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Honestly, it’s all about the simple things in life. Like this Overnight Pull-Apart Brioche Cinnamon Roll Bread.
Full Video Below:
And today that means pull-apart brioche cinnamon roll bread.
It’s every kids dream breakfast and secretly every adult’s favorite too. Just admit it. You will never outgrow a good cinnamon roll. Or cinnamon roll bread in today’s case.
This happens to me every year at about this time, I crave cinnamon rolls. I think it comes with the cold weather, snow and talk of Christmas – I love it. I think I will always be able to find a semi-newish way to make cinnamon rolls, but still keep them simple because in my opinion, cinnamon rolls need to be kept simple (and extra soft and doughy). I’m not even big on adding things like caramel and chocolate because that’s just not a cinnamon roll in my mind. It’s not what I grew up loving.
Side note, how many times do you think I will say cinnamon rolls in this post? I’m thinking a lot. Way too many to count, that is for sure.
What I did grow up loving were the cinnamon rolls from my very favorite dough boy. Yup, the Pillsbury dough boy was always a family favorite come the holiday season. Those rolls were breakfast pretty much every morning at our cabin in Ripley, New York in the week following Christmas. Nothing like starting the day off with a sugar buzz. My cousins, my brothers and I loved those cinnamon rolls (although, they where never as good if they got overcooked). Those were some awesome times. That area of New York gets a ton of snow and it was great to all be together creating memories that will last our lifetime.
Sooo, I have had this idea to make a brioche style cinnamon roll bread for forever now. I knew the bread would be amazing because well, brioche itself is simply perfect. It’s the softest, doughiest and fluffiest bread around and it’s freaking easy to make. I am now thinking that from here on out, all my cinnamon rolls will be made using brioche dough. It’s the perfect combo.
The bread is a cinch to make, and if you don’t have a mixer, it can easily be mixed by hand. It does need to rise for about an hour before your roll it out, but other than that it’s super quick to throw together the night before a big breakfast (like Thanksgiving or Christmas!). Once the bread is all assembled you just cover it and leave it in the fridge until you’re ready to bake. It couldn’t be easier or more perfect for holiday entertaining.
I kind of have little secret though. The dough is spiked with eggnog. I know some people either love or hate eggnog, but I am somewhere in the middle. I would never drink it straight up, but I have found that adding it to baked goods does magical things. No joke. You’d never know there was any eggnog in this bread, but you’d know there was something special about it. The nog just keeps the bread crazy moist while also adding a subtle holiday flavor. Trust me on this one, buy some eggnog and start swapping out the milk in your baked good recipes with nog. The results are so awesome.
And that’s my little, not so secret, secret about this bread.
I made this bread two ways, one in a loaf pan and one as more of a log on a baking sheet. Both turned out awesome, both are easy and both are pretty. It’s really just about what you personally prefer. The bread baked in the pan is a tad gooeyer because none of the filling leaks out while baking, but the bread baked on a baking sheet is probably a little more show stopping. Like I said, either one is so good.
AND you get to prep everything the night before and then just bake in the morning. Couldn’t be more perfect.
You don’t technically have to make this as a bread, I mean you could totally make regular cinnamon rolls, BUT the bread is so fun and the whole pull-apart thing means finger food, which means easy eatin’, easy serving.
And you can’t deny that the loaf is kind of pretty.
OH! And I made some sugared cranberries to serve alongside for a festive holiday look and some added sweetness. Loving the sugared cranberries.
Double OH! The frosting it’s just a simple cream cheese vanilla bean frosting, but I will not lie, it’s so good. And when generously drizzled all over the bread? ADDICTING.
Ok and lastly, I just have to say that this is one of those recipes that everyone loves. I had all the boys (including a few extras from the US Snowboard Team) in the kitchen for this recipe. Taking photos was kind of hard. They never get this excited about anything I make. My food is normally too colorful for the brothers, but not this – this they loved!
