Sweet Sticky Pull-Apart Bread (Print Version)

Tender cinnamon sugar-coated dough baked golden for a sticky, sweet treat ideal at breakfast or dessert.

# What You'll Need:

→ Dough

01 - 4 cups all-purpose flour
02 - 2¼ teaspoons instant dry yeast
03 - ¼ cup granulated sugar
04 - 1 teaspoon salt
05 - ¾ cup warm milk
06 - ¼ cup unsalted butter, melted
07 - 2 large eggs

→ Coating

08 - 1 cup granulated sugar
09 - 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
10 - ½ cup unsalted butter, melted

→ Optional Glaze

11 - 1 cup powdered sugar
12 - 2–3 tablespoons milk
13 - ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

# Directions:

01 - In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, yeast, sugar, and salt. Add warm milk, melted butter, and eggs. Mix until a soft dough forms. Knead by hand or with a mixer for 5 to 7 minutes until smooth and elastic.
02 - Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover, and let rise in a warm place for 1 hour or until doubled in size.
03 - In a small bowl, combine granulated sugar and cinnamon. Place melted butter in a separate bowl.
04 - Punch down dough and divide into 40 small pieces, each about ¾ ounce. Roll each piece into a ball.
05 - Dip each ball into melted butter, then roll in cinnamon sugar. Layer the coated balls evenly in a well-greased bundt pan.
06 - Cover the pan and let the dough rise for 20 to 30 minutes until slightly puffed.
07 - Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes until golden brown and cooked through.
08 - Allow bread to cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then invert onto a serving plate.
09 - Whisk powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla extract until smooth. Drizzle over warm bread before serving.

# Expert Suggestions:

01 -
  • It looks impressive but requires zero fancy skills—if you can roll a ball, you've got this.
  • The house fills with a cinnamon-butter cloud that makes everyone think you woke up at dawn perfecting pastry.
  • It's the kind of bread people actually tear into with their hands, which somehow makes everything taste better.
  • You can prep it the night before and bake it fresh in the morning for the ultimate lazy-genius move.
02 -
  • Don't skip the second rise—this is what makes the balls tender and pull-apart soft; rushed baking yields dense, chewy results that are nothing like the real thing.
  • Butter temperature is everything: if you dip balls into cold butter, the coating won't stick; if the butter's too hot, it'll separate and slide off.
  • Grease your bundt pan generously, and I mean generously—use a pastry brush or your fingers to get into every nook and canyon, or you'll lose pieces to the pan.
  • The longer this bread sits, the stickier and more cohesive it becomes, which is good; it actually tastes better a few hours later than it does fresh from the oven.
03 -
  • Save the caramel that pools in the bottom of the pan by spooning it over each serving—this sticky gold is the whole reason people love this bread.
  • If your bundt pan is nonstick, you can get away with lighter greasing, but if it's vintage or conventional, use butter or cooking spray generously to avoid losing pieces to the pan.
  • For a savory twist that surprises everyone, swap cinnamon for everything bagel seasoning and reduce the sugar by half—it becomes a totally different beast that pairs beautifully with coffee.
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