Cinnamon Sugar Sweet Potato Pull-Apart Bread
I’m a cinnamon toast girly, all day, 100%, you won’t catch me walking by a cinny-sugar situation and not getting all up in its business. Over the holidays I saw so many recipes for pull-apart bread (which I’d never seen before and thought sounded so cool) and potato bread (again, hadn’t seen before), and coming from a household with a standing holiday tradition of making this Easy Bubble Bread, I thought… what if I make some kind of hybrid of all three?
The pull-apart element seemed easy enough to sort, as it’s really a matter of cutting, stacking, and layering in your loaf pan ahead of its final proof, so each “layer” grows together. The use of sweet potato in the bread was inspired by these Sweet Potato Rolls from Sally’s Baking Addiction, which I tried over Thanksgiving and loved their fluffiness. Because you know everyone loves it when you test new recipes on a holiday (especially one centered around food)!
I wanted this loaf to be packed with cinnamon sugar flavor in every layer – nobody is getting skimped over here! – and soft and easy to not only separate piece by piece but in every bite you take. This loaf is an enriched dough (more on that below!) so between the moisture from the sweet potato, the fat from the milk and butter, and all that cinnamon sugar goodness, you just can’t go wrong!
Oh, and don’t forget the brown butter vanilla glaze drizzled over top. Yeah, this pull-apart bread is a decadent treat that will leave you drooling (and casually pulling off another piece), every time.
WHAT IS CINNAMON SUGAR SWEET POTATO PULL-APART BREAD?
If you love cinnamon rolls, cinnamon toast, monkey bread, or those cinnamon crunch bagels from Panera, you will love this cinnamon sugar pull-apart bread. Made with an enriched dough, this is the perfect loaf, soft as it is sweet, to share with friends and family. The dough itself is lightly spiced with cinnamon before setting aside to rise then coated with butter and a simple cinnamon sugar mixture. Once sliced and stacked, it will be left to do one final rise – to get all those layers to puff together – before finishing in the oven. While it briefly cools, you whisk up a four-ingredient batch of brown butter vanilla glaze to drizzle over top for a perfect nutty-sweet icing to bring it all together.
This is a loaf for my cinnamon lovers, looking for a pretty (but simple) sweet treat to impress.
How do I make mashed sweet potatoes? Peel your sweet potato and cut into cubes, anywhere from 4-6 in one potato, that are roughly the same size. Place in a pot, cover with water, and set over high heat to bring to a boil. Once boiling, cover and simmer for around 12 minutes, until fork tender (aka you can pierce through each cube easily with a fork). Drain and immediately mash while hot, using a potato masher or even a fork, with no visible chunks. Set aside to cool before baking.
INGREDIENTS
- Milk – I almost exclusively use whole milk in my baking, as the fat content contributes to a softer dough
- Active Dry Yeast – The ingredient that makes the bread rise. You can substitute for instant yeast if that’s what you have on hand. Active dry yeast requires “activating” time in a warm liquid, which you’ll notice in the steps below
- Granulated Sugar – Provides a subtle sweetness to our enriched dough
- Sweet Potato – Adds both moisture and a lovely orange tint to the dough. The majority of the potatoes will seamlessly blend in, though you might see a few tiny bits once rolled out
- Unsalted Butter – My go-to for butter when baking, to control the amount of salt in any good. Also a key player in enriched dough and acts as glue for the cinnamon sugar mixture between each layer
- Vanilla Extract – A little flavor add but if you don’t have or have an aversion to vanilla, feel free to omit
- Salt – I’ll say it every time, salt does more than add a salt flavor (which often you don’t taste). It’s a flavor enhancer to all the other yumminess happening within your loaf
- Cinnamon – You’ll find this inside the dough itself as well as an essential flavor in the cinnamon sugar mixture that is rubbed into the additional softened butter over your rolled out dough
- All-Purpose Flour – A more accessible ingredient than bread flour and does what it needs to do in this loaf
- Egg – You won’t find an egg inside this loaf but mixed with a splash of water and brushed along the top right before it hits the oven. This will help you get that beautiful golden brown shine on top of your bread!
