Apple Butter Pull-Apart Bread Recipe

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.

Apple Butter Pull-Apart Bread Recipe

Ingredients

Instructions

Notes

Nutrition Disclosure