That says something.
Overnight Pull-Apart Brioche Cinnamon Roll Bread.
Servings: 8 Servings
Calories Per Serving: 1036 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
Dough
- 1/4 cup warm water
- 3 teaspoons active dry yeast
- 3 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup warm eggnog or warm whole milk
- 3 eggs
- 3 1/2 - 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 12 tablespoons salted butter, at room temperature
Filling
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- pinch of sea salt
Frosting
- 2 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1-2 tablespoons milk or cream, using as needed
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Combine warm water, yeast, and sugar the bowl of a stand mixer and mix on low speed until incorporated. Allow the mixture to sit about 5-10 minutes or until bubbly on top.
- Add the eggnog, eggs, flour, salt, and butter. Using the dough hook, knead until the dough comes together, about 3-5 minutes. Remove the dough from the bowl and place on a lightly floured surface. Kneed into a smooth ball. Grease a large bowl and add the dough to the bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let sit 1-2 hours or until the dough has doubled in size.
- To make the filling. Add the brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt to a bowl and mix well.
- Lightly dust a surface with flour. Once the dough has doubled in size, punch the dough dough and roll the dough into a rectangle (about 9x24 inches). Spread 6 tablespoons of the butter (softened almost to a melted stage) evenly over the dough. Spread the brown sugar + cinnamon evenly over the butter and lightly push the brown sugar into the butter. Starting with the long edge closest to you, pull the edge up and over the filling and carefully roll the dough into a log, keeping it fairly tight as you go. When you reach the edge, pinch along the edge to seal.
- Place the log seam side down on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. With a pair of sharp kitchen scissors cut diagonal slices almost to the bottom of the log. Arrange the cut sections so that they lean to alternating sides. Use your hand to gently push the dough together to help compress the log better. Alternately, you can bake the bread in two 9x5x3 bread pans to make two bread loafs. Cut and shape the dough as directed and then use your hands to push the dough together to almost the size of you bread pan. The dough will zigzag slightly. Using the parchment paper, lift the dough up and into the bread pan. Immediately cover the dough and place in the fridge overnight. Do not let the dough sit at room temperature long or it will start to get very big.
- The next morning, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Remove the dough from the fridge while the oven preheats and brush with 2 tablespoons melted butter. Bake the bread log for 20-25 minutes (the bread in the loaf pan needs about 45-50 minutes) or until lightly browned on top, do not over bake.
- While the bread is baking, whisk the softened cream cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla together until smooth. Add milk until your desired consistency is reached.
- Serve the bread hot with a drizzle of frosting.
So soft. So doughy, SO GOOEY. Gimme.
Below is how you want to cut the dough:
This post was originally published on November 25, 2014
I have made this bread for Christmas morning these past three years. It has always been a huge hit! No matter how big the loaf, and when I do it on a baking sheet it gets HUGE, there is never any leftover. It is a wonderful recipe and very easy too. Thanks for sharing and giving me a new Christmas tradition!
Thank you so much Leena! I am so glad you love this recipe and hope you have an amazing Christmas! Thank you!
Hi! I love your cookbook! Best one I’ve found in years! Quick question: do you use salted or unsalted butter in the dough?
Thank you!
Thank you so much! Thrilled you are loving the book. I love using salted butter. Please let me know if you have other questions. Hope you love this recipe! Thanks! :
Thank you for your quick reply!
Is the video still available? I don’t see it above anymore. Thanks!
HI! I can see the video on my end. What browser are you using? So sorry for the trouble!
I see it now! No idea what changed, but YAY! Thanks!!!
Just made the log and stuck it in the fridge! Question for you though; my dough was much stickier than yours and not as defined after cutting and making the pull apart design; any troubleshooting ideas? I used warm whole milk instead of egg nog but i doubt that”s the reason. It was harder to manipulate since it wasn’t as dry, but it looks great. Thanks!!!
