Cinnamon Pull-Apart Loaf

I saw a friend of mine pin this recipe on Pinterest the other week and had to add to my board of things to bake, the recipe I followed came from ‘Joy the Baker’ whose loaf was a little tidier looking than mine but I think the more rustic look works too. It made the perfect late brunch treat in our house this morning and the best part was that most of the hard work had been done the night before as the recipe allows you to make the dough and chill it in the fridge the overnight. The bread was so soft and fluffy and the cinnamony sugary goodness is comforting after a lazy Sunday morning sleep in.

To make this heavenly little treat yourself you will need:

Ingredients:
Dough
2 ¾ cups + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
¼ cup granulated sugar
2 ¼ teaspoons active dry yeast
½ teaspoon salt
60 grams butter
⅓ cup milk
¼ cup water
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Filling
1 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg
50 grams butter, melted until browned

Method:
In a large mixing bowl whisk together 2 cups flour, sugar, yeast, and salt.  Set aside.
Whisk together eggs and set aside.
In a small saucepan, melt together milk and butter until butter has just melted.  Remove from the heat and add water and vanilla extract.  Let mixture stand for a couple of minutes.
Pour the milk mixture into the dry ingredients and mix with a wooden spoon.  Add the eggs and stir the mixture until the eggs are incorporated into the batter.  The eggs will feel soupy and it’ll seem like the dough and the eggs are never going to come together.  Keep stirring. 
Add the remaining ¾ cup of flour and stir with the spatula for about 2 minutes.  The mixture will be sticky.  That’s just right.
Place the dough is 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 the sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg for the filling. Set aside.  Melt the 50 grams of butter until browned.  Set aside.  Grease a 9x5x3-inch  loaf pan.  Set that aside too.
Deflate the risen dough and knead about 2 tablespoons of flour into the dough.  Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let rest for 5 minutes. 

On a lightly floured work surface, use a rolling pin to roll the dough out.  The dough should be 30cm tall and about 50cm long.  If you can’t get the dough to 50cm long… that’s okay.  Just roll it as large as the dough will go. 
Use a pastry brush to spread melted butter across all of the dough.  Sprinkle with all of the sugar and cinnamon mixture.  It might seem like a lot of sugar but just do it!
Slice the dough vertically, into six equal-sized strips.  Stack the strips on top of one another and slice the stack into six equal slices once again.  You’ll have six stacks of six squares. 
Layer the dough squares in the loaf pan like a flip-book.  Place a kitchen towel over the loaf pan and allow in a warm place for 30 to 45 minutes or until almost doubled in size.

Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 180°C.
Place loaf in the oven and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the top is very golden brown. The top may be lightly browned, but the center may still be raw.  A nice, dark, golden brown will ensure that the center is cooked as well.

Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 20 to 30 minutes. Run a butter knife around the edges of the pan to loosen the bread and invert onto a clean board.

Place a cake stand or cake plate on top of the  upside down loaf, and carefully invert so it’s right side up.  Serve warm with coffee or tea and if you feel like it you can make up some runny vanilla icing (icing sugar, water and a splash of vanilla essence) to drizzle over it.

I hope you enjoy this as much as we did this morning. I think that I will make it again for Easter  - that might give you the perfect excuse to make this as well.