith apple, cored, peeled and diced
• ▢ 133 grams (½ cup + 2 Tbsp) dark brown sugar, packed
• ▢ 1 ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

Honey Glaze:

• ▢ 28 grams ( 2 Tbsp) unsalted butter, softened
• ▢ 60 grams (3 Tbsp) honey
• ▢ 227 grams (1 cup) confectioners' sugar
• ▢ 2 teaspoon whole milk, or as needed

Instructions 

Dough:

• Place yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer. Dissolve yeast in warm milk. Add 1/2 tablespoon of sugar. Stir to combine. Let stand for 5-7 minutes until yeast has activated and mixture is foamy.
• Add remaining sugar, egg, melted butter, and salt to yeast mixture. Whisk together. Attach dough hook to stand mixer. Add half of flour and mix on low speed. Scrape bowl as needed to ensure thorough mixing. Add in remaining flour and continue to mix on low speed until dough comes together. Increase speed to medium and knead until dough forms into a ball. If dough is too wet, add 1-2 tablespoons of flour.
  
• Place dough in a lightly greased bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and cover with kitchen towel. Allow to rise at room temperature until doubled in size, about 50-60 minutes.
  

Assembly:

• Lightly grease bread pan. Place dough a floured working surface. Roll dough to a rectangle 20 x 12-inches. Spread 1/4 cup softened butter over dough.
• Filling: Toss together apples, brown sugar and cinnamon. Evenly distribute apple mixture over buttered dough.
• Cut rectangle in half lengthwise (the long way). Cut each half into 5 strips vertically. Make two stacks using the 10 strips of dough. Cut each stack into three parts.
• Place the stacks on their sides in the prepared bread pan. Stagger stacks, or simply file them in rows. Pour any apple cinnamon sugar mixture that may have escaped into the bread pan.
  
• Cover bread pan with plastic wrap. Allow bread to rise until it reaches the top of the bread pan, about 30 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake for 50-55 minutes until top of the bread is golden brown and internal temperature registers at least 200°F on a digital kitchen thermometer. Allow to cool in pan for 5 minutes. Gently unmold from pan and allow to cool slightly on wire rack.
• To make honey glaze: Beat together butter and honey until smooth. Add confectioners' sugar and mix until smooth. Add milk 1 teaspoon at a time, until desired thickness is achieved. Immediately drizzle over apple cinnamon pull apart bread.

Notes

• Equal amount of instant yeast may be used in place of active dry yeast

Serving and Storage:

• best enjoyed the day it is baked
• store leftovers at room temperature in an airtight container for up to two days

If making bread ahead of time:

• Unmold bread and cool to room temperature. Do not add glaze! Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and keep at room temperature for up to two days. 
• Gently reheat in 325 degrees F oven for 10-15 minutes until warm. Top with honey glaze. Serve immediately.

Nutrition

Calories: 441kcal, Carbohydrates: 78g, Protein: 5g, Fat: 13g, Saturated Fat: 8g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 3g, Trans Fat: 0.5g, Cholesterol: 42mg, Sodium: 76mg, Potassium: 129mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 46g, Vitamin A: 411IU, Vitamin C: 1mg, Calcium: 49mg, Iron: 2mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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