Imagine the smell of warm apples and cinnamon filling your kitchen as you peel apart each soft, golden layer of bread, feeling the joy of a ‘job well done’ with every bite. In a fast-paced world, slowing down to bake can be grounding. This Apple Cinnamon Pull-Apart Bread recipe is both an indulgent treat and can also be used as a tool for stress relief, connecting you with a fulfilling process that goes beyond the final product. Here, we’ll dive into the recipe itself, and I’ll share my favorite baking tools that make the journey even more enjoyable and stress-free.
This is more than just a recipe; it’s a step-by-step ritual that brings you into the present moment. Making pull-apart bread from scratch takes patience, but the process is as rewarding as the result. Here’s how to bring it to life in your own kitchen:
Ingredients:
- Dough: Flour, yeast, sugar, salt, milk, butter, egg—each ingredient works in harmony, so freshness and temperature matters.
- Filling: Fresh apples, ground cinnamon, brown sugar, and a dash of salt brings out the warmth in every layer. Consider using my favorite variety of apples, either Honey Crisp or Cosmic Crisp.
- Topping: From scratch Salted Caramel adds a lovely finish.
Step-by-Step Guide:
- Prepare the Dough: Mix and knead until the dough is soft and elastic. This is where my proofing oven comes in handy, creating a perfectly warm, humid environment to encourage a consistent rise.
- Roll and Fill: Roll the dough into a rectangle, and then spread your apple-cinnamon mixture. You’ll be layering on flavors and textures, creating that pull-apart magic.
- Assemble and Bake: Once filled, cut and layer the dough pieces vertically in a pan. Here, using an instant-read thermometer ensures the bread is fully baked without guessing, avoiding any risk of underdone dough in the center.
- Weighing for Precision: Using a scale guarantees precise measurements for perfect consistency every time, especially important in dough recipes where small variations can alter texture.
The Stress-Relieving Benefits of Baking
Baking doesn’t just yield tasty results; it offers therapeutic benefits that can improve mental well-being. Here’s how baking, especially a slow, methodical recipe like this pull-apart bread, can help you unwind:
- Mindfulness in the Process: Baking brings you into a flow state, where your focus is entirely on the task at hand. Measuring, mixing, and kneading all require gentle attention, helping your mind rest from daily stresses. Each step has a purpose, and nothing is rushed—a rhythm that contrasts with our busy lives.
- The Sensory Experience: There’s a certain joy in working with dough, feeling it transform from gloppy and sticky to smooth and soft, and the warm scent of cinnamon and apples is naturally comforting. Studies even show that focusing on sensory activities like baking can decrease stress by grounding you in the present moment.
- A Sense of Accomplishment: Finishing a baking project, especially one that takes time and care, gives a satisfying sense of achievement. With baking, you see the entire process through from start to finish, which can be incredibly rewarding, especially when you’re able to share it with loved ones.
Pro Tips and Troubleshooting
Let’s make sure every aspect of your bread comes out just right. Here are a few tips and tricks to help you along the way:
- Dough Consistency: The dough should be soft but not sticky. Add a little bit of additional flour gradually, if needed, until the dough becomes manageable.
- Avoiding Over-Proofing: A proofing oven can help maintain an ideal temperature, but be careful not to let it sit too long. Over-proofed dough can deflate easily, so keep an eye on it, looking for a gentle rise.
- Baking Time and Temperature: Use an instant read thermometer to check the internal temperature of the bread; it should reach about 190°F when fully baked. This prevents the disappointing discovery of underdone bread after pulling it apart.
Conclusion
Baking is more than a method for making delicious treats; it’s a way to slow down, enjoy the process, and create something worth savoring. Apple Cinnamon Pull-Apart Bread is the perfect recipe for taking a break, focusing on the now, and delighting in the rewards of scratch-made food. I hope this recipe brings a moment of peace to your kitchen and that each layer offers a little slice of calm and joy.
Let me know in the comments how baking has helped you, and share your own creations with #bakingforstressrelief or #bohmbakes. Be sure and post on Instagram and tag me @bohmbakes
Let’s build a community that finds solace and satisfaction, one recipe at a time.
Here are a few of the items I’ve used to help make everything a little easier, links provided will take you to Amazon, where I may earn from qualified purchases.
- Proofing Oven (and combo countertop oven!)
- Instant Read Thermometer
- Pizza Stone or Baking Steel for even heating
- Silicone dough mat for rolling and shaping
Apple Cinnamon Pull-Apart Bread
October 28, 2024
Persons
8
Prep Time
1 hour
Cook Time
1 hour
Wait Time
2 hours
Total Time
2 hours
Notes
You’ll need:
- 8″ x 4″ loaf pan
- parchment paper or non-stick spray
- pizza cutter or sharp knife
- Stand mixer with a dough hook
- medium bowl, and mixing jug/measurer
- scale (or measuring cups), measuring spoons, instant-read thermometer
- I also recommend a proofing oven, pizza stone, silicone dough mat
Ingredients
- Enriched Dough
- • ¾ cup (180 g) whole milk (warmed to just under 110°)
- • 1 packet (7 g) active dry yeast
- • Big pinch of sugar, separately
- • 3 cups (375 g) all-purpose flour, plus 1 or 2 tablespoons if needed
- • ¼ cup (50 g) granulated sugar
- • 1 ¼ tsp kosher salt
- • 2/3 cup (140 g) unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into small cubes
- • 1 large egg, room temperature
- Filling
- • 2 large apples, peeled, cored and diced into ¼ inch cubes (Honey Crisp or Cosmic Crisp were used in testing)
- • 1 cup (200 grams) dark brown sugar
- • 1 tablespoon plus 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- • Pinch of kosher salt
- Salted Caramel Sauce
- • 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
- • ½ cup (113 grams) water
- • 1 cup (235 grams) cold heavy whipping cream
- • 2 teaspoons Diamond kosher salt
Instructions
- Bloom yeast: Warm the milk (¾ cup (180 g) whole milk) up to about 110°F. Don’t go over this, if you don’t have a instant read thermometer, it should be warm but not hot.
