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Pumpkin cinnamon pull apart bread

Pumpkin cinnamon pull apart bread is everything you love about yeasted sweet breads but neatly stacked for sharing. This fun recipe is glaze optional and cozy to the core. A perfect recipe for making with your kids or grandkids on a cool day. 

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a baked loaf of pull apart bread with pumpkin on a white table

Loaf breads are easy, but it’s fun to present something different! This “tear and share” is shingled layers of pumpkin yeast bread layered with cinnamon sugar and the nutty richness of brown butter.

It’s a cool weather project that will be as delicious as it is fun. The dough is easy to work with and the time it takes is absolutely worth it.

Using active dry or instant/fast acting yeast in this bread

Either one will work here without making adjustments to the amounts. Instant yeast can be activated in water just like active dry yeast so if you are new to working with it, please follow the recipe as instructed. Everything will work out fine.

You may also want to take a look at these details about how to activate it yeast if you need to see it step by step.

How to make brown butter

You’ll need to brown butter for this recipe and it’s an essential step in the bread’s flavor. I wish they made it into a perfume it’s such good stuff.

If you’ve never browned butter before, it’s easy and only takes a couple of minutes. Make sure you’re using real butter here and nothing in a tub. Salted or unsalted doesn’t matter.

Brown all the butter at once for this recipe and dip in to it as needed while you’re making the pumpkin bread. Use a lighter colored pan or pot (not black) so you can see when the butter starts to brown.

Here’s a video that shows you how:

Easy swaps for the pumpkin puree

This recipe is designed for canned pumpkin puree or homemade pureed pumpkin. That’s not the same thing as pumpkin pie filling.

If you don’t have any pureed pumpkin on hand you could easily puree butternut or acorn squash and use it here in a pinch. After all, you really don’t taste the pumpkin: It’s mostly just for color and moisture in the dough. 

How to make pumpkin cinnamon pull apart bread

Glaze for your pull apart bread. Do you need it?

The glaze for this bread relies heavily on the last little bit of brown butter you have left in your pan. Lately we eat less and less refined sugar so I find that my palate thinks most glazes are simply too sweet.

I’d be inclined to just pour the brown butter over it and call it good, but you can absolutely add as much or as little glaze to this bread as you choose. 

Looking for more sweet yeast breads?

a baked loaf of pull apart bread with pumpkin on a white table

Pumpkin Cinnamon Pull Apart Bread

Truly a sweet treat, this pull apart cinnamon sugar pumpkin bread is made with the richness of browned butter and is comfort food at its best. 
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Rise Time 2 hours
Total Time 3 hours 5 minutes
Servings 8 people
Author Rachel Ballard

Ingredients
  

For the dough

  • 2 tablespoons butter salted or unsalted; either one works
  • ½ cup milk
  • 1 package active dry yeast 2 1/4 teaspoons
  • ¼ cup white sugar 2 tablespoons honey or maple syrup would sub
  • 3/4 cup pureed pumpkin not pumpkin pie filling
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • cups all purpose flour King Arthur is best

For the Filling

  • 1 cup granulated sugar coconut sugar would sub
  • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • ¼ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
  • 2 tablespoons browned butter

For the buttered glaze

  • 2 tablespoons browned butter
  • 2 tablespoons brown sugar
  • tablespoons milk
  • ¾ cup powdered sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions
 

