Cinnamon Apple Pull Apart Bread is a soft and tender yeast bread that’s filled with fresh apple and warm cinnamon under a layer of streusel and sweet glaze.
Cinnamon Apple Pull Apart Bread is like a pan of freshly baked cinnamon rolls without all of the fuss.
Apple Pull Apart Bread is the perfect yeast bread. It’s soft and tender, sweet and crunchy, and everything that you crave.
We totally love a pull apart bread! Who doesn’t love peeling their own slice of cinnamon bread from a loaf layered with warm spices and fresh apple under a streusel topping and glazed with a sweet drizzle?
Over the top? Not really. It sounds like something that will take a lot of time and technique to put together but it’s NOT!
We just love this time of year when the days are cool and dinner is often a pot of soup cooking on the stove.
Growing up we often had something sweet with our savory meals so whether it’s a bowl of soup or a plate of scrambled eggs, we like something sweet on the side. If we have a choice give us some bakery!
We originally made this Pull Apart Apple bread for a challenge bread group we participated in.
The theme we were assigned was to make a “Pull Apart” bread. Pull Apart bread are can also be called monkey bread or bubble bread, and can be savory or sweet are all game.
We love cinnamon rolls, but face it, they’re definitely a commitment to make.
We also like pull apart bread because everyone can dive in and help themselves to a piece.
So we decided to make a pull apart cinnamon apple pull apart bread with a streusel topping.
It sounded amazing in my mind, and I certainly wasn’t disappointed with the results!
Pull Apart Apple Bread Ingredients
The ingredients for this recipe and the majority of them you may already have at home. Here is what we used.
- Flour
- Yeast
- Sugar
- Cinnamon
- Apple
- Butter
- Milk
- Eggs
- Vanilla
- Salt
- Brown Sugar
- Rolled Oats
- Pecans
Don’t have time to make it now? Pin it for later!
Tip: We originally used sliced apples in this recipe but found that they were a bit difficult to insert between the pieces of dough so we now dice the apple in small pieces and mix it right into the dough.
If you like this recipe, here are a few more that I think you’ll enjoy
If it’s apple recipes you’re looking for, you may like these
- Swedish Apple Pie
- Skillet Apple Pie
- Stovetop Apple Pie Filling
- Pumpkin Apple Bread
- Apple Kolaches
- Easy Apple Crisp
When you make this be in the mood to share because it makes two generous loaves!
Of course, you could save it all to yourself by putting one in the freezer…I wouldn’t judge.
This recipe may look tedious, but I just wanted to break it down in small tasks.
Apple Pecan Streusel Pull Apart Bread Recipe
Ingredients
Dough
- 8 tbsp butter unsalted
- 2/3 cup milk
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 8 tbsp sugar divided
- 1/2 cup water warmed to 110°-115°F
- 2 pkgs instant yeast 4-1/2 tsp
- 5 3/4 cups all purpose flour divided
- 1 tsp salt kosher
- 4 eggs lightly beaten
Filing
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 8 tbsp butter unsalted, melted
- 1/2 cup pecans chopped
- 1 apple Diced. I used a granny smith.
Streusel Topping
- 2 tbsp all purpose flour
- 2 tbsp pecans chopped finely
- 2 tbsp rolled oats old fashioned
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 2 tbsp butter cold, unsalted, diced
Drizzle
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste or extract
- 1 tbsp milk
Instructions
Dough
- In a medium saucepan heat butter and 2/3 cup of milk together just until the butter is melted. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Set aside to cool to 115°F to 125°F.
- In a small bowl whisk 2 tablespoons sugar with the warm water until dissolved. Whisk in the yeast and set aside until foamy, 5 to 10 minutes.
- In a large bowl whisk the remaining 6 tablespoons of sugar with 4 cups of flour and salt until combined. Add the milk mixture, yeast mixture, and eggs. Stir with a wooden spoon until a sticky dough forms.
- Add another 1 1/2 cups of flour and continue to stir until smooth. Dough will still be sticky and that’s o.k. Shape dough into a loose ball and cover with plastic wrap. Place in a warm place and let dough rise until doubled, 1 to 1-1/2 hours.
- In a small bowl whisk sugar and cinnamon for the filling together.
- Punch down risen dough. Add remaining 1/4 cup of flour and knead it into the dough. Let the dough rest for 5 minutes, covered with a clean kitchen towel.
- For the filling, combine the cinnamon and sugar together in a medium-sized bowl, and then add the apple and pecans.
