Apple Butter Pull-Apart Bread
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Read the full disclosure here.
This apple butter pull-apart bread is a gooey, jammy bread made with homemade apple butter layered between soft folds of spiced enriched yeast bread. For more pull-apart bread recipes, check out my pepperoni and pesto versions! See my post about baking with yeast bread for helpful tips.
TESTED AND PERFECTED: MY FAVORITE APPLE BUTTER PULL APART BREAD RECIPE
Every year, I do a monthly baking series where I bake a similar recipe every month. In 2018, I did bread, and it was probably one of my favorite series! I did 6 quick breads and 6 yeasted breads, and this apple butter pull-apart bread was in that collection.
The problem is, I had only just gotten started making yeast breads, and the recipe could have been improved in several areas. The loaf pan was too full, the ratio of apple butter to bread was way too low, and readers often reported an underdone middle.
I spent some time dedicated to perfecting this apple pull apart bread recipe so that it is now simple enough for beginners, easy to understand, and one that promises a soft loaf loaded with spiced cinnamon and apple butter throughout every bite.
I even created a guide to baking with yeast as supplemental information to help yeast beginners learn a thing or two! I’m so proud of this new recipe and I think you’ll be pleased with it, too.
INGREDIENTS YOU WILL NEED
You only need 10 ingredients to bring this apple butter bread together, and one of them is water and hardly an ingredient. This is an enriched yeast dough, which means we’ll use butter, milk, and egg to bring richness to the dough that you just can’t quite replicate with a lean dough like pizza dough.
Here’s what you’ll need:
WATER + YEAST: water will help activate the yeast. Be sure it’s warm but not too hot. I like to use an instant read digital thermometer to be sure the water is around 100–110°F (38–43°C) and not so hot it will kill the yeast. This is my very favorite instant-read digital thermometer, and this is my favorite budget-friendly digital thermometer.
MILK: you can use any milk you prefer, but whole cow milk will bring the richest texture to your yeast breads.
GRANULATED SUGAR: not enough to make your dough sweet, just enough to help feed the yeast.
SALT: for flavor! Never make bread without out.
CINNAMON: did you know that cinnamon can inhibit yeast growth? We’re just using a touch of cinnamon to gently spice the bread.
UNSALTED BUTTER + AN EGG: more ingredients for structure and richness.
ALL-PURPOSE FLOUR: you do not need special bread flour for this recipe. All-purpose works wonders!
APPLE BUTTER: of course, I’ll always encourage you to use homemade apple butter, but store-bought is totally fine. Be sure you have extra for slathering on warm slices of the finished bread!
OVERVIEW: HOW TO MAKE PULL-APART BREAD
MAKE THE DOUGH: if working with yeast dough is new to you, check out my post about baking with yeast.
KNEAD THE DOUGH: you’ll want to knead this dough for about 8-10 minutes. This dough will be very soft, but you’ll know it’s done when it feels similar to PlayDoh.
LET IT RISE: this is the first rise, and it will be about 90 minutes. If you’re having trouble with dough that isn’t rising, move it to a warmer environment. You can also warm your oven (only to about 200°F (93°C)), then turn it off, and allow the dough to rise in the warm oven with the door cracked.
PUNCH DOWN: gently punching down the dough with your fist will release any excess air and leave you with soft and fluffy dough. You do not need to knead it any more.
DIVIDE INTO 12 PIECES: I like to use a digital kitchen scale to be sure all of my pieces are exactly the same.
FLATTEN INTO DISCS: using your hands, gently shape the chunks of dough into discs that are about 4″ in diameter. Some of mine were circles and some were more rounded squares. Either is fine! This is a messy bread in many ways!
SPREAD WITH APPLE BUTTER + FOLD: each disc will get about 2 teaspoons of apple butter spread onto one half. Once topped with apple butter, fold in half to create little apple butter tacos, then place each taco into a prepared loaf pan, pressing the row of bread pieces together each time you add a new taco. Don’t worry if some apple butter squishes out– in fact, I encourage this behavior.
LET IT RISE AGAIN: this rise is shorter, only about 30-45 minutes. We’re just giving the bread a chance to develop the gluten network a bit more in this new shape we’ve molded it into.
BAKE: the total bake time on this bread is about 40-45 minutes, but you can cover it at any time to prevent browning. I usually cover it after about 30 minutes.
Once your bread is finished, allow it to cool for about 15 minutes in the pan, and then you can turn it out and pull it apart. I like to spread my pulls with more apple butter, but you’re welcome to leave them as is.
CAN I ADD A GLAZE?
A vanilla glaze would be delightful on this bread! Simply combine powdered sugar + whole milk to create a simple glaze. See the notes section in the recipe for specifics.
CAN I MAKE THIS BREAD AHEAD OF TIME?
My favorite part about yeast bread is that YES, you can almost always do things ahead of time, whether it be so that you have fresh bread for the morning but don’t have to get up early, or you just want to have a loaf in the freezer ready to go if the craving strikes.
REFRIGERATOR METHOD (SHORT TERM)
Think of the refrigerator as a “pause” button for your yeast bread. After the discs are shaped and layered into the loaf pan, you can cover it tightly and chill it for up to 18 hours.
