pull apart cinnamon & orange loaf

Everyone knows that the best parts of a cinnamon bun are pulling away the layers to get to the center swirl. Its gooey, soft, and has the most cinnamon sugar wrapped up on the inside. So why not make cinnamon buns that have more of the center, less of the outside, but still fun to peel back! This was the thought process when I envisioned my idea of a cinnamon bun pull apart loaf. Not only does it have more inside layers but the sugary tops get extra crispy so it adds some great texture and you can still have fun pulling it all apart. Its so much more fun and messy to eat! I was always that kid that loved playing with my food so to make a dessert that I can rip apart, eat, and make a mess of is my childhood dreams come true.

This recipe is actually from cleobuttera. So shout out to her and her amazing recipe! I remember seeing her make her recipe on her instastory and falling in love. It looked like such a cloud that all i wanted to do was make a huge version of the cinnamon buns and sleep in it. Its that too weird? Does anyone else have that dream or it is just me? Just me? Okay, cool.

Cleobuttera gives you the option of making it the day of or waiting over night. I, on the other hand, have not tried doing it that way so I can't recommend it to you. I think waiting for the dough to proof overnight is always the way to go and too me its less stressful and you don't have to do too much in one day but if you want to try out the faster way click here : https://cleobuttera.com/breads-and-rolls/the-ultimate-cinnamon-rolls/

And then let me know how it came out down in the comments or here on my insta: www.instagram.com/threehungrybellies/

Do you see those crispy tops??? And would you look at that frosting just drizzling down! Ugh I want some right now with a nice cup of tea.

Oh and do you see those little speaks of orange zest in the frosting? That is sumo orange orange peel! Thanks to Eva Chen, the fashion director of Instagram and total citrus influencer I have now become obsessed with sumo oranges. The first time I peeled my orange the smell was glorious and the peel was just bursting its oil in my face. So now anytime i eat a sumo orange I zest the peel and save it in a cup with a bit of neutral oil and use it when a recipe calls for it or I think that it would go good in the recipe.

pull apart cinnamon & orange loaf

Serves 10-12 people

Ingredients:

for the flour paste:

5 tablespoons (71g) water

5 tablespoons (71g) whole milk

3 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon (28g) flour*

for the dough:

all of the tangzhong (above)

6 tablespoons (85g) unsalted butter, melted

3/4 cup (170g) whole milk, cold or cool room temperature

2 large eggs

4 cups + 2 tablespoons (496g) flour*

1 tablespoon (9g) instant yeast

1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar

1 3/4 teaspoons salt

for the filling:

1/2 cup (114g) unsalted butter, very soft; partially melted

1 1/4 cups (250g) soft light brown sugar, packed

2 tablespoons (14g) cornstarch

2 1/2 tablespoons (13g) ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon fine salt

for the filling:

100 grams of fully softened butter

100 grams of fully softened cream cheese

100 grams of confectioner's sugar

3 - 4 tablespoons of water

Instructions:

to:

1. Combine the tangzhong ingredients; the water, milk, and flour in a medium saucepan, and whisk together until no lumps remain.

2. Place the saucepan over medium heat, and cook, whisking constantly, until the mixture thickens to a smooth, pudding-like consistency; 2 to 3 minutes. Remove saucepan from heat.

to make the dough:

1. To the saucepan with the tangzhong (flour paste), whisk in the melted butter and milk until very smooth. Add in the eggs and whisk until fully incorporated. The liquid ingredients will cool off the hot tangzhong and the mixture should now feel lukewarm.

2. In the bowl of a standing mixer whisk together the flour and yeast to combine. Pour in the flour paste/milk mixture. Fit the stand mixer with the dough hook and mix on low speed until all the flour is moistened and a shaggy dough comes together; 1 to 2 minutes. Let the dough rest, covered, for 20 minutes; this will give the flour a chance to absorb the liquid, making it easier to knead.

3. After the 20 minutes, add the sugar and salt and mix on medium-low speed until a smooth, elastic and slightly sticky dough forms; about 10 minutes. The dough will be very sticky when mixing begins, but resist the urge to add more flour; the dough will absorb the excess moisture and come together nicely as the mixing progresses.

4. After the 10 minutes of kneading, the dough should feel slightly sticky but not messy and should easily come together in a taut ball when handled with lightly oiled hands. Using lightly oiled hands, shape the dough into a ball, and transfer to a lightly greased large bowl.

5. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let it rise slowly in the fridge overnight. Cold dough is the best to work with.

to make the filling:

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon and salt until well combinedCover with plastic wrap and set aside until ready to use.

to make the dough:

1. Gently deflate the risen dough, then turn out onto a pastry mat or very lightly floured counter. Pat, stretch and roll out the dough to form 15X12-inch square. Evenly spread the fully softened butter all over the surface of the dough, then sprinkle the brown sugar filling over the butter, gently pressing the mixture into dough to adhere.

2. Using a ruler mark every 3 inches horizontally and then vertically. You should have about 20 sheets.

3. In a parchment lined loaf pan grease the sides so that you can ensure that the loaf will come out.

4. Lay your loaf pan with the pan standing on its short side. This will help you lay down each sheet so that they don't fall down while you are building your layers.

5. As you are building your layers you want to be sure that some layers fall on top of each other. This make for some crispy edges and a beautiful messy look.

6. Let the loaf rest for about 35 minutes and start preheating your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

to make the frosting:

1. In a medium sized bowl, mix all the frosting ingredients except the water until there are no lumps.

2. Finally add in 3 tablespoons of water to your frosting and if you lift your spoon and the frosting falls down in a nice drizzle its done. If not add in the other tablespoon of water.

to bake the loaf:

1. Bake the loaf for about 45 minutes or until the internal temperature reads 190 degrees Fahrenheit or when you poke the inside and you don't have any resistance from the uncooked dough.

2. Allow the loaf to cool before you touch it. Once it has been cooled down. Flip the loaf out onto a pan, take away the parchment paper, and then get the pan you want to serve it on and flip it again. At this point you it should be right side up and on the pan you want to serve it in .

3. FINALLY, Drizzle the frosting all over the loaf and rip it apart!