Easy Sweet Pull Apart Bread (from scratch)

Step 1

{When my kitchen is cold, I like to turn on my Breville toaster oven to 120°F while I am mixing and kneading the dough. Turn it off when it reaches temperature and keep the door closed. This creates a warm environment for letting the dough rise}

Step 2

In a medium to large bowl add the sugar, yeast and warm milk and give it a little stir. Add the flour, salt, egg and egg yolk and oil and mix until a soft dough is formed.

Step 3

Scrape the dough onto a floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. I prefer to do this by hand, but you can also use a stand mixer with the dough hook. Add flour as necessary, but try to add as little as possible.

Step 4

Grease the bowl you mixed the dough in {no need to wash it} and place the dough in the bowl, cover and let rise about 1 hour {I place it in the warm toaster oven}, or until double in size.

Step 5

While the dough is rising, prepare the filling. Add extra soft butter to a small bowl and stir in the sugar and cinnamon until well blended. Set aside.

Step 6

Grease a loaf pan with butter or cooking spray and set aside. {A standard glass or metal pan works}

Step 7

Remove the dough from the bowl and divide it into 12 pieces. They don’t have to be perfect, but try to make the pieces fairly uniform in size. Using your hands, take a piece of dough and flatten it into a circle about 4 inches in diameter, then top with a heaping teaspoon of the cinnamon sugar filling, spreading it over the dough.

Step 8

Then fold the dough in half, creating a semi-circle and place the dough flat side down into the prepared loaf pan {see photos in the post}. Continue until all 12 pieces of dough have been added to the pan. If you have any remaining cinnamon sugar filling, you can dollop it over the top of the dough.

Step 9

Place the dough back in your warm spot and allow it to rise a second time, about 30 to 45 minutes. You want the dough to rise to the top of the loaf pan. Keep an eye on it and when it’s close to the top of the pan, preheat the oven to 350°F.

Step 10

Bake for about 30 minutes, until it’s golden brown. If the top is browning too quickly, lightly tent the top of the bread with a piece of foil {I check about 15 minutes into the baking time}.

Step 11

When the bread is done, remove the loaf from the oven and place the pan on a wire cooling rack. After 10-15 minutes, remove the bread from the pan and serve.