This is a great option if you’re making bread for a holiday– you can spend a bit of time bringing the dough together, then have glorious warm bread the next morning with very little hands on time.
You’ll just need to allow the loaf to finish its second rise for about 1 hour before baking it.
FREEZER METHOD (LONG TERM)
If you want to completely bake this apple butter pull-apart bread and then freeze it, you can keep the loaf in the freezer covered tightly for up to 3 months. Just thaw overnight in the refrigerator and warm before enjoying.
If you want to freeze an unbaked loaf, you’ll need to parbake the loaf for 10 minutes at 350°F (177ºC). Allow to cool completely, cover tightly, then freeze. Remove the loaf from the freezer and allow it to thaw in the refrigerator overnight. Finish baking it the next day for the remaining 30-40 minutes before enjoying.
Apple Butter Pull-Apart Bread Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons (30mL) warm water
- 1 and ½ teaspoons (6g) active dry yeast this is a little less than 1 packet
- ½ cup (120mL) warm milk I prefer whole
- 1 Tablespoon (14g) granulated sugar
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 Tablespoons (28g) unsalted butter melted
- 1 large egg at room temperature
- 2 and ½ to 3 cups (300-360g) all-purpose flour be sure to measure properly
- ½ cup (160g) homemade apple butter store-bought is fine
Instructions
- Place warm water in a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook. Sprinkle the yeast on top of the water. Whisk with a fork, wooden spoon, or spatula and allow to rest and activate for 10 minutes.2 Tablespoons (30mL) warm water, 1 and ½ teaspoons (6g) active dry yeast
- Once the yeast mixture is active and bubbly, add the milk, sugar, salt, cinnamon, melted butter, and egg. Whisk to combine.½ cup (120mL) warm milk, 1 Tablespoon (14g) granulated sugar, ¾ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon, 2 Tablespoons (28g) unsalted butter, 1 large egg
- Gradually stir in the flour. If using a stand mixer, use your dough hook. If mixing by hand, continue to use a wooden spoon. Add 1 cup of flour, stir, and allow dough to come together until all of the flour has been added. It may still be shaggy, but it should pull away from the sides of the bowl fairly easily.2 and ½ to 3 cups (300-360g) all-purpose flour
- Turn out dough on a floured surface and knead for about 8-10 minutes, adding flour about 1 Tablespoon at a time if the dough is too sticky, until smooth and elastic. Your dough should resemble the surface texture of PlayDoh when it is done.
- Spray the same bowl with non-stick spray and place the dough ball into the bottom of the bowl. Flip the dough ball over to coat the top, and then cover the bowl with a lid or towel and place in a warm environment. I like to heat my oven to 200ºF (93ºC), turn it off, then leave the door cracked with the bowl inside. Allow dough to rise until double in size, about 90 minutes.
- After dough has doubled, punch down the dough and turn out onto a lightly floured surface.
- Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces, then use your hands and fingers to stretch the dough into discs approximately 4" in diameter (this does not need to be perfect). Lay all of the discs out on a flat surface.
- Spray a loaf pan with non-stick spray. Set aside.
- Spread about 2 teaspoons of apple butter on half of each disc, fold in half, and place folded side down in the prepared loaf pan. Continue with each disc until all of the discs are in the pan, moving things around if necessary. Do not worry about aesthetics or if the apple butter is squishing out of the sides. Cover the loaf with a clean kitchen towel and allow to rise at room temperature for about 30-45 minutes.½ cup (160g) homemade apple butter
- When you are ready to bake the bread, set the rack to the middle position in the oven and preheat it to 350ºF (177ºC). Bake the loaf for 40-45 minutes or until the top is golden brown. I like to tent the loaf with foil after about 30 minutes to prevent the top of the loaf from getting too brown.
- Remove the loaf from the oven and allow to cool on a wire cooling rack at least 15 minutes before turning out and serving. I like to serve with extra apple butter. See notes1 below for a simple vanilla glaze option. Loaf can be served warm or room temperature. Leftovers stay fresh, covered tightly at room temperature, up to 5 days. Loaf freezes well, up to 3 months. Wrap tightly. Thaw in refrigerator overnight.
Notes
- Make a glaze: combine ½ cup (60g) of powdered sugar and 1 to 2 Tablespoons (15-30mL) whole milk in a bowl or measuring cup with a spout and drizzle over the whole loaf or individual pieces. Consider adding a pinch of ground cinnamon or apple pie spice!
- Working with yeast: for a comprehensive look at working with yeast in a recipe, see my post about how to bake with yeast.
Nutrition Disclosure
All nutritional values are approximate and provided to the reader as a courtesy. Changing ingredients and/or quantities will alter the estimated nutritional calculations.
Wow, I’m so happy to have stumbled across this wonderful recipe. This looks so pretty and inviting! I definitely like its warm orange color. And I’m 100% sure it tastes like heaven. My grandma’s recently come to stay with us. I’m planning to make this apple butter bread for her tomorrow. She’s obsessed with apples. Hope I’ll please her, and she’ll enjoy this. Gonna follow your recipe precisely.
Thank you for this treasure and all of your useful tips Lynn! I really appreciate it. Look forward to your new lovely ideas.
Thanks so much, Ann! Let me know how you like it!