Cinnamon Roll Pull-Apart Bread is ooey-gooey homemade bread filled with cinnamon and topped with a whipped cream cheese frosting. Try my Apple Pull-Apart bread for the same ooey-gooey bread filled with spiced apples.
Cinnamon Roll Pull-Apart Bread
Cinnamon Roll Pull-Apart Bread will fill your house with the wonderful smell of freshly baked sweet rolls but in a loaf of bread. Pull-apart bread goes by many names, like monkey bread, bubble loaf, sticky bread, and a few more. But, whatever you call this bread, it’s so delicious! It is meant to be shareable, but once you ‘pull apart’
your own piece, it will be hard not to eat the entire loaf yourself!
Cinnamon Roll Pull-Apart Bread Ingredients
There are no fancy ingredients needed to make this recipe. In fact, you may have what you need already on hand! Just be sure to use room temperature cream cheese and butter for the frosting.
When it comes to the confectioners’ sugar used in the frosting, sift it before adding it to the mixture. Sifting will get out any lumps and add air to keep it nice and fluffy. This, in turn, will give you a lovely whipped frosting. If you don’t have a sifter, use a fine-mesh strainer or use a whisk to add air to the sugar.
Pull-Apart Bread Dough
In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the flour, sugar, salt, and yeast using the dough hook attachment. With the mixer on low, slowly add the butter, milk, water, vanilla, and then eggs. Turn the mixer on medium-low and knead until the dough is soft and smooth (about 2 minutes). If it seems too dry add a little water, if it seems too sticky add just a little flour, up to a 1/4 cup. Place the dough into a greased bowl, cover it, and let it rise for about an hour.
After the dough has had time to rise to double its size, it’s time to roll it out. Gently deflate the dough and place it on a floured work surface. Roll the dough out to about a 12×20-inch rectangle. Prepare the filling to add to the dough.
To make the filling, melt the butter and set it aside to cool. In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Pour the melted butter over the entire surface of the rolled out dough. Then, sprinkle and spread the brown sugar and cinnamon mixture over the dough, making sure to get all the surface covered.
Cutting and Assembling Cinnamon Roll Pull-Apart Bread
Cut the dough crosswise into six long strips. Make sure you have a knife that is long and sharp as well as wide enough that you could use it to move the long pieces of dough over to the stack. Stack the strips on top of one another. After all the strips are stacked, cut the stack into six pieces.
Finally, start setting the sections into the pan making sure that the dough is upright, or stacking horizontally, not vertically. Cover the loaf with a clean towel and let it rise again for 30-60 minutes. (I know…more waiting, but it will be worth it!)
After the hour, bake the bread for 45-55 minutes, tenting it with aluminum foil after the first 30 minutes. You will know the bread is done if a toothpick comes out with a few crumbs on it, but no batter. Remove the bread from the oven and let it cool for 15-20 minutes before transferring it to a wire rack to cool completely. As the bread is cooling, make the cream cheese frosting.
How to Make Cream Cheese Frosting
It only takes a few minutes to whip together this cream cheese frosting for the bread. So, while the bread is still baking, or even cooling, put the cream cheese, butter, confectioners’ sugar, vanilla, and salt in the bowl of your stand mixer. Using the paddle attachment, start on low to get all the ingredients combined. You could also use a handheld mixer.
Mix on high for 4-5 minutes, or until the frosting is light and fluffy. Spread this all over the warm loaf of bread. Serve warm.
Looking for More Homemade Bread Recipes?
Ingredients
Dough
- 3 cups (375g) all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup (50g) granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2¼ teaspoons (1 packet) instant yeast
- ¼ cup (1/2 stick or 57g) unsalted butter, melted
- ⅓ cup lukewarm milk, between 98°F-105°F
- ¼ cup lukewarm water
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
Filling
- 3 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled
- ⅓ cup brown sugar, packed
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 3 ounces cream cheese, softened
- ¼ cup (1/2 stick or 57g) butter, softened
- 1½ cups (188g) confectioners' sugar, sifted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 pinch salt
Instructions
Dough
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In the bowl of a stand mixer with the dough hook attachment, mix together the flour, sugar, salt, and yeast.
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With the mixer on low, slowly add butter, milk, water, vanilla, and then eggs. Turn the mixer on medium-low and knead until the dough is soft and smooth (about 2 minutes). If it seems too dry add a little water, if it seems too sticky add just a little flour, up to a 1/4 cup.
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Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover, and allow to rest until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
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Gently deflate the dough and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface.
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Roll the dough into a 12" x 20" rectangle.
Filling
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In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt with a fork.
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Pour the melted butter over the rolled out dough so that it covers the entire surface.
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Spread brown sugar mixture over dough making sure it covers the entire surface.
Assembling and Baking Pull-Apart Bread
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Grease a 5×8-inch loaf pan.
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Cut the dough crosswise into six 3 1/2" x 12" strips.
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Stack the strips on top of one another.
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Cut the stack into six pieces, about 2" x 3 1/2" each.
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Turn the pieces on edge, and place them in the loaf pan one in front of the other from one end of the pan to the other, squeezing them in tight.
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Cover the pan and allow the loaf to rise for 30 to 60 minutes until it's almost doubled in size. While the loaf is rising, preheat the oven to 350°F.
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Bake the loaf for 45 to 55 minutes in the center of the oven, tenting it with foil after 30 minutes. Remove the loaf from the oven, and transfer it to a rack to cool for 15 to 20 minutes before turning it out of the pan to cool completely.
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As the bread is cooling, make the cream cheese frosting.
Cream Cheese Frosting
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While bread is cooling, put cream cheese, butter, confectioners sugar, vanilla, and salt in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. (You could also use a handheld mixer.)
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Mix on low until just combined. Once ingredients are all incorporated turn mixer on high and leave it for 4-5 minutes. Frosting should be light and fluffy.
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Spread cream cheese frosting on warm bread. Pull apart and enjoy!