Don't you just love the smell of fresh cinnamon bread baking in your kitchen? It's one of those aromas that means something good is coming out of the oven like this homemade Cinnamon Bread Pull Aparts.
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This homemade bread is fun to make and fun to eat. Everyone loves the soft yeasty cinnamon-coated bread with a sweet icing drizzle.
This bread is similar to cinnamon monkey pull-aparts but so much faster and easier to make. I know you are wondering how in the world do you get all those slices of bread in the pan. It's easier than you think. You just need to roll the dough and cut it into strips and stack it in a bread pan. So easy.
Another great thing about this bread is you don't have to wait for it to cool before slicing it, you can just simply pull-apart the sweet buttery pillows of this bread while warm. It's heavenly, and we have been known to devour a whole loaf of bread in one sitting.
We love Cinnamon
We all agree cinnamon is such a wonderful spice to add to all kinds of food, it's what makes these easy Cinnamon Crescent Rolls so tasty or these tender Cinnamon Madeleine's. Don't forget to add a dash of cinnamon to savory dishes like this recipe for Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Apples.
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Ingredients
This bread recipe doesn't take any fancy ingredients, just the stuff that makes homemade bread so delicious.
- Whole Milk
- Yeast
- Eggs - large
- Sugar
- Flour - all-purpose
- Salt
- Butter - unsalted
- Cinnamon
- Powdered Sugar
- Vanilla extract
The three components
Dough - this is the best dough to work with, it's soft, rises beautifully and rolls out easily. Plus it tastes amazing with the melted butter and egg for richness.
Filling - Melted butter covered the rolled-out bread dough and is topped with cinnamon and sugar so every slice of this bread is covered in amazing flavors.
Icing - a simple powdered sugar icing is drizzled over the top for that extra sweetness we all love.
Let's make bread
Step 1. Start by heating the milk in a small saucepan then pour it into your stand mixer bowl and add the yeast. Let the yeast dissolve and get foamy.
Step 2. Add the egg and melted butter, sugar, and salt to the bowl and beat with the dough hook until combined.
Step 3. Add half of the flour and mix on medium-low speed, then add the other half of the flour and mix until combined. This will take about four minutes.
Step 4. The dough will be smooth and elastic and somewhat sticky.
Step 5. Place the dough in an oiled bowl covered in plastic wrap for the first rise, until doubled in size for about one hour. The dough will be somewhat soft.
Step 6. Roll the dough on a floured surface, to a 20 x 12 rectangle.
Step 7. Brush the dough with melted butter, and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar.
Step 8. Cut the dough into five 12" x 4" stripes and stack them on top of each other, then cut into 2" long pieces with five layers of dough.
Step 9. Place the stacked dough pieces in a greased loaf pan to create one long loaf. Cover and let the dough rise for 45 minutes.
Step 10. Bake the bread at 350 degrees F. for 30 minutes. Let cool for a few minutes and turn the bread out of the pan onto a cooling rack.
Step 11. Make the icing by mixing the powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla until smooth then drizzle the icing over the top of the cooled bread. I bet your kitchen smells really good right now!
See those little pillows of bread, you can start pulling them apart and enjoying your creation. This bread looks amazing and tastes amazing.
Useful tips for this recipe
- You don't have to make this cinnamon loaf from scratch, instead, use frozen bread dough.
- Many of you don't have a stand mixer and since the bread is soft you can make this with a heavy-duty hand mixer, or you can mix it by hand using a large bowl and a good wooden spoon.
Make ahead instructions
This is helpful when you don't have time to make this bread in a day. Simply mix up the dough and let it rise for an hour. Punch the dough down and cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator overnight.
The next morning. Roll the dough and add the cinnamon sugar filling and bake.
Here's a quick view
Bake these other One Hot Oven recipes
Made with all the great warming spices, this Apple Cider Oatmeal Bread is easy to make and bakes up moist and deliciously spiced.
This recipe for Nutmeg and Pecan Braided Bread is flavored with a creamy nutmeg butter filling and swirls of toasted pecans.
Bake this Iron-Skillet Cornbread that is full of cheese and veggies that is perfect with soups and salads.
