Remember when Mondays use to be healthy? And we'd kick off the week with a salad or something savory that worked for lunch or dinner? Well, clearly that's not happening today because this Chocolate Cinnamon Sugar Pull Apart Bread got in the way 🙂
Here's the thing. I make dough kinda infrequently. Pizza dough - 100%. Quick breads - always. But anything else - it has to be pretty spectacular for me to invest my time in it. (#lazy) And this Chocolate Cinnamon Sugar Pull Apart Bread situation is exactly that. I found the recipe over on my friend Joy's website! She's a master of all things involving dough so I trust her 10000%! Plus it was her cookbook that inspired the s'more pudding pie from a few weeks ago and that was incredible. I added mini chocolate chips because it felt like the right thing to do and I'm all about making the right decisions. And I encourage you to do the same and prepare to freak out when you pull this bread apart and become obsessed. It's the holidays, calories don't count... so GO FOR IT!
Chocolate Cinnamon Sugar Pull Apart Bread
Ingredients
For the Dough
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 2 ¼ teaspoons active dry yeast
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs at room temperature
- 2 ounces unsalted butter
- ⅓ cup whole milk
- ¼ cup water
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
For the Filling:
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg
- 3 ounces unsalted butter melted until browned
- ½ cup mini chocolate chips
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl whisk together 2 cups of flour, sugar, yeast, and salt. Set aside.
- Whisk together the eggs in another small bowl and set aside.
- In a small saucepan over medium heat, heat the butter and milk until melted. Remove from the heat and add water and vanilla extract. Let mixture stand for a minute or two, or until the mixture reaches 115 to 125 degrees F.
- Pour the milk mixture into the dry ingredients and mix with a spatula. Add the eggs and stir until fully incorporated. Add the remaining flour and continue to stir for about 2 minutes. The mixture will be sticky.
- Place the dough in a large, greased bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rest in a slightly warm area until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
- While the dough rises, grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan.
- Once the dough has risen, add about 2 tablespoons of flour into the dough and knead it until it's deflated. 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 to about 12-inches x 20-inches. Use a pastry brush to brush the melted butter across all of the dough. Sprinkle with all of the sugar and cinnamon mixture and top with the mini chocolate chips.
- 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. Stack all the squares on top of each other and set into the prepared loaf pan. Place a kitchen towel over the loaf pan and place it in a warm area for 30 to 45 minutes until almost doubled in size.
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Place the loaf pan into 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.
- Allow the loaf to rest for about 20 minutes and then run a knife around the edges of the pan to loosen and carefully turn the loaf out, transferring to a serving plate. Serve warm.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Photo by Matt Armendariz / Food Styling by Adam Pearson
Absolutely delicious! I put it together the night before and let it sit out about an hour. I covered the loaf pan with plastic wrap and a dish towel and refrigerated until about 9 the next morning. I let it sit out about an hour and then baked it. I've made cinnamon rolls for years, but even tho' this was my first time for a pull apart bread, we agreed this may be even better!!
What would the stopping point be to bake off the next morning?
Can I use instant yeast?
haven't tested it with instant yeast so I'm not sure how that would change timing
Oh. My. God. Make this now. It's insane.
What do you think about chopped pecans instead of chocolate chips??
totally would work if that's what you prefer
What about being totally short-cutting a need using store bought pizza dough?
haven't tested it that way!