- Brown Sugar – I love brown sugar in particular for a cinnamon sugar mixture, as it adds extra flavor and moisture to your bake
- Powdered Sugar – When it comes to glaze, any type of icing, or even whipped cream, I go for powdered sugar. Sifted of course! It blends the most seamlessly, making for a smooth glaze and zero chance of grit
What is enriched dough? Most bread dough is made up of very few ingredients: water, yeast, flour, and salt. Enriched dough is made up of additional ingredients like milk, butter, eggs, or sugar, which results in a softer, more tender bread.
HOW TO MAKE CINNAMON SUGAR SWEET POTATO PULL-APART BREAD
Start by activating your yeast in warm milk. Place your mlk in the microwave for about 20-30 seconds, it should be warm when you touch with your finger but not hot. Be careful since if the milk is too hot and you might kill the yeast! Pour your milk into the bowl of your mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, and sprinkle your yeast over top. Give it a quick stir, to allow the milk to cover the yeast, and let sit for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, you’ll notice your yeast has softened and the mixture should look a little frothy. Note, if you are using instant yeast you can skip this step.
To the same mixing bowl, add in your sugar, mashed sweet potato, melted butter, vanilla, salt, and cinnamon, and mix until combined. Once uniform, remove the paddle attachment from your mixer and replace it with a dough hook before adding in your flour. First, bring the dough together on a low speed until your flour is mostly combined, this will help avoid any floury dust plumes. Then increase to a medium speed for 5-10 minutes until your dough is smooth and elastic. To check if your dough is ready, perform the windowpane test by pulling off a piece of dough and carefully stretching it into a square, hold it up to the light. If you can see light come through the dough without the dough tearing, congrats your dough is ready for its first rise. If not, continue to beat on medium speed, performing the window pane test every 1-2 minutes. This step is key to forming the gluten structure in your dough, which will allow your dough to stretch and rise beautifully in the oven.
NOTE: If you do not have a mixer, you can do this by hand. Whisk together your wet ingredients once your yeast and milk have bloomed before stirring in your flour with a spoon. Then knead your flour on a a lightly floured surface, until it passes the windowpane test mentioned above. Making bread by hand will take a little more time and arm strength but it’s worth it!
Lightly grease a clean, large bowl and place your dough inside. Then cover with a clean towel and place in a warm spot to rise for 60-90 minutes, or until it has doubled in size. It helps to take a picture of your dough before any rise, this will help you compare how much it has grown.
While your dough rises, make your cinnamon sugar filling by mixing together your brown sugar and cinnamon in a bowl. For your butter, make sure it is softened, not melted, since you will spread it on top of your rolled dough once it’s ready. Set aside until you’re ready to roll out your dough. At this stage of prep, go ahead and grease and line your 9”x5” loaf pan with parchment paper.
When your dough is ready to shape, punch it down to release the air – this is as satisfying as you’re probably imagining – and turn it onto a lightly floured surface. Use a rolling pin to roll it into a 12”x16” rectangle. With a knife, spread your softened butter evenly over the dough before evenly sprinkling over your cinnamon sugar. Use your fingers to gently rub your cinnamon sugar into the butter, to help it stick and form a sort of paste. I learned this tip from Ambitious Kitchens Cinnamon Rolls and love it!
Once you’ve rolled, buttered, and rubbed that cinnamon sugar all up into your dough, use a pizza cutter or a sharp knife to slice your dough into squares. Make three equal vertical strips before cutting the dough horizantally into 5 equal strips. This will give you 15 squares of dough once you’ve cut it.
Now it’s time to stack your dough! I just formed the stack in one hand by grabbing one square at a time and placing it cinnamon sugar side up on my palm. Repeating with all 15 squares until I had a nice vertical stack on my hand. Be sure to line up the edges that you plan to have sit on the bottom of your loaf pan, while you’re stacking. Carefully place the bottom side of you stack down into your loaf pan. This should be a fairly snug fit, with a little room to grow ahead of the last rise.