Hi! Just add a little more flour when rolling the dough until it’s not super sticky anymore. That will fix the stickiness. Let me know if you have questions. Hope you love the bread!
The bread came out delicious- family and coworkers love it! I wonder if I should go with 5 cups of flour instead of the max of 4 you listed? I added flour as I was rolling it out, but it was a bit rough to make the tighter rolls. Will troubleshoot on the next log. Excellent recipe though- thanks for sharing!!
So happy everyone loved the bread! 🙂
Hi – quick question: is there a need to wait for the shaped rolls to be at room temperature before baking? Or will the 5-9 minute preheat period be enough?
Hey Jaine, the preheating oven period should be fine. Hope you love these!
Just curious, should I make any adjustments on oven temp and time if I use a 16x4x5 loaf pan?
This looks awesome! I was trying to find something different then my usual Christmas morning cinnamon rolls.
Hey Leia! Is that a longer loaf pan? I am not sure on the cooking time, so just keep checking for doneness and cover with foil if the top starts to brown before the center is cooked. Let me know if you have other questions. Hope you love this and Merry Christmas!
Hi there, this looks fantastic, I woukd love to be able to serve some up on Christmas day morning! Christmas eve in our household tends to be very busy. Do you think it would be possible to freeze the loaf at the rolled dough stage and then just defrost it in the fridge overnight and pop it in the oven?
Thank you.
Kirsty
Hey Kristy! Yes! I actually have a loaf in my freezer now, lol! Just freeze and then thaw in the fridge overnight. Hope you love this and have a Merry Christmas! 🙂
Hello! I am still pretty new to making breads, do you use regular yeast or self rising? Thank you so much and sorry for the newbie question haha =)
Meri
HI! I like to use regular yeast. Let me know if you have any questions at all. Hope you love this! 🙂
Simply needed to point out Now i am lucky I stumbled upon your website page!.
Thanks so much!
I’m really borred at home with my older sister and younger brother. I’m also a baker that’s baked everything under the sun! ? It’s usually really hard to find something my whole family likes to make, and this won all 5 of them over! Thank you!!!!!!
WOW!! Thats so awesome!! So happy everyone liked it!! (:
Made this for a treat for my team last week and they scarfed it so fast I thought I’d lose my hands!
Tonight I’m making a savoury version with pesto, olives, sun dried tomatoes and feta. Hopefully it works. It smells amazing! Used half whole wheat flour and a healthy dose of tuscan seasoning in with it. Can’t wait to nibble some off a corner!
AHH! Thats SO awesome!! That should work perfectly! Hope its just as good tonight!! Thanks for making it Kerri!! (:
I made this yesterday for Easter. I was surprised to see that the recipe didn’t call for a second rise or to be brought to room temperature before baking. I baked it as written but had to add at least 10 minutes to the cooking time (I made 1 large log). The final product was good, but I’m still wondering if I shouldn’t have allowed it to rise a bit before baking. What did you do?
HI Melissa,
I did not allow mine to come to room temp because when I did, my loaf grew too big. But next time, I would try that if you feel it will work better for you. Let me know if you have any questions. Thanks so much!!
I made this recipe at Christmas time last year. One in a loaf pan and one as a ring cooked both on stones. Unfortunately I did not take any photos of the final product. They were a big hit. Thank you for sharing this recipe. It easy to follow and the demonstrations were excellent. Thank you again.
So happy you love it! THANKS!
Do you think this could work gluten-free with rice flour as well?
Hi, I am a beginner at baking breads so please understand if my question sounds stupid. I noticed on your baked bread (the finish ones) you have coated the bread top with some cinnamon powder and sugar as well but I don’t read that anywhere on the instructions. I can see you haven’t put them on the pictures where you show how to cut the logs. At what point do you do that? Is it after you brush it with the melted butter?
HI! I did not dust these with anything that is not in the recipe. Yes, cut the bread after you add the butter. Let me know if you have any other questions. THanks!!