Apple Pull-Apart Bread is an ooey-gooey homemade bread that is filled with spiced apples and topped with a sweet glaze. Try my Apple Fritter Monkey Bread for a similar recipe using store-bought biscuits. For a fried apple treat, give my Apple Fritters a try!
Apple Pull-Apart Bread
Pull-apart bread goes by many names, like monkey bread, bubble loaf, sticky bread, and a few more. But, whatever you call this bread, it’s so delicious! It is meant to be shareable, but once you ‘pull apart’😉 your own piece, it will be hard not to eat the entire loaf yourself!
What Kind of Apples are Best?
I used Granny Smith apples for the recipe because they remain firm when baking. They won’t turn to mush and they tend to retain their shape when baked. A few other options you could try would be Honeycrisp apples, Braeburn, or Pink Lady apples.
Can I use a Different Pan?
You may see a lot of pull-apart bread made in a bundt cake pan, but I made this Apple Pull-Apart Bread in a loaf pan. You can really use any pan you have on hand, just be sure to watch the bake time to make sure the center is completely cooked.
Can I Make Apple Pull-Apart Bread Ahead of Time?
Yes! You can make this the night before. Well, some of it! Right after you make the dough you can place it in the fridge overnight. Just remove it and allow it to come to room temperature in the morning, then continue the recipe as directed.
How to Freeze
Prepare and bake the bread as instructed, but leave off the glaze. Let the loaf cool completely in the pan; then wrap it tightly in aluminum foil. (Do not use plastic wrap here; it could trap in condensation and make the loaf soggy.) Place the loaf in a freezer bag or storage container and freeze for 2-3 weeks. Be sure to label and date the packaging.
Apple Pull-Apart Bread
Ingredients
Filling
- 3 medium Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and diced
- ½ cup (100 g) light brown sugar, packed
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Dough
- 3 cups (375 g) all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup (50 g) granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 2¼ teaspoons instant yeast
- ¼ cup (½ stick / 57 g) unsalted butter, melted
- ⅓ cup (82 g) whole milk, warmed (about 110°F)
- ¼ cup (62.5 g) water, warmed (about 110°F)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
Glaze
- 1 cup (125 g) confectioners' sugar
- 3-5 teaspoons water
Instructions
FILLING
- In a medium bowl, combine the apples, brown sugar, melted butter, and cinnamon. Stir to combine, set aside.
DOUGH
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with the dough hook attachment, mix together the flour, sugar, yeast, and salt.
- With the mixer on low, slowly add butter, milk, water, eggs, and vanilla. Turn the mixer on medium-low and knead until the dough is soft and smooth (about 2 minutes). If it seems too dry add a little water, if it seems too sticky add just a little flour, up to a ¼ cup.
- Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover, and allow to rest until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
- Spray a 12 x 4½-inch loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray. (You can also use two 8×5-inch pan or smaller; you will just need to equally divide the dough between the pans.)
- Punch down the dough and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface.
- Roll the dough into a 12×20-inch rectangle.
- Spread the apple filling over the entire top on the dough.
- Cut the dough crosswise into 6, 3½x12-inch strips.
- Stack the strips on top of one another.
- Cut the stack into 6 pieces, about 2×3½-inches each.
- Turn the pieces on edge, and place them in the loaf pan one in front of the other from one end of the pan to the other, squeezing them in tight. I sprinkled any pieces of apple that had fallen off over the top of the dough after I put it into the pan.
- Cover the pan and allow the loaf to rise for 30-60 minutes, or until almost doubled in size. While the loaf is rising, preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Bake for 45-55 minutes in the center of the oven, tenting it with foil after 30 minutes. Remove the loaf from the oven, and transfer it to a rack to cool for 15-20 minutes before turning it out of the pan to cool completely.
- While the bread is cooling, prepare the glaze.
Glaze
- Make the glaze by whisking together the confectioners' sugar and 3 teaspoons of water. Add more water, 1 teaspoon at a time, until a pourable consistency is reached. Drizzle the glaze over the cooled bread.
Did you make this recipe?
Thank you for making my recipe! You took pictures, right? Well go ahead and post them on Instagram! Be sure to mention me @iambaker and use the hashtag #YouAreBaker.
Could I use Mango instead of Apples. We have so many mangoes this year. We want to try different recipes to use up the mangoes.
Would love to try this bread! How can I make this without eggs? Have an egg allergy, need a substitute please
Here are egg substitutes however I have not tested them in this recipe. https://iambaker.net/egg-substitutes/
We all loved the bread! The taste was so rich that it did not last even a day between the 3 of us. Thanks a lot for sharing 🙂
Love all your recipes
I was hoping for a shortcut for the dough like usually done when making monkey bread using premade biscuits.
Every post from you makes my mouth water, just looking at it! Thank you!
Janine gallagher
Could I use Gluten Free Flour for this recipe? I use Bobs Red Mill for all my recipes and they come out fine but I’ve never tried to make bread with it.
Hi, Ashley! I work with iambaker and am happy to help with questions. You can substitute gluten-free flour for all-purpose flour at a 1:1 ratio. However, we have not replicated that in this recipe, so we can’t say how it would turn out. Let us know! Have a great day!
I wish there was a video, I’d love to make this but can’t quite picture the slices and how you actually stack them
There is a video! Just scroll up. 🙂
I could not find the video. I looked 3 times. I think I would not put my apple filling on until I had started stacking my dough. Looks like it would be easier to do it one at a time after it was on top of the other one.
Sorry. I have added the video into the blog post in a second location (right in the recipe card) should you have had trouble seeing it in the post. It really is easier to add all the fillings and then cut, as you will see should you be able to view the video now.
This looks amazing! I am going to try it for sure.