About This Recipe
What is pull-apart bread?
Pull-apart bread is a type of bread divided into separate, small pieces, which are then assembled in a baking dish. During the final proof and bake, the pieces rise and fuse together, but remain distinct enough to easily be pulled apart by hand or with utensils. The pieces are usually coated in butter paired with a sweet or savory flavor combination, which aids in the pull-apart factor.
What I love about this recipe:
This soft and fluffy bread melts in your mouth with every bite. The light and tangy flavor of the lemon makes this the perfect summer treat, while the cream cheese frosting (probably the best part) tops everything off. These mini loaves are easy to share with friends and family and are the perfect sweet dish for any gathering.
Why this recipe works
Sweet Stiff Starter
“Sweet” and “stiff” both contribute to a reduced sour taste – a must for any of my sweet breads. Learn more about sweet stiff starters here.
Tangzhong
Since I chose not to use a tangzhong in my cinnamon roll recipe, I figured excluding one here would be okay. Oh man, did I prove myself wrong. Tangzhong is magical, and provides a beautiful fluff to the dough that cannot be achieved any other way except through a yudane. The tangzhong in this dough makes it extra fluffy and soft, as well as preserves the shelf-life of the bread on the counter. This pull-apart bread is not quite as butter-saturated as my cinnamon rolls, and the alternative flavor profile leaves it yearning for a tangzhong to bring it to perfection. Learn more about tangzhong here. If you desire to skip the tangzhong in this recipe, I provide the alternative milk and flour measurements at the end of the recipe card.
The Ingredients: Buttermilk
The truth is, I only discovered buttermilk by accident as I had extra leftover from my long-fermented corn muffin recipe. In all technicality, this ingredient is optional and can be replaced with milk instead. The acidic flavor of the buttermilk, in my opinion, only enhances the acidic flavor being brought to this dish through the lemon. There is not any actual lemon in the dough, and if I had chosen to use a milk + lemon combination instead of buttermilk, it would have the same effect. Altogether, this fun addition brings a beautiful and fun flavor, but is completely optional.
The Ingredients: Flour
I almost always choose a combination of bread flour and all-purpose flour for my sweet recipes. Bread flour is important for gluten development and helps add structure and strength to the dough, though it is not necessary for bread flour to make up 100% of the flour content. If necessary, this recipe can be made completely with all-purpose flour, though the resulting dough will be slightly more wet, a bit more slack, and will take longer to come together in the stand mixer.
Gluten Development
Gluten is developed in this recipe by kneading the dough in a stand mixer until it is smooth and strong. This ensures a perfectly built dough with minimum effort on the baker’s part. Use a lower speed for a longer period of time if your stand mixer cannot handle the technique used for this wet dough.
Bulk Fermentation
Due to the sugar + fat content in this recipe, rise times can be longer all across the board, though I have done my best to compensate through the quantity of sweet stiff starter added to the dough and the warmth of certain ingredients that are being incorporated. Letting the dough rise as much as possible, but not too much, contributes to the airiest of loaves. This dough will take approximately eight to twelve hours to rise, though it could rise in as little as six in a particularly warm environment with warm ingredients. Though I favor an overnight method for this dough, use your knowledge of your environment and preferred timing to bulk ferment this dough appropriately.
technique: The filling
I tried many techniques for filling and shaping this pull-apart bread, and ultimately landed on creating a paste with softened butter. Melted butter does absolutely no good, as it all seeps to the bottom of the pan during the final proof. Adding the ingredients separately (as with cinnamon rolls) leads to a lot of ingredients falling out during the slicing and stacking process. Making a paste is by far the superior technique and allows the filling to easily be spread from corner to corner of the rolled-out dough.
technique: Stacking
To shape this pull-apart bread, I chose to position the loaf pan vertically and stack the slices. This makes them easier to stack without having the slices falling over during the process. The slices will not reach the top of the pan, and that is perfectly okay. It is necessary for the slices to have room to expand during the final proof and bake, so they need to be loose and sort of spread out after they are stacked. To do this, I take my finger and place it on the top slice while I reposition the loaf pan horizontally. This keeps the slices from tipping over. Then, I give the pan a little shake to loosen and evenly distribute the pieces before their final proof.