Variations
- Spread the dough with apple butter instead of the melted butter and sprinkle with cinnamon.
- In the fall spread the dough with pumpkin puree and sprinkle with cinnamon, sugar, and cloves.
- Try a savory bread by spreading garlic butter on the slices and sprinkling with parmesan cheese.
- For citrus lovers, add orange zest to the melted butter, then sprinkles with orange-scented sugar.
FAQ's
No, this is a soft dough, and using the bread hook with the stand mixer will knead the dough. You do not have to turn this out and hand knead it.
It can be but don't ice it. Bake the bread and let it cool then wrap in foil and then place in a plastic bag. When ready to eat, take the bread out of the wrappings and let thaw. Once thawed, wrap the bread in foil and place the bread in the oven at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes to warm up. Add the frosting once it's cooled.
One Hot Oven favorites
Recipe
Cinnamon Pull-Apart Bread
Ingredients
Making the dough ~
- ¾ cup Milk whole milk
- 2 ¼ teaspoon active dry yeast
- 1 egg beaten
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup butter melted
- 3 cups AP flour
Making the mixture for topping the dough ~
- ¼ cup melted butter
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
Glaze ~
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1-2 tablespoons milk
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
- Heat the milk in a small saucepan to hot but not scalding.
- Pour the milk into a stand mixing bowl and add the yeast. Stir until dissolved and let stand for 5 minutes until the mixture gets foamy.
- Add the egg, melted butter, sugar, and salt to the yeast mixture and mix until combined.
- Add half of the flour and mix with a dough hook for 3 minutes to combine.
- Add in the remaining flour and mix until the flour is combined.
- Shape the dough into a ball and place into an oiled bowl. This is a soft dough and it will not have a smooth finish on it.
- Cover the bowl and let the dough rise for an hour or until doubled in size. You can refrigerate the dough overnight or up to 2 days in a covered bowl.
Making the stacks and strips
- Butter a 9"x5" bread pan.
- Roll the dough on a lightly floured surface into a 20"x12" rectangle.
- With a pastry brush spread the melted butter over the top of the dough, then sprinkle with ½ cup of sugar and cinnamon.
- With a sharp knife or a pizza cutter, cut the dough longwise into five 12"x4" strips. Stack the strips on top of each other.
- Cut the long strip into 4"x2" stacks.
- Place the stacks in the bread pan, cut side down, cover the pan with a towel, and let rise about 45 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350° F. Bake the bread for about 30 minutes or until golden brown.
- Let the bread cool in the pan for 10 minutes and turn the bread out onto a serving plate. If the bread is stuck run a knife around the sides to loosen it.
- Mix the glaze ingredients together and drizzle over the cooled bread.
- Store any leftover bread in an airtight container for up to three days.
Notes
Nutrition
First Published: February 21, 2017... Last Updated: July 18, 2022, with new images and better readability.
Baking bread has always been something I love to do, but it does take time to create the perfect loaf. You have to make the dough, let the dough rise, punch it down and form it, then let it rise again. But seriously, bread baking really is simple, it's just being patient while the bread rises. It's a process. Think about it, while the bread is rising you can do stuff like yoga, maybe a load of laundry, play a game with your kids, or have a hot cup of coffee. However, when you end up with a golden brown yeasty loaf of warm bread that will make your family think you are a baking goddess then baking bread is worth it.
Thank you for stopping by the One Hot Oven blog. Please leave a comment to say Hello or just let me know what you are baking these days, I always love hearing from fellow bakers. Have any questions or just want to chat about the recipe? My contact information is on my about page, and I’ll be happy to help.
About Jere'
From learning to cook on a farm in Indiana to culinary school in California, my passion for food is never-ending. Turning on my oven to bake something for friends and family is my happy place, and I am glad to be here at One Hot Oven sharing both sweet and savory family-friendly recipes for your cooking and baking inspiration.
Mihaela | https://theworldisanoyster.com/
Not only delicious with the added icing, but this bread is so aesthetic too! I want to make it asap!
Jeanine
OMG I love Cinnamon anything and this looks so easy and delicious can't wait to make this...