Cinnamon Pull Apart Bread

 

I've been craving cinnamon bread for a few days now. I thought about buying it from the store, but why buy it from the store when i can make it twice as good at home?! I googled cinnamon bread recipes and wondered upon this recipe from Joy the Baker. It was delicious! Especially perfect with a cup of warm tea, Mmm. It's so good it barely lasted to the next day. 

Cinnamon Pull Apart Bread Recipe

For dough:
2 3/4 cups plus 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 1/4 tsp (1 envelope) active dry yeast
1/2 tsp salt
2 oz unsalted butter
1/3 cup whole milk
1/4 cup water
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 tsp puree vanilla extract
For filling:
1 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
2 oz unsalted butter, melted until browned

Directions:

• In large mixing bowl, whisk together 2 cups flour, sugar, yeast and salt. Set aside.
• Whisk together eggs and set aside.
• In small saucepan, combine milk and butter until butter has just melted. Remove from heat and add water and vanilla. Let mixture stand for a minute or two, or until the mixture registers 115-125 degrees.
• Pour milk mixture into dry ingredients and mix with spatula. Add eggs and stir mixture until eggs are incorporated into the batter. add remaining 3/4 cup flour and stir with spatula for about 2 minutes. The mixture will be sticky.
• Place the dough in a large, greased bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and a clean kitchen towel. place in a warm space and allow to rest until doubled in size, about 1 hour. **The dough can be risen until doubled in size, then refrigerated overnight for use in the morning. If you're using this method, just let the dough rest on the counter for 30 minutes before following the roll-out directions below.
• While the dough rises, whisk together sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg for filling. Set aside. Melt 2 oz of butter until browned. Set aside. Prepare 9x5x3" loaf pan. Set aside.
• Deflate the risen dough and knead about 2 tbsp of flour into the dough. Cover with a kitchen towel and let rest 5 minutes. On a lightly floured work surface, use a rolling pin to roll out the dough. The dough should be 12" tall and about 20" long. If you can't get it 20" long, that's ok, just roll it as large as the dough will go. Use a pastry brush to spread the melted butter across all the dough.  Sprinkle with all the cinnamon mixture.

• Slice the dough vertically, into 6 equal-sized strips. Stack the strips on top of one another and slice the stack into 6 equal slices again. You'll have 6 stacks of 6 squares. Layer the dough squares in the loaf pan like a flip book. Place a kitchen towel over the loaf pan and allow to rise in a warm place for 30-45 minutes or until almost doubled in size. 
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake 30-40 minutes, until top is very golden brown.