cinnamon-sugar pull-apart bread

      R and I met on the first day of third grade. We had both come from another school - almost every third grader in the classroom had. I wore my hair in two plaits, braided by my mom that morning, with a plastic flower clip. I was bespectacled and short. Between my braided hair, glasses, and poor fashion choices, my elementary school self's personal style is one I'd prefer to forget.
     The two of us were assigned to desks that were next to each other at the end of the U-shaped alignment of tables. Naturally, we fell to talking. I don't remember all of it, but I remember the conversation turning to giant tarantulas and a friend of hers whose contact lens fell out after their face was slammed into a door.
     From that first day, we were fast friends. All throughout elementary school, we were allies, if not always as close as Castor and Pollux. We traveled through late childhood together, always in the same class. We had our ups and downs, especially after the drama of fifth grade. But there were never fights or bitterness between us.
     In junior high, we separated. R moved to a different part of town, and we didn't talk very often. It happens. This year, though, we were reunited at the same high school. We've started talking again, on the rides to and from Chinese school on Friday nights. We don't have any classes together, but I still see her at school several times a week, and I'm glad.

     R's birthday almost always falls on midwinter break, a week-long vacation in the middle of February. She doesn't want anybody to know about it, because "then they feel like they have to give me presents", and write bland, cookie-cutter posts on Facebook congratulating her. But, of course, I remembered this year, and invited myself over to her house for a sleepover. I did a quick sketch of her and put it in a small frame (oh, the advantages to being an artist! They include the bonus of always having a heart-felt gift up your sleeve.) And because I always leap at the opportunity to bake for others, I prepared a loaf of cinnamon-sugar pull-apart bread. I'd been eying the recipe for forever, since it seems that everybody and their six-year-old brother is obsessed with pull-apart bread, at least on the Internet. I brought the unbaked loaf to her house, put in the refrigerator, and let it rise as we played video games and watched Avengers.
     In the morning, I woke up at 8 o'clock, because I have the annoying habit of always being the last to fall asleep and the first to wake up (seriously, I once pulled an unintentional all-nighter because the other girls were snoring too loudly). I slipped down to the kitchen to bring the bread to room temperature before baking.
     An hour and a half later, the bread was baked. The smell of yeast and cinnamon filled R's house. I pulled it out of the oven, grabbed R's camera, and insisted on taking photos. Then, we dug in. Enjoying the lazy morning after a sleepover, we pulled off steaming layers of spiced, sweet, yeasty goodness. The bread took a total of half a day to make, but I was happy to do it. Like friendships, breads benefit from a long, slow rise.

(Life has been a whirlwind of activity lately. I've been going to bed past 11 every night, much less had time to blog! I'm sorry for the hiatus. But it's a good kind of busy - I've just been accepted to a summer program at Brown University on a hefty scholarship. I can't wait until July, when I get to study in Providence for a month. I've never even visited the eastern part of the US before, much less lived in New England. Yaaaaaay!)
(R: if you're reading this, I am both unsurprised and completely unrepentant. Hahaha.)


Cinnamon-Sugar Pull-Apart Bread
copied, verbatim, from Joy the Baker 
makes one 9x5x3-inch loaf

For the Dough:

3  cups all-purpose flour

1/4 cup granulated sugar

2 1/4 teaspoons (1 envelope) active dry yeast

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 ounces unsalted butter

1/3 cup whole milk

1/4 cup water

2 large eggs, at room temperature

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For the Filling:

1 cup granulated sugar

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg

2 ounces unsalted butter, melted until browned

**This is the original recipe I tested and use.  Some bakers have found that the dough doesn’t rise, because the yeast is not first activated in warm water.  As a fail-safe, feel free to activate your yeast first.  To activate yeast, whisk yeast into 3 tablespoons of warm water.  The water should be between 105 and 115 degrees F.  Add a pinch of granulated sugar and allow the mixture to sit for about 5 minutes, until the mixture is foamy and frothy.  Your yeast is ready to go!  If the mixture does not foam and froth, toss the yeast and try again with another package of yeast.  Add the activated yeast when you combine the wet and dry ingredients.

In a large mixing bowl (I used just the bowl of my stand mixer) whisk together 2 cups flour, sugar, yeast, and salt.  Set aside.

Whisk together eggs and set aside.

In a small saucepan, melt together milk and butter until butter has just melted.  Remove from the heat and add water and vanilla extract.  Let mixture stand for a minute or two, or until the mixture registers 115 to 125 degrees F.

Pour the milk mixture into the dry ingredients and mix with a spatula.  Add the eggs and stir the mixture until the eggs are incorporated into the batter.  The eggs will feel soupy and it’ll seem like the dough and the eggs are never going to come together.  Keep stirring.  Add the remaining 3/4 cup of flour and stir with the spatula for about 2 minutes.  The mixture will be sticky.  That’s just right.

Place the dough is a large,  greased bowl.  Cover with plastic wrap and a clean kitchen towel.  Place in a warm space and allow to rest until doubled in size, about 1 hour.  *The dough can be risen until doubled in size, then refrigerated overnight for use in the morning.  If you’re using this method, just let the dough rest on the counter for 30 minutes before following the roll-out directions below.

While the dough rises, whisk together the sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg for the filling.  Set aside.  Melt 2 ounces of butter until browned.  Set aside.  Grease and flour a 9x5x3-inch  loaf pan.  Set that aside too.

Deflate the risen dough and knead about 2 tablespoons of flour into the dough.  Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let rest for 5 minutes.  On a lightly floured work surface, use a rolling pin to roll the dough out.  The dough should be 12-inches tall and about 20-inches long.  If you can’t get the dough to 20-inches long… that’s okay.  Just roll it as large as the dough will go.  Use a pastry brush to spread melted butter across all of the dough.  Sprinkle with all of the sugar and cinnamon mixture.  It might seem like a lot of sugar.  Seriously?  Just go for it.

Slice the dough vertically, into six equal-sized strips.  Stack the strips on top of one another and slice the stack into six equal slices once again.  You’ll have six stacks of six squares.  Layer the dough squares in the loaf pan like a flip-book.  Place a kitchen towel over the loaf pan and allow in a warm place for 30 to 45 minutes or until almost doubled in size.

Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F.  Place loaf in the oven and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the top is very golden brown.  The top may be lightly browned, but the center may still be raw.  A nice, dark, golden brown will ensure that the center is cooked as well.

Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 20 to 30 minutes.   Run a butter knife around the edges of the pan to loosen the bread and invert onto  a clean board.  Place a cake stand or cake plate on top of the  upside down loaf, and carefully invert so it’s right side up.  Serve warm with coffee or tea.

I think this bread is best served the day it’s made, but it can also we wrapped and kept at room temperature for up to 2 days.