  • You'll need 6 tablespoons browned butter for this recipe. Go ahead and make it all at once. In a small heavy pot or skillet, heat the butter over medium heat until the butter begins to pop and crackle. Keep a very close eye on what's happening in the bottom of the pan. Stir constantly until the butter solids in the bottom turn golden brown. About 5 minutes total. Remove from the heat as soon as you see it turn brown. Use a pan with a lighter bottom (not black) so you can see the butter turn colors.
  • Leave 2 tablespoons brown butter in the pan and transfer the other 4 to a bowl and set aside. To the two tablespoons still in the skillet, add the milk; heat over medium one minute until the liquid is warm but not hot. About 110 to 115 degrees.
  • Pour the milk and butter into the bowl of a stand mixer or bowl and add the yeast and sugar or honey if using. Stir to dissolve and let sit for 5 minutes.
  • Add the pumpkin, salt and 1 cup of flour and mix until combined. Add the rest of the flour ½ cup at a time until it's all combined and mix on medium for 6 minutes or by hand until the dough is smooth and elastic and just slightly sticky.
  • Transfer to an oiled bowl and allow to rise in a warm place until doubled in size, 1 hour.
  • While the dough rises, mix 2 more tablespoons of the butter with the sugar, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice; mix well and set aside.
  • When the dough is doubled, turn it out onto a floured board and knead until smooth and elastic, about 1-2 minutes. Allow to rest 5 minutes before rolling or it will snap back.
  • Roll to a 20x12 inch rectangle and cover with the butter-sugar filling; pressing down with your hands so the filling sticks somewhat.
  • Cut the rectangle into six strips, then lay strips on top of each other and cut into 6 even squares.
  • Stack squares vertically in a greased loaf pan. Cover with a clean towel and rise 45 minutes.
  • Bake in a 350 degree preheated oven 35-40 minutes. Glaze while warm.
  • For the glaze: mix remaining butter with brown sugar, milk, vanilla and powdered sugar in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and cook one minute, then remove from heat. Drizzle over bread.
  • Allow bread to sit in the pan 5 minutes, then loosen with a knife and turn out to cool.

Notes

You'll need 6 tablespoons of browned butter total, divided into 2 tablespoons each. I think it's a lot easier to brown it all at once and set what you don't need aside for a bit.

Nutrition

Calories: 416kcalCarbohydrates: 79gProtein: 5gFat: 10gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 24mgSodium: 377mgPotassium: 125mgFiber: 2gSugar: 47gVitamin A: 3868IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 43mgIron: 2mg
Tried this recipe?Tag us on Instagram @feastandfarm and hashtag it #feastandfarm
Course Breakfast, Dessert
Cuisine American

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14 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    Just made this and it is delicious!!!! The brown butter adds such a beautiful nutty depth of flavor!!! A very fun fall bread! I highly recommend eating while it is still warm!! You will be so glad you did!

  2. The glaze ingredients list milk, but then the instructions don’t say when to add the milk. Is it added with the rest of the ingredients?

  3. 4 stars
    Hi I would like to say this looks wonderful and the video was well done. But pledging your pan in cold water can warp it. I know. Some how one of my pans had had this done to it. It’s a tempered metal. Younger people may not know this. The visual of the ice is a shatter proof bowl was good but again , younger people may think any glass is ok to use. And it could shatter. I have a BFF with little experience in cooking and is always calling my help. I’ve found what would be common sense to me is not to her. Thank you for considering my comments.

    1. Kathleen, I’m pretty confused here. I need you to help me understand when and where I said to plunge a pan in cold ice water? Nowhere in this entire post did I say anything of that nature. It’s bread. –Rachel

    1. Hey Louise, Yes I think so. You would want to bring it back to room temperature on the counter and then re warm it in the oven after freezing. All the butter in these will make the dough pretty stiff if it’s not warmed up. –Rachel

  4. 5 stars
    If you were going to make this the day before, where would you stop and do the rest the next day or should I just bake it and reheat the next day???

    1. Hey Tammy, you know, I’d probably make it and let it cool then wrap it tightly in plastic wrap. Lord knows there’s enough butter in this bread tat it holds up for a day just fine. Wrap it in some foil to reheat in the oven. 🙂 –Rachel

    1. Sorry Tiffany! I just realized I LEFT OUT THE PUMPKIN. Good heavens! It’s 3/4 cup of canned pumpkin puree. I’ve fixed the recipe. So sorry about that!

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About the Author

Rachel Ballard, RN, BSN brings more than 20 years of professional nursing expertise to Feast and Farm. With a love for nutrient dense foods that support wellness, she works to distill complex health information and current trends into recipes that fuel the best version of yourself. Read more about Rachel here.