Cranberry Apple Pull-Apart Bread
This fabulous Cranberry Apple Pull-Apart bread is the perfect vehicle to put two of Fall’s best ingredients to use – apples & cranberries. Every buttery, cinnamony, sweet-tart nibble is heaven. 💕 Fortunately, apples and craisins are available all year so we can whip this up whenever the mood strikes.
I am including a recipe for the bread dough, but if you want to make an even quicker version of this sweet treat you can use a 1-lb ball of bread dough. The dough I make for this loaf includes lots of baking spices. However, you could simply add more spices to the filling if you want to use store-bought dough.
Don’t be intimidated by the folding and cutting needed to prep this bread. It’s super fast and easy to put together! The beauty of Cranberry Apple Pull-Apart bread is that a little messiness just adds to its beauty. The more nooks and crannies, the more places to grab a pinch!
Bread Dough Ingredients & Instructions
- ½ cup milk
- 2 Tbsp. butter, room temp
- 1 egg
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 Tbsp. sugar
- 1 tsp. Apple Pie Spice blend – OR –
- ½ tsp, cinnamon, ¼ tsp. cardamom, and ¼ tsp. allspice
- 3/4 tsp. salt
- 1 ½ tsp. yeast
Place all ingredients in a bread machine and run the dough cycle. To make by hand, knead dough until supple (6 mins or so). Let rise in a warm place until doubled.
Filling Ingredients
- 1 large, crisp, tart apple, finely diced
- 1/2 cup craisins
- 1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 tsp. Apple Pie Spice blend – or 1 tsp. cinnamon
- pinch of kosher salt
- 4 Tbsp. butter, room temp
In a small bowl combine the brown sugar, spices, and salt.
How to form your Cranberry Apple Pull-Apart Bread
- Roll the dough out into a 13″ x 9″ rectangle on top of a sheet of parchment paper. It is VERY important you form this loaf on top of a sheet or parchment, or you will never (and I mean never) be able to get it onto a sheet pan to bake! I wouldn’t use a silpat because you will be cutting on it – I think you would ruin a silpat with all that knife work.
- Spread softened butter over entire rectangle of dough.
- Spread brown sugar mixture in the center of the rolled out dough (cover about half the surface area of rectangle). See photo below to see what I mean.
- Evenly spread apples, craisins and walnuts over the sugar.
Okay, here’s where it gets a little messy, but don’t panic. You can’t screw this up! Promise.
Fold sides of dough over the filling and pinch together. Pinch ends closed as well. Give the loaf a gentle – gentle! – pat all over to create a uniform packet.
Transfer the loaf, with the sheet of parchment, to a baking sheet.
Using a bench scraper or a long, sharp knife, cut the loaf crosswise into 1-inch strips. Do not separate strips! Don’t worry if any of the fillings start peeking out.
Now, rotate the loaf and cut it into 1-inch strips again, this time on a diagonal (see photo below).
Cover loosely and let the loaf rise in a warm place until almost doubled. When you have about 20 minutes of rising time left, preheat your oven to 350. Bake loaf for 25-30 minutes or until nicely browned. Slide off the parchment paper onto a wire rack to completely cool.
Once the loaf has cooled, drizzle a simple glaze over the top: 1 cup of powdered sugar, 1 Tbsp milk (or more as needed), a few drops of vanilla, and a pinch of kosher salt.
Enjoy!
Cranberry Apple Pull-Apart Bread
Equipment
- Bread Machine
Ingredients
Bread Dough Ingredients
- ½ cup milk
- 2 Tbsp softened butter
- 1 egg
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 Tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp. Apple Pie Spice Blend – OR
- ½ tsp. cinnamon, ¼ tsp. cardamom & ¼ tsp allspice
- 1 ½ tsp yeast
- ¾ tsp. salt
Filling Ingredients
- 1 crisp tart apple, finely diced
- ½ cup craisins
- ½ cup chopped walnuts
- 4 Tbsp butter - room temp
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- 1 tsp. Apple Pie Spice blend or 1 tsp cinnamon
- Pinch kosher salt
Instructions
- Make dough in bread machine on dough cycle.
- Tip out dough onto a large piece of parchment paper; pat dough out into a 9″ x 13″ rectangle.
- Combine brown sugar, Apple PIe Spice Blend (or cinnamon) and salt in small bowl.
- Sprinkle brown sugar mixture lengthwise over center of dough, covering half the surface area.
- Evenly spread apples, walnuts and craisins over sugar.
- Fold long sides of dough over the filling and pinch dough together in the middle. Pinch ends closed as well. Give the loaf a gentle – gentle! – pat all over to create a uniform packet.
- Lift bread on parchment and place on a 13″ x 9″ or 15″ x 11″ baking sheet.
- Using a bench scraper, cut bread widthwise into 1″ strips. Do NOT separate the strips. On a slight diagonal, cut bread into 1″ strips lengthwise.
- Let rise 30-45 mins or until puffed and almost doubled.
- Bake at 350 F 25-30 mins or until evenly browned.
- Remove bread to a wire rack to cool completely.
- If desired, drizzle a simple powdered sugar glaze over the cooled bread: 1 cup powdered sugar, 1 Tbsp milk (or more as needed), a few drops of vanilla and a pinch of salt