Cover your dough in the loaf pan with your clean towel for the final rise, and place in a warm spot for another 30-45 minutes. You want it to puff and fill the pan before baking (see picture!). It doesn’t need to get massively tight in the pan, as it will rise more as it bakes and you don’t want to overproof your dough.
Preheat your oven to 350F. Now your going to make your egg wash by whisking together your egg and a splash of water or milk, in a bowl. Once your dough has completed it’s second rise, brush your egg wash over the top of your dough, to get that beautiful golden brown bake
Place on the middle rack of your oven and bake for 30-45 minutes. At the halfway point, remove your loaf from the oven and lightly tent the top with foil. You’ll notice that it will brown quickly so covering with foil will prevent the top of your loaf from burning. At the 30 minute mark, check your dough for doneness by inserting a digital thermometer into the middle of your dough (stick the probe into one of the layer cracks in the center and then slightly to the right or left to get to the middle without poking a visible hole in the top). Once your thermometer reads 180F remove it from the oven and allow the loaf to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before removing and placing on a wire rack to cool slightly.
While your loaf is cooling, make your brown butter vanilla glaze! Place your butter into a small saucepan over medium-low heat and once melted, swirl your pan every 30 seconds. You’ll notice that the fat will seperate and rise to the top, as you swirl your pan, the fats start to drop to the bottom and begin to brown. When the bits are nicely browned – think caramel – immediately remove your butter from the heat and pour it into a bowl. Sift in your powdered sugar and whisk until smooth before whisking in your milk and vanilla.
Drizzle your glaze over your warmed cinnamon sugar sweet potato bread and enjoy!
3 reasons you’ll love this cinnamon sugar bread
TIPS & VARIATIONS
- Mash your sweet potatoes until there are no chunky bits left. You don’t need to make a puree here but having a nice, soft mash will ensure they seamlessly blend into your dough. Don’t sweat this step, just make sure your potatoes are properly cooked through for ease of mashing!
- For whatever reason, if your sweet potato is a bit dry, you might need a little extra milk to bring the dough to the right consistency. If your dough feels dry or isn’t coming together smoothly once your flour is mixed in and you’ve begun to knead it, add in a tablespoon of milk to your dough and knead it in to get it to the right dough feel. The dough will soften and absorb the ingredients as you knead it so be careful not to add milk prematurely, in case it’s not necessary.
- If you do not have a mixer, you can form your dough by hand. Whisk together your wet ingredients once your yeast and milk have bloomed before stirring in your flour with a spoon. Then knead your flour on a a lightly floured surface, until it passes the windowpane test mentioned above. Making bread by hand will take a little more time and arm strength but it’s worth it!
- Make sure your butter for the filling is room temperature, not melted. You want to be able to easily spread it over the rolled out dough, without tearing it, but have it thick enough (not running off) that you can massage your cinnamon sugar mixture into it.
- Take a picture of your dough before each rise! This will help you compare how much it has grown ahead of both shaping and baking.
MAKING AHEAD & STORING
You can prep your dough the night before, if you want to plan for delicious cinnamon bread in the morning. Follow the directions to form your dough up to the first rise, then tightly cover, so it doesn’t dry out, and place in the fridge to complete it’s first rise cold, overnight. Remove from the fridge and allow the dough to come to room temperature before rolling out and continuing with the remaining steps.
Store your baked pull-apart bread in an airtight container for up to four days at room temperature or three months in freezer! If frozen, take out 8-10 hours in advance of when you plan to eat it, and let it thaw at room temperature. I recommend freezing however much of the loaf you plan to the day you make it, for optimal freshness in the future!
MORE CINNAMON RECIPES
These Easy Cinnamon Chip Scones are a family favorite and incredibly easy. If you love a roll, try this Mini Cinnamon Swirls made with puff pastry (storebought or homemade, bakers choice!) and a dusting of cinnamon and cardamom. Just want a treat for you? PREACH! Try my Single-Serve Drop Biscuit with Cinnamon Plum Compote, the perfect cozy bake for one.