Baking Method
The temperature of 350 F bakes this milk-based bread low and slow (though, not too slow), which prevents over-browning and over-baking. A final internal temperature of 185 F ensures the softest and fluffiest end result.
Suggested Baking Timeline
8 AM (Day 1)
+Make the sweet stiff starter
+Make the tangzhong and refrigerate (option 1)
9 PM (Day 1)
+Make the tangzhong and freeze while preparing remaining ingredients (option 2)
+Mix and knead the dough
+Begin bulk fermentation
7-8 AM (Day 2)
+Roll out the dough, fill, and shape
11-12 AM (Day 2)
+Bake
+ Make the frosting
+Enjoy!
Lemon Poppyseed Pull-Apart Mini Loaves
Course: Dessert, SnackDifficulty: Intermediate45
minutes15
hours25
minutes4
mini loavesPull-apart bread is a type of bread divided into separate, small pieces, which are then assembled in a baking dish. During the final proof and bake, the pieces rise and fuse together, but remain distinct enough to easily be pulled apart by hand or with utensils. The pieces are usually coated in butter paired with a sweet or savory flavor combination, which aids in the pull-apart factor.
Ingredients
- Sweet Stiff Starter
40 g active starter (2 tbsp)
40 g water (3 tbsp)
80 g all-purpose flour (2/3 cup)
10 g sugar (2 tsp)
- Tangzhong
120 g buttermilk (or milk, ½ cup)
25 g all-purpose flour (3 tbsp)
- Buttermilk Mixture
240 g buttermilk (or milk, 1 cup)
80 g white sugar (⅓ cup)
5 tbsp butter, cubed (70 g)
- Main Dough
180 g all-purpose flour (1 ½ cups)
180 g bread flour (1 ½ cups)
7 g salt (1 tsp)
All of the buttermilk mixture
All of the tangzhong
All of the sweet stiff starter
- Filling
½ cup sugar (120 g)
Zest of two lemons
2 tsp poppy seeds
½ cup softened butter (1 stick; 113 g)
- Cream Cheese Frosting
3 oz softened cream cheese (85 g)
1 ½ tbsp softened or melted butter (21 g)
2 tbsp lemon juice (1 lemon, about 30 g)
1 tsp vanilla (5 g)
¾ cup powdered sugar (105 g)
Poppy seeds, for sprinkling
Directions
Make the sweet stiff starter. Mix together all ingredients for the sweet stiff starter 8-12 hours before beginning this recipe. Cover and rest at room temperature.
Make the tangzhong. Combine all ingredients for the tangzhong in a small saucepan. Heat over medium-low heat, whisking continuously, until the mixture thickens. Cover tightly with plastic wrap (to prevent a skin from forming) and cool completely before incorporating into the dough. This can be done 8-12 hours beforehand with the sweet stiff starter and placed in the fridge, or before mixing the dough and cooled in the freezer.
Warm the buttermilk mixture. In a separate, small saucepan, combine the buttermilk, sugar, and butter. Stir almost continuously (to prevent the buttermilk from curdling), until the butter is partially melted, the sugar is dissolved, and the mixture is warm (not hot) to the touch, 90-100 F. NOTE: Buttermilk curdles easily when warmed, so be careful not to overheat this one.
Begin the main dough. Whisk together the flours and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the buttermilk mixture, tangzhong, and sweet stiff starter. Give it a rough stir.
Knead the dough.
- KitchenAid: Transfer to a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment and knead on a medium speed (speed 4-6) 10-15 minutes, until the dough pulls away from (and “slaps”) the sides of the bowl and forms a ball around the dough hook. I knead on speed 6 for eight minutes, then slow to speed 4 for five more minutes.
- Ankarsrum: Using the dough hook and scraper attachment, knead on a medium speed (speed 4-5) 15-18 minutes, until the dough becomes strong enough to push the scraper away from the side of the bowl. Due to the smaller quantity of dough for this recipe, it may not climb up the dough hook as a sign of readiness, but will pass a windowpane test.
