Cinnamon Sugar Pull Apart Bread

Once again, a recipe from Annie's Eats makes its way on to my blog. And this one is delicious. I've had this recipe starred in my Google reader for about a month, and I have come to it weekend after weekend debating whether I should make it or not. Well, I'm so glad I finally made it.

Do you know that moist, tender interior of a cinnamon roll? The part with just a little bit of a crunchy edge, but mostly it's just soft cinnamon-ey bread? Well, this bread loaf is MOSTLY that. You've got this great crusty edge, but on the inside, throughout the length of the entire loaf, you've got that soft, yummy interior. The whole idea about this loaf are the layers, which you're supposed to peel layer by layer. Well, Chris and I just used our fingers and tore off big chunks and shoved rapidly into our watering mouths once this thing cooled down just enough not to burn our fingers on the caramelized sugar on the bottom. So worth it.

Here's the recipe as it appears on Annie's Eats, minus the great step-by-step photos. Make sure to visit her site for detailed how-to photos.

Ingredients:
For the dough:

• 2¾ cups all-purpose flour, plus more as needed
• ¼ cup granulated sugar
• 2¼ tsp. instant yeast
• ½ tsp. salt
• 4 tbsp. unsalted butter
• 1/3 cup whole milk
• ¼ cup water
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs

For the filling:

• 4 tbsp. unsalted butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp. freshly grated nutmeg

Directions:

1. To make the dough, combine the flour, sugar, yeast and salt in the bowl of a mixer fitted with a dough hook. Combine the butter and milk in a small saucepan and heat just until the butter is melted. Set aside and let cool briefly, until the mixture registers 115-125˚ F on an instant-read thermometer. Add the milk mixture, water, vanilla and eggs to the mixer bowl. Mix on low speed until a cohesive dough forms. Continue to knead until smooth and elastic, adding additional flour as needed 1 tablespoon at a time until the dough clears the sides of the bowl and is tacky but not sticky. Knead about 3-5 minutes. Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl, turning once to coat, and cover. Let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour. (After the dough has doubled, it can be wrapped in plastic wrap and refrigerated overnight. Let stand at room temperature 30 minutes before proceeding.)
2. While the dough rises, add the butter to a small saucepan and melt until browned. Set aside. Combine the sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg in a small bowl and mix well.
3. Once dough has risen, transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and gently deflate. Roll into a ball, cover with a clean towel and let rest for 5 minutes. Roll the dough out into an approximately 12 x 20-inch rectangle. Brush the dough with the browned butter. Sprinkle the cinnamon-sugar mixture over the dough in an even layer. (Yes, really, use all of it.)
4. Lightly grease a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan. Slice the dough vertically into 6 even strips. Stack the strips on top of each other and again cut again into 6 equal slices. Stack all the squares on top of each other and set into the prepared loaf pan. Cover loosely with a kitchen towel and let rise in a warm place, 30-45 minutes.
5. Preheat the oven to 350˚ F. Transfer the loaf to the oven and bake 30-35 minutes, until the top is golden brown. (If the top seems to be browning too quickly, cover loosely with foil at the end of baking.) Remove from the oven and let rest in the pan 20-30 minutes. Run a knife around the edges of the pan to loosen and carefully turn the loaf out, transferring to a serving plate. Serve warm.