Pull-Apart Cinnamon Apple Bread

We saw this this gooey, cinnamony sweet loaf on instagram and had to make it! But we added our own twist by making it gluten-free. Stacy of 27th & Olive is doing some sort of magic. Her cinnamon apple loaf seems like the perfect cloud of sweetness, so we set out to make our own version. We chose to make ours with one of our favorite gluten-free flour blends, to ease up on some of the digestion.

This recipe is quite involved and requires multiple steps, so be sure to set out enough time to do so. It's all worth it though when the house smells like heaven and you've got this sweetness to snack on.

PULL-APART CINNAMON APPLE BREAD RECIPE Recipe inspired by Stacy Blair

INGREDIENTS

FILLING

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup organic brown sugar
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 medium apples (about 2 cups), peeled, cored, and thinly sliced
1/2 cup pecans or walnuts, chopped (optional)

DOUGH

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/3 cup lukewarm organic whole milk / almond milk
1/4 cup lukewarm water
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 1/4 cups Cup 4 Cup Gluten Free Flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast

GLAZE

1 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon milk

INSTRUCTIONS

Whisk together the butter, milk, water, eggs, and vanilla extract. This will make up the wet ingreidents.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, mix together the flour, sugar, salt, and yeast (dry ingredients). Add the wet ingredients. Knead the mixture until the dough is smooth. The dough will be quite soft. My dough was still very wet, so I added another 1/4 of flour, 2 tablespoons at a time, until I achieved the soft, elastic texture.
Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover, and allow to rest until doubled in size (approximately 1 hour)
Grease a 9" x 5" loaf pan.
Gently deflate the dough and turn it out onto a lightly greased surface. Roll the dough into a 12" x 20" rectangle.
Stir the vanilla into the melted butter. Spread the butter mixture over the entire top on the dough (use a pastry brush to get the butter evenly spread over the surface of the dough).
Combine the brown sugar and cinnamon. Stir until all the clumps are combined.
Sprinkle the brown sugar mixture over the dough using your hand to spread it evenly over the butter.
Cut the dough crosswise into six 3 1/2" x 12" strips, then cut the strips into thirds. Layer the dough and apple slices (about 4-5 layers per stack).
Turn the stacks on edge, and place them in the loaf pan one in front of the other until the pan is full. Sprinkle nuts (if using) and any remaining apples over the dough.
Cover the pan with a towel and allow the loaf to rise for 30 to 60 minutes, until it's almost doubled in size (do not over rise). While the loaf is rising, preheat the oven to 350°F.
Bake the loaf for 45 to 55 minutes in the center of the oven, tenting it with foil after 30 minutes. Remove the loaf from the oven, and transfer it to a rack to cool for 15 to 20 minutes before turning it out of the pan to cool completely.
While cooling, mix the glaze ingredients together in a small bowl. Add more milk if necessary to get desired consistency.
While still slightly warm, spoon the glaze over the top of the bread.