- Into the warm milk add a generous pinch of granulated sugar, stir to dissolve.
- Add the yeast (1 packet or 7 g)
- Gently stir to combine and let sit for about 5 minutes until you see small bubbles and a little bit of foaming action.
- Meanwhile, in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a bread hook, add 3 cups (375 grams) all-purpose flour, ¼ cup (50 g) granulated sugar, 1 ¼ tsp kosher salt, and stir on low to mix.
- When the milk and yeast mixture is slightly foamy, add the room temperature egg to the milk mixture, and mix gently, breaking up the egg.
- In a well in the dough, pour the milk mixture into the dry mixture, and turn on the mixer to medium low until all dry is combined with the wet. (you may need to scrape the hook and sides and manipulate the ingredients to get everything combined.)
- Turn up mixer to medium, and start adding 2/3 cup (140 g) unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into small cubes, little by little. Letting each addition incorporate fully before adding more butter.
- Once all the butter has been fully incorporated, turn mixer up to medium-high, and let dough knead for 6 – 8 minutes. If at first it is too wet, and not forming a soft dough that pulls away from the sides of the bowl, add 1 or 2 tablespoons of all purpose flour as it’s mixing until it forms a smooth dough. (it will be slightly sticky, not wet). Don’t add too much additional flour, the more it’s kneaded, the more it will come together.
- After it’s finished, you’ll have a very soft, shiny, very pliable and stretchy enriched dough ready for proofing.
- Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl with an airtight seal (or plastic wrap), and set aside in a warm (up to 80° in a proofer or in an oven that’s turned off but the light is on) until doubled in size for about 2 hours. (in testing I let it rise for a full 2 hours at 80°)
- About 30 minutes before the dough is finished rising, start the filling.
- Dice the apple (2 large) into very small cubes and place in a large bowl.
- To the apples, add 1 cup (200 grams) dark brown sugar, 1 tablespoon plus 1 tsp of ground cinnamon, and a pinch of kosher salt.
- Toss to coat the apples fully. Set aside for the time it takes for you to press out the dough. (the sugar will pull the juice from the apples and create quite a bit of ‘sauce’)
- Prepare an 8” x 4” in loaf pan (I used a metal pan in testing) with parchment paper, so that all sides are covered. Or, lightly coat pan with non-stick spray)
- Remove the risen dough from the bowl or container and gently press the air out of the dough and press the dough to a large rectangle about 12 x 18 inches (does not need to be perfect).
- Using a strainer or ‘spider’, pull the apple filling out of the bowl and gently toss the apple mixture across the entire dough, spreading carefully with a spatula to cover the dough. If juices have been released from the apples, drizzle a little bit of it over the dough, saving most of it for the top.
- Using a sharp knife or a pizza cutter, cut the dough into a grid of 3 strips down and 4 strips across
- Stack the pieces on top of each other, 2 – 4 pieces at a time.
- With your loaf pan placed on a short side so it ‘stands up tall’, start placing the stacks of dough/apple filling, resting on the pan as you stack them.
- The stacks will be messy and ‘soupy’ because the apples are juicy! But, they don’t need to be neat or tidy, just pick them up the best you can and stack them the best you can. There is no way to make this perfect!
- You will have layers of dough stacked against each other.
- Cover the pan loosely with plastic wrap and let rest for another 30 minutes to proof.
- At this point, preheat your oven to 350°, with a rack in the middle (and a pizza stone if you have it) with a piece of foil larger than the pan to catch any drips.
- Bake uncovered for 30-35 minutes until the top is starting to brown.
- Cover the top with foil to avoid over browning the top, and continue baking for 25 – 35 minutes, depending on your oven. (check temperature, must be 190° – 210° for it to be done)
- Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes before running a knife around the edges and carefully tipping it out onto a cooling rack. (if you used parchment, grab the paper and pull it out easily!)
- For Caramel Sauce, Instructions
- Before starting this, be sure to measure out all of your ingredients and gather anything you need so that once the sugar starts caramelizing you are ready to go.
- In a heavy gauge saucepan at least 3 quarts in size (or bigger) add1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar and ½ cup (113 grams) water.
- Gently stir to hydrate the sugar, without pushing or splashing the sugar on the sides of the pan.
- Over medium heat (be patient) just let the sugar and water come to a boil. Do not stir during this process or you risk crystallizing the sugar. If it looks like the sugar is caramelizing unevenly, gently swirl the pan to even out the color.
- Once the sugar has reached a golden color (like an amber, not too dark), carefully pour 1 cup (235 grams) cold heavy whipping cream into the pan and stir. Use a long handled spoon or spatula and stir. (if the mixture doesn’t look like a smooth and thin caramel, you’ll have to start over. The sugar may have crystalized, and there’s no saving it)
- Add 2 teaspoons Diamond kosher salt and continue cooking and stirring the mixture until it thickens, about 3-5 minutes.
- If you are using this as a warm sauce, a thermometer is not needed. Cook until thickened, reaching only 210-215° to remain pourable.
- Remove the sauce from the heat and pour into a heat resistant container, it will keep for up to a month in the refrigerator.
- Pour over your bread before serving, bread is best when warm!
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