Bulk ferment. Transfer the dough to a proofing container and let the dough rise until it has at least doubled in size. This will take 8-12 hours, so I love to do this as an overnight dough. Mine rose in about 10 hours at 70 F.
NOTE: Now is a good time to take out the butter (for the filling) and cream cheese (for the frosting) to soften.
After the dough has risen, grease four mini loaf pans and set aside.
Make the filling. Rub the lemon zest into the sugar until it resembles wet sand. This will bring out the oils in the zest, which will enhance the flavor of the lemon. Add the poppy seeds and softened butter, then knead until everything is well combined.
Shape the dough. Flour your working surface. Roll out dough into a 16 inch X 16 inch rectangle. Top with the softened butter and sugar mixture, being sure to go all the way out to the edges of the dough. Cut the dough into 64 squares (2 inch X 2 inch).
Place one of the greased loaf pans vertically next to your working surface. Stack 16 squares into the loaf pan, stretching each square, if necessary, before stacking. It is okay if the squares are not perfectly even, as this will add character to the final loaf. Be sure the squares do not press into each other; it is important to keep everything as loose as possible so that the dough has plenty of room to expand.
Turn the loaf pan back to its normal, horizontal position and give it a little shake, if needed. This will ensure the squares are spaced evenly and loosely in the pan. Repeat with the remaining squares and loaves, for a total of four loaves.
Final proof. Cover the loaves and let them rise again until very puffy, 2-4 more hours.
Preheat your oven to 350 F.
Bake the mini-loaves for 25-30 minutes, until the internal temperature reaches 185 F. It may help to place a half-size sheet pan on the rack underneath the loaves, to catch any butter that may drip over the top of the pan.
Cool the mini loaves for five minutes in the pan, then remove and place on a wire rack.
Make the frosting. Combine the cream cheese, butter, lemon juice, and powdered sugar in a food processor and process 30-60 seconds, until smooth.
While the loaves are still warm, spread the frosting all over the top. Sprinkle with poppy seeds.
Enjoy!
How to store: I like to store these in a covered dish on the counter for three to five days.
To reheat: No need to reheat (unless you want to); enjoy straight from the container on the counter.
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Notes
- This recipe can be made without tangzhong, if desired. Skip the tangzhong, use 320 g (1 ⅓ cups) of buttermilk (or milk) in the buttermilk mixture, and use 200 g (1 ⅓ cups) of both all-purpose flour and bread flour in the main dough.
- I like to use a split between all-purpose flour and bread flour in recipes like this, but you can use all of one or the other. If using 100% all-purpose flour, your dough may be a little wetter and may not come together as quickly during kneading. It may be necessary to add a touch more flour. If using 100% bread flour, your dough will be stronger and will come together quicker during kneading.
Recipe modifications to exclude tangzhong
If you desire to make this recipe without tangzhong, use these ingredient proportions instead:
Sweet Stiff Starter:
- 40 g active starter (3 tbsp)
- 40 g filtered water (3 tbsp)
- 80 g all-purpose flour (2/3 cup)
- 10 g sugar (2 tsp)
Buttermilk Mixture:
- 320 g buttermilk (or milk, 1 1/3 cup)
- 80 g white sugar (1/3 cup)
- 5 tbsp butter, cubed (70 g)
Main Dough:
- 200 g all-purpose flour (1 1/3 cups)
- 200 g bread flour (1 1/3 cups)
- 7 g salt (1 tsp)
- All of the buttermilk mixture
- All of the sweet stiff starter
- 1/2 cup sugar (120 g)
- Zest of two lemons
- 2 tsp poppy seeds
- 1/2 cup softened butter (1 stick; 113 g)
Frosting:
- 3 oz softened cream cheese (85 g)
- 1 1/2 tbsp softened or melted butter (21 g)
- 2 tbsp lemon juice (1 lemon, about 30 g)
- 3/4 cup powdered sugar (105 g)
- Poppy seeds, for sprinkling
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