- Divide dough into 2 equal-sized pieces. Lightly dust your working surface with all-purpose flour. Roll each piece of dough into a 20 by 12-inch rectangle with a floured rolling pin.
- Brush the dough with melted butter and then sprinkle each half the apple filling mixture. Use a pizza cutter or sharp knife and cut dough into 6 pieces down the 12-inch length. Stack the strips on top of each other and then cut stack into 6 even stacks of squares.
- Spray two 9×5 loaf pans with baking spray and then line with parchment paper. I use two strips and criss-cross them. Spray the parchment paper. Prop up the pans on its long end and carefully stack the squares evenly into the pans. Unprop the pan and cover the filled pans loosely with a clean kitchen towel. Cover the pans with a clean towel and let them rise 30 to 45 minutes or until doubled.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. In a medium-sized bowl combine the streusel ingredients except for the butter. Cut the butter in using a pastry cutter, pizza cutter or two forks until large crumbs develop. Refrigerate until you're ready to bake.
- Uncover risen loaves. Sprinkle with the streusel topping. Bake the loaves for 40 minutes or until the top of the loaves are a deep golden brown.
- Removed baked loaves and let them cool on a baking rack in the pans for 30 minutes. Carefully lift the loaves from the pans, using the parchment paper. Drizzle with glaze.
- Store baked loaves in an air-tight container or wrapped in plastic wrap and then foil at room temperature up to 3 days.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
This recipe was calculated using the exact brands and measurements I used to make this recipe. If you are following a strict diet please note changing anything will cause the nutritional info to change. My calculations are intended as a guide only.
Now it’s time to check out these other bakers who are sharing their pull apart recipes with us!
- Cinnamon Apple Pull Apart Bread from Hostess at Heart
- Bananas Foster Monkey Bread from Food Lust People Love
- Christmas Tree Bread from Sara’s Tasty Buds
- Chrysanthemum Bread from Ambrosia
- Cinnamon Sugar Pull Apart Bread from Cook’s Hideout
- Coffee Pull-Apart Bread from Passion Kneaded
- Coriander Garlic Pull Apart Bread from The Mad Scientist’s Kitchen
- Cranberry Chutney Pull Apart Bread from Spiceroots
- Garlic Pull Apart Bread from Palatable Pastime
- Laadi Pav or Pull Apart Rolls from Sneha’s Recipe
- Overnight Monkey Bread Pudding from A Day in the Life on the Farm
- Paneer Pesto Pull Apart Rolls from Veena’s Vegnation
- Pull-Apart Dill Bread from Karen’s Kitchen Stories
- Pumpkin, Garlic, and Sage Pull Apart Bread from Baking Sense
- Pumpkin Spice Latte Pull-Apart Bread from All That’s Left Are The Crumbs
- Savory Breakfast Monkey Bread from Sonlicious
#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on this home page.
We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.
Jean
Saturday 23rd of April 2022
I am in the middle of making this and have read the recipe three times. Do not see any mention of where the apples and pecans are mentioned except in the ingredient list. I assume they go with the cinnamon sugar mix, but it doesn’t specifically say. This is my first try with a pull-apart loaf.
Julie Menghini
Saturday 23rd of April 2022
I'm so sorry Jean. This recipe definitely needs a redo. The apples and pecans are mixed together as part of the filling. I brushed the rolled out dough with the melted butter and then sprinkled the apple and pecan filling over the dough. I'll jump in and clarify the recipe. Thank you for the heads up!
Michaela Kenkel
Monday 19th of November 2018
I am making a loaf of this as soon as I get to the store for ingredients!! I can only imagine how it smells when it's baking!
Julie Menghini
Tuesday 20th of November 2018
Thank you, Michaela! I hope you like it as much as we did!
Debra C.
Monday 19th of November 2018
Oh my goodness she does have mad bread skills! What a treat to share this on the blog, save me a slice for breakfast!
Julie Menghini
Tuesday 20th of November 2018
Thank you, Debra! I would put streusel on everything if I could!
Jennifer A Stewart
Monday 19th of November 2018
This looks perfect for Christmas morning the only problem is that I would be in the corner, holding the whole loaf, and peeling off slices while everyone else is unwrapping presents!
Julie Menghini
Tuesday 20th of November 2018
Thank you! I'm a compulsive peeler too LOL!
[email protected]'s Dinnertime Dish
Monday 19th of November 2018
I love making yeast bread, I find it to be very therapeutic, as well as very tasty. This bread sounds absolutely amazing, so it's definitely on my list to try!
Julie Menghini
Monday 19th of November 2018
I do too, Lisa! Thank you!