Cinnamon Sugar Walnut Pull-Apart Bread

Sweet, cinnamon-y, and delicious! Think monkey bread, but so much easier to make. This Cinnamon Sugar Walnut Pull-Apart Bread is the perfect breakfast, snack, or dessert all year long! It's so simple and so good.

Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 25

Cook Time: 1 10

Proofing Time: 2 30

Servings:

Calories: 287kcal

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

*This recipe was written using an average of the dip and sweep method for measuring flour and the spoon and level method. If you are using a scale, you will need to add 3/4 oz or 22 g to the measurement for each cup of flour.

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.

Expert Tips:

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.

Nutrition