Apple fritter pull-apart bread is everything you love about a classic apple fritter (warm cinnamon apples, a sweet glaze, pillowy dough) but in a format that's so much easier to pull off at home. No deep frying, no hot oil, just a loaf pan and a little patience while the yeast does its thing. If you want that apple fritter experience without the hassle, this is it.
Pull-apart bread is the kind of baked good that makes people stop and stare before they even take a bite. You drizzle that cinnamon apple cider glaze over the top, and it just does something to people, you know? They lose their minds a little. I love that for all of us.
This is great in the fall when the apples are at their best, and it also fits right in alongside my apple streusel coffee cake and apple cider donut bread if you're planning a brunch spread and want to really go for it.
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Why We Love It!
- Easy enough for a weekend morning - The steps are simple and broken up nicely. Mix, rise, fill, stack, bake. Nothing here requires any special skills, and the result looks like you spent way more time than you did. You can also do an overnight rise and bake it off in the morning!
- Packed with apple cinnamon flavor - The apples get cooked down first so they're tender, then nestled into laods of cinnamon sugar. The way the bread gets stacked gives you spiced apples in every bite!
- Cinnamon apple cider glaze - A drizzle of thick, cinnamon-spiced glaze made with real apple cider goes over the top of the warm bread and seeps into all the little gaps. It's the finishing touch that really pulls this into apple fritter territory.
- Perfect for sharing - Pull-apart bread is just fun. You set it on the table and everyone digs in together. It's also a great one to bring to a brunch or holiday morning.
Ingredients
- Instant yeast. This goes directly into the dough with the other ingredients and no proofing step needed. Make sure it's not expired or the dough won't rise!
- Whole milk. Warmed to about 110℉. Too hot and you'll kill the yeast, too cold and it won't activate properly. A digital thermometer here is your best friend.
- Butter. This is used in to enrich the dough, then also gets brushed onto the rolled-out dough to combine with the cinnamon sugar.
- Apples. Peel and finely chop them. You want small pieces so they distribute evenly through every layer and don't create big chunky gaps in the dough. Firm, slightly tart apples work best like Granny Smith, Honeycrisp, or Braeburn.
- Brown AND granulated sugar. The combination gives you deep molasses notes from the brown sugar alongside a clean sweetness from the white. Really good together.
- Apple cider (for the glaze). This is what sets the glaze apart from a plain powdered sugar drizzle. It adds a lightly tart, fruity apple note that ties the whole thing together. If you don't have it, use apple juice, or just go for milk or water.
See recipe card for full ingredients list and quantities.
Substitutions and Variations
- Swap apple cider in the glaze for apple juice or for milk or cream for a more classic vanilla glaze.
- Use pears in place of (or in addition to) the apples for a fun twist.
- Add ¼ teaspoon of nutmeg or cardamom to the filling for extra warmth.
- Stir a handful of chopped pecans or walnuts into the apple filling for crunch (like in this maple pecan pull-apart bread).
- Add 2 tablespoons of cream cheese to the glaze and thin it out with a splash of milk for a cream cheese drizzle.
- Make it overnight - see the FAQ section below!
📸 Step By Step Overview
This is a quick visual overview. See the recipe card for full, detailed instructions.
- Step 1: Mix together all dough ingredients and knead until the dough pulls away from the sides.
- Step 2: Grease a bowl, add the dough, and cover to rise until doubled in size.
- Step 3: Cook the chopped apples and sugar.
- Step 4: Take the risen dough and turn it out onto a floured surface. Pat it into a rectangle.
Pro tip
Cooking the apples
Cook the apples down until almost all the liquid has released. Too much liquid in the filling can make the bread soggy in spots and also create steam pockets that push layers apart during baking.
- Step 5: Roll the dough out into a large rectangle, about 12x20".
- Step 6: Brush the dough completely with melted butter.
- Step 7: Sprinkle cinnamon sugar all over the dough (the whole way to the edges.
- Step 8: Sprinkle the cooked apples all over.
- Step 9: Cut into 18 pieces using a pizza cutter.
- Step 10: Stack 6 pieces at a time - a bench scraper is great for this!
- Step 11: Add the slices upright into a loaf pan lined with parchment paper.
- Step 12: Cover and rise for 30 more minutes until puffy.
Pro tip
Stacking
When stacking and loading the pan, don't stress about it being perfect. The dough puffs up and fills in around everything as it rises and bakes. Rustic is totally fine here!
- Step 13: Bake until golden.
- Step 14: Use the parchment to remove it from the pan, then mix and drizzle over the glaze.
Tips for Success
- Make sure your milk is the right temperature, around 110℉. Any hotter, and it can damage the yeast. A quick check with a digital thermometer saves you from a dough that doesn't rise.
- Let the apples cool completely before adding the sugars and loading them onto the dough. Warm apples will melt the butter and make the dough harder to work with.
- Don't skip the parchment sling! This bread is full of gooey apple filling and sugar, and it will stick to a pan without something to lift it out cleanly.
- When you're cutting and stacking the dough pieces, use a pizza cutter so you get clean cuts without tearing or stretching.
- If the top of the bread is browning too fast before the middle is set, tent it loosely with a piece of foil and continue baking.
- Let it cool for at least 15 minutes before removing from the pan so the bread sets up a bit. I know it's hard to wait, but it's worth it! You may need to give the parchment a little wiggle to get it out.
