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Honestly, it’s all about the simple things in life. Like this Overnight Pull-Apart Brioche Cinnamon Roll Bread.
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And today that means pull-apart brioche cinnamon roll bread.
It’s every kids dream breakfast and secretly every adult’s favorite too. Just admit it. You will never outgrow a good cinnamon roll. Or cinnamon roll bread in today’s case.
This happens to me every year at about this time, I crave cinnamon rolls. I think it comes with the cold weather, snow and talk of Christmas – I love it. I think I will always be able to find a semi-newish way to make cinnamon rolls, but still keep them simple because in my opinion, cinnamon rolls need to be kept simple (and extra soft and doughy). I’m not even big on adding things like caramel and chocolate because that’s just not a cinnamon roll in my mind. It’s not what I grew up loving.
Side note, how many times do you think I will say cinnamon rolls in this post? I’m thinking a lot. Way too many to count, that is for sure.
What I did grow up loving were the cinnamon rolls from my very favorite dough boy. Yup, the Pillsbury dough boy was always a family favorite come the holiday season. Those rolls were breakfast pretty much every morning at our cabin in Ripley, New York in the week following Christmas. Nothing like starting the day off with a sugar buzz. My cousins, my brothers and I loved those cinnamon rolls (although, they where never as good if they got overcooked). Those were some awesome times. That area of New York gets a ton of snow and it was great to all be together creating memories that will last our lifetime.
Sooo, I have had this idea to make a brioche style cinnamon roll bread for forever now. I knew the bread would be amazing because well, brioche itself is simply perfect. It’s the softest, doughiest and fluffiest bread around and it’s freaking easy to make. I am now thinking that from here on out, all my cinnamon rolls will be made using brioche dough. It’s the perfect combo.
The bread is a cinch to make, and if you don’t have a mixer, it can easily be mixed by hand. It does need to rise for about an hour before your roll it out, but other than that it’s super quick to throw together the night before a big breakfast (like Thanksgiving or Christmas!). Once the bread is all assembled you just cover it and leave it in the fridge until you’re ready to bake. It couldn’t be easier or more perfect for holiday entertaining.
I kind of have little secret though. The dough is spiked with eggnog. I know some people either love or hate eggnog, but I am somewhere in the middle. I would never drink it straight up, but I have found that adding it to baked goods does magical things. No joke. You’d never know there was any eggnog in this bread, but you’d know there was something special about it. The nog just keeps the bread crazy moist while also adding a subtle holiday flavor. Trust me on this one, buy some eggnog and start swapping out the milk in your baked good recipes with nog. The results are so awesome.
And that’s my little, not so secret, secret about this bread.
I made this bread two ways, one in a loaf pan and one as more of a log on a baking sheet. Both turned out awesome, both are easy and both are pretty. It’s really just about what you personally prefer. The bread baked in the pan is a tad gooeyer because none of the filling leaks out while baking, but the bread baked on a baking sheet is probably a little more show stopping. Like I said, either one is so good.
AND you get to prep everything the night before and then just bake in the morning. Couldn’t be more perfect.
You don’t technically have to make this as a bread, I mean you could totally make regular cinnamon rolls, BUT the bread is so fun and the whole pull-apart thing means finger food, which means easy eatin’, easy serving.
And you can’t deny that the loaf is kind of pretty.
OH! And I made some sugared cranberries to serve alongside for a festive holiday look and some added sweetness. Loving the sugared cranberries.
Double OH! The frosting it’s just a simple cream cheese vanilla bean frosting, but I will not lie, it’s so good. And when generously drizzled all over the bread? ADDICTING.
Ok and lastly, I just have to say that this is one of those recipes that everyone loves. I had all the boys (including a few extras from the US Snowboard Team) in the kitchen for this recipe. Taking photos was kind of hard. They never get this excited about anything I make. My food is normally too colorful for the brothers, but not this – this they loved!
That says something.
Overnight Pull-Apart Brioche Cinnamon Roll Bread.
Ingredients
Dough
- 1/4 cup warm water
- 3 teaspoons active dry yeast
- 3 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup warm eggnog or warm whole milk
- 3 eggs
- 3 1/2 - 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 12 tablespoons salted butter, at room temperature
Filling
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- pinch of sea salt
Frosting
- 2 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1-2 tablespoons milk or cream, using as needed
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Combine warm water, yeast, and sugar the bowl of a stand mixer and mix on low speed until incorporated. Allow the mixture to sit about 5-10 minutes or until bubbly on top.
- Add the eggnog, eggs, flour, salt, and butter. Using the dough hook, knead until the dough comes together, about 3-5 minutes. Remove the dough from the bowl and place on a lightly floured surface. Kneed into a smooth ball. Grease a large bowl and add the dough to the bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let sit 1-2 hours or until the dough has doubled in size.
- To make the filling. Add the brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt to a bowl and mix well.
- Lightly dust a surface with flour. Once the dough has doubled in size, punch the dough dough and roll the dough into a rectangle (about 9x24 inches). Spread 6 tablespoons of the butter (softened almost to a melted stage) evenly over the dough. Spread the brown sugar + cinnamon evenly over the butter and lightly push the brown sugar into the butter. Starting with the long edge closest to you, pull the edge up and over the filling and carefully roll the dough into a log, keeping it fairly tight as you go. When you reach the edge, pinch along the edge to seal.
