Cinnamon Sugar Walnut Pull-Apart Bread
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Cinnamon Sugar Walnut Pull-Apart Bread. Think your favorite monkey bread, but without having to make or worry about a sticky syrup! So much easier and oh so delicious. A simple sweet dough, rolled into balls and dunked in a cinnamon, sugar, and walnut mixture, and baked until perfectly golden brown. Every bite is perfectly sweet, soft, nutty, and so delicious. It always leaves you wanting more! Truly the perfect bake to celebrate holiday’s, to serve as breakfast/brunch on long weekends, or even to have as a delicious sweet snack throughout the week.
About The Recipe
We’re back with another classic recipe from our kitchen…pull apart bread!
While this recipe may be new for all of you, this is something we’ve been making and sharing with our friends and family for YEARS! It was actually something my mom’s brother asked her to make after he got back from a trip. All he said was it was something you pulled apart and it tasted good.
So, with that information in mind, this is what my mom came up with! It’s something she’s made for every get-together, long weekend, or holiday since. But, I will admit, it’s been a while since we’ve made it! We had really forgotten about it until earlier this year when we made our Bourbon Pecan Monkey Bread.
It wasn’t until then that we realized that his recipe was essentially the same…just no syrup! Which, really works, as syrup with a monkey bread can be a little more than what you want to do.
So, this pull apart bread is not only easier to make, but it tastes SO. GOOD.
Though, when we were testing this recipe, we did tweak on it a little from what my mom’s original recipe was.
The original recipe tasted fine, but it almost tasted bland. Just not as much flavor as we remembered it having. Which is why we decided to infuse our milk with cinnamon! It’s a small change that makes a big difference to the flavor of this recipe.
Instead of all the flavor coming from the coating, the bread itself has a subtle sweet cinnamon-y undertone.
Every bite is the perfect combination of flavors and always leaves you wanting more!
Reasons You Will Love This Cinnamon Sugar Walnut Pull-Apart Bread
- Easy to make.
- A crowd pleaser.
- Perfectly sweet, cinnamon-y, and nutty.
- Makes for a great breakfast, snack, or dessert!
Equipment Needed
- Stand Mixer
- Dough Rising Buckets
- 8 Inch Round Cake Pan
- Mixing Bowls
Ingredients
(Full ingredient amounts and instructions can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of the post)
For The Dough:
- Whole Milk
- Cinnamon Sticks
- All-Purpose Flour
- Granulated Sugar
- Instant Yeast
- Salt
- Unsalted Butter
- Large Eggs
For The Coating:
- Salted Butter
- Granulated Sugar
- Ground Walnuts
- Ground Cinnamon
How To Make Cinnamon Sugar Walnut Pull-Apart Bread
Step 1: Steep cinnamon and milk
In a small saucepan, heat milk and cinnamon sticks until milk starts to bubble around the edge of the pot. Remove from the heat and let steep for 30 minutes.
Remove the cinnamon sticks.
Step 2: Make the dough
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine flour, sugar, yeast, salt, butter, eggs, and milk. Mix on low speed 1-2 minutes to combine. Increase the speed to medium-high and knead until smooth, about 8-10 minutes.
Step 3: Let proof
Place in a covered container that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Let rise at warm room temperature, until doubled in bulk, about 1 1/2 hours.
Step 4: Make the coating
Melt the butter and set aside.
In a medium bowl, combine sugar, walnuts, and cinnamon. Mix thoroughly.
Step 5: Divide dough and coat
Pinch off small pieces of dough and roll into 1″ balls. Dip each dough ball into the melted butter and then roll in sugar mixture. Place in prepared cake pan and repeat until all the dough is used.
Cover with plastic wrap. Let rise at warm room temperature until nearly doubled in bulk, about 1-1 1/2 hours.
Step 6: Bake
Bake bread for 60-70 minutes, tenting/covering with foil after the first 15 minutes.
Sweet Dough FAQ’s & Troubleshooting
I don’t have a mixer. Can I make the dough by hand? This dough should be made in a mixer! While it’s doable by hand, it takes twice as long to knead and it’s a lot of work. It’s always best to use a stand mixer.
Why is my dough sticky? This dough is an enriched dough! It tends to be a little bit more wet and stickier due to the addition of butter, milk, eggs, and sugar.
