Apple Cider Pull-Apart Bread

Summary
Prep time	40 min + rising time
Cook time	45 min @ 350°
Source	TheVanillaBeanBlog.com
Yield / serves	6-8 servings
Rating	Very good

Ingredients

Dough

• 1/2 cup apple cider
• 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 3 large eggs at room temperature
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 3 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter at room temperature

Filling

• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• Pinch salt
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Icing

• 1/2 cup apple cider
• 2 tablespoons cream cheese at room temperature
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter at room temperature
• Pinch salt
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon apple brandy (optional)
• 1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar

Preparation

For the dough

Grease a large bowl and set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle, combine the apple cider, granulated sugar, and yeast, and let sit until the yeast has dissolved, about 5 minutes. Add the eggs and salt and mix on low until well combined. Add the flour, mixing on low speed until incorporated, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the butter, one piece at a time, mixing until completely incorporated after each addition. When all the butter has been added, increase the speed to medium and beat the butter into the dough, until all the little butter pieces are incorporated, 1 minute. Change to a dough hook and knead with the dough hook for 10-12 minutes. Transfer the dough to the prepared bowl and over with plastic wrap.

OR: Transfer the dough to the prepared bowl. The dough will be sticky. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rise for 30 minutes. Remove the plastic wrap and place your fingers or a spatula underneath the dough to gently pull the dough up and fold it over itself. Give the bowl a quarter turn and fold the dough over again. Repeat six to eight more times, until all the dough has been folded over on itself. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rise for 30 minutes. Repeat this series of folding the dough three more times, every 30 minutes, for a rise time of 2 hours.

Tightly cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight or up to 72 hours. (Note: the dough will be sticky, so this is why it is recommended to refrigerate it overnight. You can chill it for less time, but if it is sticking to the pin or counter as you roll, return to the refrigerator and chill longer.)

For the Filling

In a small bowl, mix together the granulated sugar, cinnamon, and salt.

To Assemble

Grease and line a 9 by 4 by 4 in [23 by 10 by 10 cm] Pullman pan with a parchment sling. Lightly flour your work surface, then roll the dough into a 20 by 12 in [50 by 30.5 cm] rectangle with a short edge facing you. With a pastry brush, spread the melted butter evenly over the dough. Sprinkle the cinnamon-sugar mixture over the dough and press it gently into the dough with your hands.

Using a pastry wheel or pizza cutter, cut the dough crosswise into five strips (about 12 by 4 in [30.5 by 10 cm]) each, then stack the five rectangles on top of each other.

Slice the stack of rectangles to create six equal strips about 4 by 2 in [10 by 5 cm]. Fit these layered strips into the prepared loaf pan, cut edges up and side by side (it will be tight fit, but it is okay to press them close together). Sprinkle any cinnamon-sugar that didn’t make it in the transfer over the top of the bread.

Cover the pan with plastic wrap and let the dough rise in a warm place until almost doubled in size, 45 to 60 minutes; the dough should be about an inch under the top of the pan.

Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and preheat the oven to 350F [180C]. Place a sheet pan on a lower oven rack (this will help catch any drips).

Bake the bread until the top is golden brown, 40 to 50 minutes, or registers 200F [95C] on an instant-read thermometer. Check the bread halfway through baking – if the top is browning too quickly, cover it with a piece of foil.

While the bread is baking, make the glaze: In a medium saucepan, cook the apple cider and salt over medium-high until reduced to 1/4 cup, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from the heat, and whisk in the cream cheese, butter, vanilla, and apple brandy if using, and whisk until smooth (there may be a few tiny cream cheese lumps, but they will come out as you whisk in the confectioners’ sugar). Slowly add the confectioners’ sugar to the apple cider mixture, whisking constantly, until the mixture is smooth and glossy.

Transfer the loaf pan to a wire rack and immediately pour half of the icing over the bread, then let sit for 15 minutes. Use the sling to gently remove the loaf from the pan, then drizzle the remaining icing over the loaf. Let cool slightly before pulling apart and eating. This bread is best eaten the same day it’s made.