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Testing Notes
- I used the same base enriched dough recipe from this pull apart bread, so I knew the apples were the only true wildcard for this.
- I chose to finely chop the apples (rather than shred) to mimic a true apple fritter as much as possible, without having them be too bulky or sparse.
- Cooking the apples in sugar first also allowed me to remove as much moisture as possible while cooking down with a sticky syrup coating.
- I really liked the apple cider in the glaze, but it's such a small amount that you could easily switch to apple juice. The glaze with milk was fine, but it just didn't add that extra pop of flavor.
Common Questions
Yes! After you stack the dough pieces into the pan, cover it tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. The next morning, pull it out and let it sit at room temperature for 1 hour before baking as directed. This is a great option if you want warm pull-apart bread for a holiday morning without a lot of effort on the day.
You can! Mix everything together in a large bowl with a wooden spoon until it comes together into a rough dough, then turn it out onto a floured surface and knead by hand for about 8-10 minutes until smooth and slightly tacky. It's more of a workout but totally doable.
This usually means the yeast was inactive. Check the expiration date on your yeast, and make sure your milk wasn't too hot (above 120℉ can kill the yeast). If the dough isn't rising after an hour, try moving it somewhere warmer, like inside the oven with just the light on.
Yes! If using active dry yeast, proof it first by combining it with the warm milk and a pinch of sugar. Let it sit for 5-10 minutes until foamy, then proceed with the recipe. The rise time may be slightly longer.
Storage
Store the baked bread covered at room temperature for up to five days. It's best warm, so reheat individual pieces in the microwave for about 20-30 seconds, or pop the whole loaf (or a portion) in a 325℉ oven for 8-10 minutes until warmed through.
This bread also freezes well! Let it cool completely, then wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and place in a zip-top bag. Freeze for up to two months. Thaw at room temperature and reheat before serving. Wait to add the glaze until after it's reheated.
General Tid Bits
- All recipes are created with Diamond Crystal kosher salt, the least salty variety of kosher salt. If using Morton's, you'll need to cut the amount of salt in half as it's 2x as salty. This will be the same for sea salt. Please do not use table salt.
- Switch between Cups vs Metric using the toggle on the recipe card. Baking by weight using a digital scale will always produce the most accurate results.
- Scale the recipe using the '1X' '2X' '3X' buttons on the recipe card. Note that this does not make an adjustment for baking times, only quantities.
📖Recipe
Apple Fritter Pull-Apart Bread
Equipment
- Stand mixer with dough hook attachment
- Large frying pan
- Rolling Pin
- Pastry brush
- Pizza Cutter
- Bench scraper optional, but helpful
Ingredients
Dough
- ¾ cup whole milk warmed to 110℉
- ¼ cup unsalted butter melted
- 1 large egg
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 2¼ teaspoon instant yeast 1 packet
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
Filling
- 3 cups finely chopped apples peeled
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- ½ cup light brown sugar packed
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ cup unsalted butter melted
Glaze
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons apple cider apple juice, milk or water
Instructions
Dough
- Add the milk, butter, egg, sugar, yeast, flour, and salt to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment. Mix on low speed until shaggy, then increase the speed slightly and beat for 3-5 minutes.¾ cup whole milk , ¼ cup unsalted butter , 1 large egg, ¼ cup granulated sugar, 2¼ teaspoon instant yeast, 3 cups all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- Grab a large mixing bowl and lightly grease it with butter or oil. Turn out the dough ball into the greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Put in a warm-ish place to rise for about 1 hour or until doubled in size.
Apple Filling
- Heat a pan on medium low and add the apples and 1 tablespoon granulated sugar and mix. Let it cook for a few minutes until most of the liquid is released. Remove to a bowl to cool.3 cups finely chopped apples, 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- Mix together the brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon, and salt and set aside.½ cup light brown sugar, ½ cup granulated sugar, 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon, ½ teaspoon kosher salt
Rolling & Assembly
- Grease a 9x5” loaf pan and add a parchment paper sling and set aside.
- Lightly flour a clean work surface and turn the dough out. Pat it into a rectangle, then use a floured rolling pin to roll it into a 12x20” rectangle (doesn’t have to be perfect).
- Brush the melted butter onto the rolled out dough (get the whole way to the edges). Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar mixture all over the dough (the whole way to the edges), then sprinkle the apples all around.¼ cup unsalted butter
- Use a pizza cutter to cut the dough into thirds (on the short side), then into sixths (on the long side), giving you 18 rectangular pieces.
- Stack the pieces 6 at a time (a bench scraper helps with this), then transfer to the loaf pan starting on one edge, standing up on their long sides. Repeat with all of the stacked pieces, nestling them in (see step-by-step photos section for reference).
- Cover with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel and let rise for another 30-45 minutes until the dough has puffed up.
- Preheat the oven to 350℉ and bake for 30-35 minutes until lightly golden on top. Remove to a wire rack and cool for 15-20 minutes.
- Use the parchment paper sling to remove the bread from the pan and place on a serving platter or board.
Glaze
- Whisk together the powdered sugar, cinnamon, vanilla, and apple cider until a thick glaze forms. Drizzle over the top of the bread. Serve warm.1 cup powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, ½ teaspoon vanilla extract, 2 tablespoons apple cider
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