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This Cinnamon Honey Pull Apart Bread is like a cross between a super buttery croissant and a cinnamon roll- but in bread form! Filled with notes of cinnamon and honey swirl, this pull apart bread is so amazing!
Happy Friday everyone!
I am so excited to share this wonderful Cinnamon Honey Pull Apart bread with you all today… and just in time for the weekend!
Seriously, this bread is AMAZING. If you love croissants you’re going to love this recipe.
This cinnamon honey pull apart bread is super buttery, perfectly flaky, and not overly sweet. The hints of cinnamon and honey are just perfect in this loaf.
I’m not going to lie: This pull apart bread is easy, but its a little bit time consuming. But trust me…. the end result is so worth it! With a little bit of patience and love, you will have one of the most delicious, pretty breads ever. Unlike traditional croissants that take days to make, you can have this brad done in about 3 ½-4 hours.
With the holidays approaching, I know many of you are looking for new recipes, and I have a few up my sleeve I’m excited to share soon, so be on the lookout! I promise they will be exciting and festive! While many of us are at home more right now, make sure to set time aside to try something new! Whether it be a new hobby, (or an old one you never have time for), or of course, to try a new recipe! If you’re looking for something new, you’re in the right place…
Tis the season for home, family, and delicious food.
So lets get to some of the basics of this delicious Cinnamon Honey Pull Apart Bread…
Here’s a quick rundown:
You first start by making the dough. Basic ingredients you probably already have come together in a stand mixer fitted with a bread hook. Flour, yeast, milk and honey. When the dough is mixed up, you roll it out into a rectangle, 12×18. You then add very thin slices of cold butter in the center of the rectangle.
WARNING: There’s lots of butter. LOTS of butter. And that’s why its pretty much amazing…
You then fold the dough over itself and roll it out again. Fold it agian. Pop it in the freezer and repeat the rolling, folding and freezing a second time. (there will be lots of rolling..)
Now its time for some cinnamon sugar! After the dough chilled a second time, you will roll it out again into another 12×18 rectangle. Add the cinnamon sugar and roll the dough into a tight log. Cut the dough in half, then cut each half into 10 slices, like cinnamon rolls. Place each half into a prepared bread pan, (this makes two total loaves!) and allow to rise again. Then you bake, eat and ENJOY. You can thank me later.
What I love about this recipe is that it makes two loaves! So you can either share the love, or freeze the other loaf so you can pull it out when you just need something home baked.
I would say, like any bread recipe, the most important step to this bread would be allowing the dough to rise properly. You definitely want to make sure it doubles, or else your bread will be too dense. Creating all those air bubbles will give you a light, airy bread.
The yeast needs to grow in warmth, so finding a warm spot in your home during the cold winter months can be a bit tricky. A few tricks I have tried that really works well, would be either turning your oven on to warm, and allowing the bowl to sit on-top of the stove; or turning your oven onto preheat for 2 minutes, and then turn it completely off. You can then place the bowl in the slightly warmed oven. During the warmer months, I have found my doughs usually rise within an hour; in the winter however, this sometimes takes closer to two hours to get a good rise. Be patient!
Another key step? The rolling! This recipe repeats a few of the steps more than once, which may seem a bit redundant. But all that rolling really creates a perfectly flaky croissant texture, with all that butter completely incorporated into every bite. The butter is the key to this wonderful loaf.
As always, I can’t wait to hear how this turns out for you!! If you haven’t yet, subscribe to my blog so you can stay up to date on all the deliciousness!!
If you make this, be sure to tag #butternutandsageblog on Instagram!
Recipe
Cinnamon Honey Swirl Croissant Pull Apart Bread
Ingredients
- 1 ¾ cups whole milk, warmed between 102-110 degrees
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 2 ¼ teaspoons active dry yeast (or 1 packet)
- 4 ½ -5 cups all purpose flour, plus more for rolling
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 2 sticks (1 cup) thinly sliced cold butter
- 6 tablespoons room temperature butter, divided
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 1 egg whisked, for brushing
Instructions
- Start by proofing the yeast. Warm the whole milk in a glass dish so that its between 102-110 degrees. Whisk in the honey. Add the yeast and allow to sit in a warm spot for 10 minutes, until the yeast becomes foamy.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer combine 4 ½ cups flour and salt. Create a well in the middle of the flour and add the yeast mixture. Using the dough hook, mix until fully incorporated, about 5 minutes. Add 4 tablespoons room temperature butter and mix until fully combined, about 2 minutes. If the dough is too sticky, add 1 tablespoon of flour at a time until the dough forms a ball and starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl.
- Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and place in a warm spot until the dough has doubled in size, about 1 hour. (Depending on how cold your home is, this may take closer to 2 hours. Be patient and wait until it has doubled )
- After the dough has doubled, punch the dough down. Roll out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll into a large rectangle that’s about 12×18 inches. Layer the thin slices of cold butter down the middle ⅓ of the dough, pressing gently and overlaying the butter slices. Gently push the butter together.
- First fold: Fold ⅓ of the dough over the butter, then fold the other ⅓ over top of the first layer so you have 3 dough layers (like an envelope). Roll the dough out again into a large 12×18 rectangle. Fold again into thirds like an envelope. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and transfer to the freezer for 20 minutes.
- Second Fold: Remove the dough from the freezer. Roll the dough into another 12×18 rectangle. Fold into an envelope. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and transfer to the freezer for an additional 20 minutes.
- Remove the dough from the freezer. Roll the dough into a 12×18 rectangle. In a small bowl combine the sugar and cinnamon. Spread the dough with 2 tablespoons of softened butter and sprinkle the cinnamon sugar over the butter. Starting with the edge of dough closest to you roll the dough out into a log. Keep the log tight as you go. Pinch the edges together. Cut the dough log in half in the middle so that you have two equal logs. Cut each log half into 10 rolls, like cinnamon rolls. Arrange each roll half into two buttered bread pans. Alternate layering the rolls so that they are mismatched, and gently press them together. Cover with plastic wrap, and allow to rise in a warm spot for an additional 35 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brush the tops with the beaten egg. Bake 40-45 minutes, or until the tops are deeply browned. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before slicing. Enjoy!!
This bread is BEAUTIFUL! Great for entertaining and holidays but easy enough for everday! If someone is looking for a cinnamon bread recipe that is flavorful and not too sweet, this is perfect! Yummy!!
I want to try this – looks so GOOD but would it possible to add photos or a video for the folding parts? 🙂
I think that will make it easier to follow. I’m too scared without it!
Thank you so much, Angela!! Thats a great idea- I have a few recipes I need to refresh and add more step by step picture instructions. I will work on doing that with this recipe soon! 🙂
This looks so delish, wondering if you have a video for the recepie?
Hi, Lida! I don’t currently have a video for this recipe, but I have had a few people ask so I will definitely try to make a video at some point. I hope you enjoy the recipe!!
This bread is AMAZING and turned out beautifully. Will definitely make this again. Thank you.
That makes me so happy to hear!!! Im so glad you enjoyed the recipe! 🙂