- Place the log seam side down on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. With a pair of sharp kitchen scissors cut diagonal slices almost to the bottom of the log. Arrange the cut sections so that they lean to alternating sides. Use your hand to gently push the dough together to help compress the log better. Alternately, you can bake the bread in two 9x5x3 bread pans to make two bread loafs. Cut and shape the dough as directed and then use your hands to push the dough together to almost the size of you bread pan. The dough will zigzag slightly. Using the parchment paper, lift the dough up and into the bread pan. Immediately cover the dough and place in the fridge overnight. Do not let the dough sit at room temperature long or it will start to get very big.
- The next morning, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Remove the dough from the fridge while the oven preheats and brush with 2 tablespoons melted butter. Bake the bread log for 20-25 minutes (the bread in the loaf pan needs about 45-50 minutes) or until lightly browned on top, do not over bake.
- While the bread is baking, whisk the softened cream cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla together until smooth. Add milk until your desired consistency is reached.
- Serve the bread hot with a drizzle of frosting.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Did you make this recipe? Please rate & comment below.
So soft. So doughy, SO GOOEY. Gimme.
Below is how you want to cut the dough:
I just found your cinnamon roll bread recipe. I would love to make this, but want to know if I could mix it in a bread machine then shape by hand? Also, could i use a strawberry jam for the filling? Would that change the recipe too much?
Thanks in advance.
Looks delicious and I’m looking forward to trying out this recipe with my daughter. Does this recipe require to sit overnight on the fridge, or is it to make prep and baking easiest? Could I get away with 2-3 hrs in the fridge before baking?
HI! You can certainly just do 2-3 hours at room temp. That works great too! Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you!! xTieghan
Hi there, we are at home with lots of time on our hands these days. My niece and nephew looove cinnamon rolls, and I want to surprise them Sunday morning and leave a loaf on their front porch. Only problem is that I only have 2% milk and 10% cream at home – can I use either one of these? Also, is it possible to prepare and bake same day?
Cheers, TP
hi! you! can use 2% milk and yes, you can prep and then bake same day. That works too! Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you!! xTieghan
Hi there, we are at home with lots of time on our hands these days. My niece and nephew looove cinnamon rolls, and I want to surprise them Sunday morning and leave a loaf on their front porch. Only problem is that I only have 2% milk and 10% cream at home – can I use either one of these? Also, is it possible to prepare and bake same day?
HI! You can use 2% milk. That will be great! Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you!! xTieghan
yum
Thank you Jo! xTieghan
Hi! This looks great, I made last night and ready to bake this am. However, I found the instructions a little unclear. I made a loaf and put the whole thing in ONE bread pan. Is this major issue? Also, what temp and for how long should I bake if cooking in just one pan? Or maybe it’s ruined and I’ll try again??
Hi Allison! For the loaf, it’s better to divide between 2 pans, but I am sure the bread will be just fine. I would bake as directed.
How did it go? Did it turn out ok for you? Hoping you loved the recipe! Please let me know if you have any other questions. Thank you!! xTieghan
If baking as a log, do you still have to put it in the fridge in the bread pan or can you put it in the fridge on the parchment?
Hi Jessica! You can put this in the fridge on a parchment lined baking sheet. Just make sure to cover the log. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
Hi, I have a pound of brioche dough in the fridge. I was wondering how much you need for this recipe? Is it more than a pound? Looks so good!
HI Erin! I don’t know for sure, but I think 1 pound of dough should work perfectly for this recipe. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you and Happy New Year! xTieghan
Sooo… my dough was also kind of biscuity. I think that when it’s cold, it might be okay, but the texture is just really off. My husband and mom like it, but I don’t think there is any way they would not like it after the excitement and work that went into it. I followed the recipe and added the 12 Tbsp of melted butter to the dough. Is this where I went wrong?
HI! Nope, that was correct. Was there anything you did differently at all? Any ingredients different? Method of baking this? Any info will be helpful to help me problem solve and figure out what might be happening for you. It’s hard to know without knowing any details. Hope I can help you! xTieghan
There’s a comment that was posted in May 2019 about the amount of butter used. Can you clarify?
My bread is in the oven now, so it’s too late if a change was needed.
HI! What was the comment? It’s hard to find. How did the bread turn out? Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you and I hope you had Merry Christmas! Sorry my response is a bit late! xTieghan
I just made this for my family for Christmas morning and they are THRILLED. Everyone is grabbing seconds. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE DELICIOUS RECIPE!!!!
Yes!! That is so amazing! Thank you for trying this, Elisabeth! Merry Christmas! xTieghan
Love love love this bread. I’ll definitely be adding this to my Christmas morning lineup. Thanks for sharing this lovely recipe.
Thank you for trying it! I am so glad it turned out so well for you! xTieghan
Just for clarification; the bread loaf (cut with kitchen shears) should overnight in the fridge while in the bread pan, but taken out of the pan, kept on the parchment paper, and baked on a half sheet the next morning? Thank you, Beth
Hello Beth! Yes, either way you decide to make it, on the baking sheet or in a loaf pan, they both need to go in the fridge overnight and baked the next day. Let us know if you have any other questions. Enjoy! X Kelly
Made 2 loafes of bread from this recipe and received nothing but praises. Irony is that I don’t eat baked goods, just love making them. I love the entire process of baking something from start to finish. The smell of cinnamon from the oven was amazing.
Thank you for this recipe. I had so much fun making it.
Wow that is so amazing to hear! Thank you so much for trying this Arden! xTieghan
Okay, sorry to bother you again! Will this fit in 1 9×5 loaf pan, or should I split the loaf in half and use two pans? The pictures of your loaf in your blog look like the loaf is twice as long as a regular loaf pan wold be able to accommodate.
Thank you for your time! Can’t wait to make this!
HI! You should split the loaf in half and use 2 loaf pans. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan