Browned Butter and Cinnamon Pull-Apart Bread

Sure, it is a long name for just a loaf of bread.

But this is not just any loaf of bread.


This is the bread that you will want to make (and eat) for the rest of your life. Every day.

Browned butter and cinnamon sugar. Need I say more?


You should avoid taking pictures of butter and cinnamon sugar on your floor, though, if you have hungry animals in your house.

Hindsight is 20/20.

This bread is so amazing, that you may already have a loaf sitting on your table... and yet, you are drawn to whip up another one.


Don't worry, you can easily find someone to gift the extra one to. And then that person will love you. Forever.


Browned Butter and Cinnamon Pull-Apart Bread

Ingredients for the dough:
2 3/4 cups of flour
2 1/4 teaspoons yeast
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 stick unsalted butter
1/3 cup milk
1/4 cup water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs

Ingredients for the filling:
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
dash of nutmeg
1/2 stick of unsalted butter

1. On the stovetop, heat butter and milk until the butter is melted. Take off of the heat, add the water and vanilla extract, and allow to cool.
2. Combine 2 cups of flour, sugar, salt, and yeast in a large bowl.
3. Pour the butter/milk mixture into your dry mixture and stir until combined.
4. Whisk the eggs and add them to your dough. Stir until everything is all soupy and well mixed.
5. Add the remaining flour to the dough and stir until you have a satisfactorily sticky mess.
6. Move the dough to a well greased bowl, cover with a damp tea towel, and let rise for one hour in a warm, draft free area.

7. While waiting for the dough to rise, brown the butter for the filling, and mix the sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg for the filling together in a small bowl. Since you are probably still impatiently waiting for the dough to rise, grease a loaf pan while you are up and about. Make sure to grease the top rim of the pan as well, since the dough will rise on top of it.

8. Once risen, deflate your dough on a well floured surface and knead in a little extra flour, around 1 to 2 tablespoons.
9. Roll out the dough into a moderately rectangular shape. No rolling pin? Don't despair! Just flour the outside of a smooth, tall glass or plastic cup. Voila.
10. Brush the browned butter onto the rolled out semi-rectangle, and sprinkle the cinnamon sugar mixture liberally on top of the now buttered dough. Reserve a small handful of the sugar to top the bread with.
11. You will now be tempted to just sit back and eat the dough. Do not do it!
12. Slice the dough vertically into six strips.
13. Stack the strips on top of each other, and cut into 6 kind-of-equal squares.
14. Take these stacks and cram them into the loaf pan so that they resemble the pages of a book.
15. Scoop up all the cinnamon sugar that fell off during this process and sprinkle it over the loaf. Go ahead and also pour the extra sugar that you reserved over the top, too.
16. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees, and let the bread rise until doubled, 30 minutes to an hour.
17. Once doubled, place in the oven and bake for 30 minutes, or until the top of the bread is a deep, golden brown.
18. After removing your now deliciously smelling loaf from the oven, allow to cool slightly and then run a butter knife around the edges of the pan.
19. Flip the loaf pan upside down over a plate and gently ease it out. It may fall apart during this process, but do not worry! It is easy to reassemble.
20. Take the loaf and place onto a platter right-side up. If your bread sectioned off into chunks, just place the pieces back together like a gooey, buttery puzzle.

Yum.

Yes those are binoculars sitting on the table behind the bread. Bird watching while eating flaky slices of cinnamon bread? A match made in a heaven.