cinnamon browned butter pull-apart loaf

I knew about this one the first time I saw it.
I knew, like the way you know about a good melon, that this bread would be fantastic.
And sure enough, I was right. Very right.

It’s the kind of bread you make when you really want dessert, but you want to be healthy, so you figure if you work real hard (or not really that hard) you’ll deserve dessert.


This is also the kind of bread you make when you have a taste for cinnamon. Or browned butter. Or nutmeg. Or butter. Or all of the above.

Cinnamon Browned Butter Pull-Apart Loaf
Adapted from Joy the Baker
Yields: 1 loaf
Ingredients:
For the dough —
2 3/4 cups plus 2 tbsp unbleached all-purpose flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 stick unsalted butter
1/3 cup soy milk (regular milk works just fine, too)
1/4 cup water
2 large eggs, room temperature
1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract
For the filling —
1 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon
pinch of ground nutmeg
1/2 stick unsalted butter, melted until browned
Directions:
In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine 2 cups flour, sugar, yeast and salt. Set aside.
Whisk eggs in a small bowl and set aside.
In a small saucepan, melt butter and milk over medium-low heat until butter is just melted. Remove from heat and add water and vanilla extract. Cool to 115 degrees F.
Pour the milk mixture into the flour mixture and stir on low speed. Add eggs and stir until everything is just mixed, about 2 minutes. Add the remaining 3/4 cup of flour and stir on low-medium speed (about #2 or #4 on your stand mixer) for about 2 minutes. The dough will be quite sticky, but that’s OK.
Pour the dough into a lightly greased bowl, cover and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour.
In the meantime, whisk together sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg in a small bowl and set aside. Melt butter in a small sauce pan until just browned and set aside. Grease a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan and set aside.
Remove risen dough from bowl, punch down and knead in 2 tbsp of flour. Let rest for five minutes, covered with a kitchen towel. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough using a rolling pin into a 20 x 12-inch rectangle. Brush on the butter, then sprinkle evenly the cinnamon-sugar mixture.
Slice the dough north to south into six even strips. Stack the strips and slice that stack into six equal squares (you’ll have six stacks of six squares). Prop up the loaf pan on the rolling pin and stack the squares cut-side down into the pan so it looks like a stack of papers. Sprinkle some of the extra cinnamon-sugar mixture that spilled on the countertop on the top of the loaf. Cover the pan and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. When dough is doubled, uncover and bake about 35 minutes, or until the top of the dough is a deep, dark brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool in pan for about 20 minutes. Then, run a butter knife along the edges of the pan to loosen the loaf, invert onto a plate and then invert again, ride side up, onto a pretty plate to serve. Serve warm.
Wow. That looks amazing. You had me at cinnamon.
Cinnamon is basically my favorite thing in the world. I try to put it on/in everything, I love it so much. This bread looks like heaven. Well done.
I have also been craving this bread since the first time Joy posted it! Your version turned out beautifully!
And yet again, I ask my self, “Why do you not live down the street?!?!?!?!?!”
Natalie — Haha, if only Vermont and Iowa were next door. ๐
I have been wanting to try every single adaptation of this fantasticly gorgeous looking bread since the moment i set eyes on it! And browned butter? i think you may just be a genius!
I am making it this weekend! My roomie saw that photo and gasped and ordered that I make it.
UNBELIEVABLE! That looks so delicious. I want to go to there!
mmmmmmm…… I can smell it from here! A bit of apple butter on top, heaven!
This looks so good! Holy smokes!
Please, so I don’t eat it all by myself: Is it possible to make this ahead and freeze? I’ll be having weekend guests next week, and I see this served with scrambled eggs, sausage links and fresh fruit. Sublime!
Lou — Yes, you can definitely make this ahead, cover it in aluminum foil and freeze it until your guests come over. Just let it thaw on the counter overnight before serving it (and it is best served warm, so maybe nuke it or put it in the oven at 200 just until it’s warm to the touch). Enjoy!
I love foods that you can tear apart and just eat with your fingers and this is just perfect for that!
Wow… this looks absolutely amazing!
I just made this cinnamon bread last weekend! I substituted half the flour with whole wheat flour, which turned out great. Adding citrus zest or apples is genius – thanks for an excuse to make this again next weekend! ๐
I’ve got company coming in this weekend and will have to make this, it looks amazing!
Did I make it? You bet! Was it wonderful? No…it was beyond wonderful! Oh, my goodness…it doesn’t get any better than this. My only change was to make it in muffin pans for ease of serving to my weekend guests at Sunday brunch…it made a dozen lovely big individual pull-apart loaves. My guests will feel so spoiled!
Will I make it again? Count on it.
Stephanie, this looks amazing. Kind of like a more indulgent, delicious version of the cinnamon-sugar toast I had as a kid – this is a must-try for me, thank you!!