How can I tell when my dough is kneaded properly? A properly kneaded dough should be smooth and shiny. Look at the photos above for help!
My dough isn’t rising in the times stated in the recipe card! The recipe card/post states the times it took our dough to rise. We live in Texas. So, it tends to be a bit warmer here and doughs generally take less time to rise. If needed, you can purchase a bread proofer to help control the climate and improve your rising times
Why did my dough not rise? Is your yeast in-date? If not, then you need to get new yeast and try again!
How To Store
Once this bread has cooled, you can keep it on a covered cake plate on the counter for 1-2 days. You can also pull it apart and freeze the pieces in a freezer safe container or zip top bag! It should keep for about 2 months.
Substitutions
- You can use a variety of spices to steep in the milk, if you’d like.
- Pecans can be used in place of the walnuts in this recipe.
Looking for more recipes like this? Here are a few you may like: Bourbon Pecan Monkey Bread, Cinnamon Sugar Filled Soft Pretzels, Overnight Cinnamon Raisin Bagels, Rum Soaked Pecan Sticky Buns
Expert Tips
- Check your yeast and make sure it’s in-date.
- A properly kneaded dough should be smooth and clean the bowl. If you have an instant read thermometer, it will read about 70 degrees F.
- Softened butter is softer than room temperature but not melted. If you touch it, your finger should easily sink through.
- Proofing times will vary depending on room temperature. It can take anywhere from 30 minutes if your kitchen is very warm (summer) to 3 hours if your kitchen is cool (winter).
- Be sure to let the bread cool completely before turning out.
When you make these Cinnamon Sugar Walnut Pull-Apart Bread, leave a comment down below! We love hearing from you and answering any questions you might have! Also, be sure to tag us on social media and hashtag it #BakersTable.
Cinnamon Sugar Walnut Pull-Apart Bread
Ingredients
Sweet Dough
- ¾ cup whole milk
- 3 cinnamon sticks
- 3 cups all purpose flour*
- 6 Tablespoons granulated sugar
- 2½ teaspoons instant yeast
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 6 Tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
Coating
- ½ cup salted butter
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup ground walnuts
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Instructions
Sweet Dough
- In a small saucepan, heat milk and cinnamon sticks until milk starts to bubble around the edge of the pot.
- Remove from heat.
- Steep for 30 minutes.
- Remove cinnamon sticks.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine flour, sugar, yeast, salt, butter, eggs, and milk.
- Mix on low speed 1-2 minutes to combine.
- Increase speed to medium-high.
- Continue to knead until dough is smooth and elastic, about 8-10 minutes.
- Place in a covered container that has been sprayed with cooking spray.
- Let rise at warm room temperature, or in a proofing box set to 78℉, until doubled in bulk, about 1½ hours. If using a proofing box, there is no need to cover the dough container.
Coating
- Melt butter. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, combine sugar, walnuts, and cinnamon.
- Mix thoroughly.
Assembly
- Spray an 8 inch cake pan with baking spray.
- Break off small pieces of dough and roll into 1 inch balls.
- Dip each dough ball into butter and roll in sugar mixture.
- Place in prepared cake pan.
- Repeat process until all dough is used.
- Cover with plastic wrap.
- Let rise at warm room temperature (78℉-80℉) until nearly doubled in bulk, about 1-1½ hours.
- While dough is proofing, heat oven to 350°F.
- Bake bread for 60-70 minutes, tenting with foil after the first 15 minutes. (Do NOT let foil touch bread.) Bread is done when an instant read thermometer registers 200℉-210℉ when inserted in center of bread.
Notes + Tips!
- You can use a variety of spices to steep in the milk, if you’d like.
- Pecans can be used in place of the walnuts in this recipe.
- Check your yeast and make sure it’s in-date and active.
- A properly kneaded dough should be smooth and clean the bowl. If you have an instant read thermometer, it will read about 70 degrees F.
- Softened butter is softer than room temperature but not melted. If you touch it, your finger should easily sink through.
- Proofing times will vary depending on room temperature. It can take anywhere from 30 minutes if your kitchen is very warm (summer) to 3 hours if your kitchen is cool (winter).
- Be sure to let the bread cool completely before turning out.
Tools You May Need (affiliate links)
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
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