cpa bread

cinn pull apart bread I love cinnamon (especially cinnamon + sugar) so much it hurts. Not really, but it’s going to start hurting soon, once the diabetes develops and I can’t consume my current levels of sugar anymore. I saw this bread on Annie’s Eats and immediately started drooling all over my computer.

I learned a couple things here: First, my counters are perfect for pastry-rolling if I do say so myself. Second, my oven is rebelling. BF says it’s just jealous because it’s the only part of the old kitchen that remains. I told him we should upgrade then I don’t mind!  😉 Anyway, the oven’s uneven heat caused the outsides of the bread to bake much more quickly than the middle, resulting in a funny-looking concave mutant loaf. I also learned that mutant loaves of cinnamon pull-apart bread are still flippin’ delicious. Guess mom was right, you really shouldn’t judge a book by its cover.

sad, little mutant loaf

This bread has all the flavor of a cinnamon roll, with none of the rolling. Okay, well there’s a little rolling, and some slicing, and stacking. But it’s so worth it, and once you eat the ends, every single slice in there is just like the inside of a cinnamon roll which, let’s be honest, is everyone’s favorite part. I totally should have made a cinnamon roll glaze to put over the top of this, or possibly as a dipping sauce on the side. Guess I’ll just have to make it again… Just gotta get this oven whipped back into shape.

 

Cinnamon Pull Apart Bread

Yield: 1 loaf

Ingredients

    For the dough:
  • 2¾ C all-purpose flour
  • ¼ C sugar
  • 2¼ tsp instant (rapid rise) yeast
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 4 Tbsp unsalted butter
  • 1/3 C milk
  • ¼ C water
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 large eggs
  • For the filling:
  • 4 Tbs unsalted butter
  • 1 C sugar
  • 2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • ½ tsp freshly grated nutmeg

Instructions

  1. Combine the flour, sugar, yeast and salt in the bowl of a mixer fitted with a dough hook.
  2. Combine the butter and milk in a small saucepan (or microwave) and heat just until the butter is melted. Set aside and let cool briefly, until the mixture registers 115-125? F on an instant-read thermometer.
  3. Add the milk mixture, water, vanilla and eggs to the mixer bowl. Mix on low speed until a cohesive dough forms. Continue to knead until smooth and elastic, adding additional flour as needed 1 tablespoon at a time until the dough clears the sides of the bowl and is tacky but not sticky. Knead about 3-5 minutes.
  4. Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl, turning once to coat, and cover. Let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour. *
  5. While the dough rises, add the butter to a small saucepan and melt until browned. Set aside.
  6. Combine the sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg in a small bowl and mix well.
  7. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and gently deflate. Roll into a ball, cover with a clean towel and let rest for 5 minutes.
  8. Roll the dough out into an approximately 12 x 20-inch rectangle. Brush the dough with the browned butter (don’t be stingy). Sprinkle the cinnamon-sugar mixture over the dough in an even layer. Dump it all on there, a lot will fall off while you’re working anyway.
  9. Lightly grease (and/or line with parchment) a loaf pan. Slice the dough vertically into 6 even strips. Stack the strips on top of each other and again cut again into 6 equal-ish slices. Stack all the squares on top of each other and set into the prepared loaf pan. Cover and let rise in a warm place, 30-45 minutes.
  10. 10. While the dough is rising, preheat the oven to 350? F. Transfer the loaf to the oven and bake 30-35 minutes, until the top is golden brown. (If the top seems to be browning too quickly, cover loosely with foil at the end of baking.) Remove from the oven and let rest in the pan 20-30 minutes. Run a knife around the edges of the pan to loosen and carefully turn the loaf out. This bread is best served warm!

Notes

*After its first rise, the dough can be wrapped in plastic wrap and refrigerated overnight. Let it come to room temperature for 30 minutes before proceeding

*I was a little stingy on the butter, which meant a lot of my cinnamon fell off- so don't worry about it. The extra little bit of butter isn't going to kill you, and it's totally worth more ooey-gooey deliciousness.

*I might add brown sugar to the filling next time, since I love to put it in my cinnamon rolls - it lends a slightly more complex flavor and texture to the filling.

https://wee-eats.com/2011/06/22/cpa-bread/

[ Adapted from Annie’s Eats ]

9 thoughts on “cpa bread

  1. Ive seen this bread in so many places now and every single time i am consumed with the need to make it as it always looks absolutely freakin irresistible, yours is no exception! Although, and please dont be insulted by this!, but i just had the funny thought that it really reminds me of those Shar Pei wrinkly dogs…http://media.bigoo.ws/content/layout/animal/animal_69.jpg

    anyway! beautiful photography and im sure it tastes jusssttt as good as it looks 🙂 (not like a wrinkly dog..haha)

  2. This is a giant cinnamon Fan-Tan! I was trying to find a pic, but the only one I have is in a cookbook. BUT! I did find this blog post for a garlic version of the Fan-Tan Dinner Roll.

    Those are pretty neat ones, but a lot I’ve seen they look more like your bread, with their layers going all wild and crazy. 😉 I bet a big loaf with garlic butter and cheese would be smashing.

    Been a while since I did any html, so hope I remembered the link correctly.

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