Equipment
- Mixer with paddle and hook attachments
- Spatula
- Measuring Cups
- Measuring Spoons
- Parchment Paper
- Pizza Cutter or Knife
- Bowls
- 9”x5” loaf pan
- Towel
- Small pot
- Whisk
- Fine Mesh Sieve
- Pastry Brush
Ingredients
- ¾ cup milk warmed
- 2 ¼ teaspoons active dry yeast 1 packet
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup mashed sweet potato about ½ medium-sized sweet potato, cooked and mashed
- ¼ cup unsalted butter melted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 3 ½ cups all-purpose flour plus more for kneading
- 1 large egg for egg wash
- ½ cup packed brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter softened
- 1 tbsp browned butter melted
- 8 tbsp powdered sugar
- 1 ½ tbsp milk
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Warm your milk in the microwave for about 20-30 seconds, it should be warm when you touch with your finger but not hot. Too hot and you might kill the yeast!
- Pour your warmed milk into a mixing bowl fitted with a paddle attachment and sprinkle your yeast over the top. Give it a light stir and allow it to sit for 5 minutes to activate your yeast, it should get a little frothy
- Add in your sugar, sweet potato, melted butter, vanilla, salt, and cinnamon, mixing until combined
- Remove the paddle attachment from your mixer and replace it with a dough hook before adding in your flour. Beat on a low speed until your flour is combined before moving to a medium speed for 5-10 minutes until your dough is smooth and elastic. To check if your dough is ready, pull off a piece of dough and pull it into a square, holding it up to the light. If you can see light come through the dough without the dough tearing, congrats your dough is ready for its first rise
- Note: you can do this without a mixer, whisking together your wet ingredients before using a spatula to add in your flour. Then knead on a lightly floured surface. This will take a bit more time… and your arms might hurt, but you can do it
- Lightly grease a large bowl and place your dough inside. Cover with a clean towl and place in a warm spot to rise for 60-90 minutes, or until doubled in size
- While your dough is rising, make your cinnamon-sugar filling. Simply mix together your brown sugar and cinnamon in a bowl, set aside, and place your softened butter in another small bowl – you want it spreadable but not melted
- Grease and line a 9”x5” loaf pan with parchment paper
- When your dough is ready to shape, punch it down to release the air, turn it onto a lightly floured surface, and roll it to a 12”x16” rectangle
- Spread your softened butter evenly over the dough before sprinkling over your cinnamon sugar. Use your fingers to gently rub your cinnamon sugar into the butter, to help it stick and form a sort of paste
- Using a pizza cutter or sharp knife, slice your dough vertically into three equal strips and then horizontally into 5 equal strips. You should have 15 squares of dough
- Dough side down (cinnamon-sugar side up) stack your dough so the bottoms match up, then carefully place (bottom edge down) in your loaf pan. They should fit fairly snuggly, with a little room to grow
- Cover with your clean towel and let the dough rise in a warm sport for another 30-45 minutes, until it has puffed and filled the pan
- Preheat your oven to 350F
- In a bowl whisk together your egg and a splash of water or milk, to make an egg wash. Brush over the top of your dough, to get that beautiful golden brown bake
- Bake for 30-45 minutes on the middle rack, removing from the oven halfway and covering with foil, this will prevent the top of your loaf from burning. Insert a digital thermometer into the middle of your dough, once it reads 180F remove it from the oven
- Allow the bread to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before removing and placing on a wire rack to cool slightly
- To make your glaze, place your butter into a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Once it melts, swirl your pan every 30 seconds, until the fats start to drop to the bottom of the pan and brown. When the bits a nicely brown – think caramel – immediately remove your butter from the heat and pour it into a bowl. Sift in your powdered sugar and whisk until smooth before whisking in your milk and vanilla
- Drizzle your glaze over the top of your warm bread and enjoy!
