Pull Apart Sweet Bread

Today I want to show you how to make sweet bread filled with delish prunes. This pull apart sweet bread is made with flavorful baked milk and fermented baked milk which gives the dough a special taste and a beautiful slightly golden color.

If you’re asking yourself: “Where am I going to get fermented baked milk?”, don’t worry about it, I have a post with video on my blog “Fermented Baked Milk” with a step by step instructions on how to make it at home.

Ingredients for the dough:

+/- 600g sifted flour
7g (1 package) dry yeast
200ml baked milk
100ml fermented baked milk
80g sugar
1 egg
50g softened butter
½ tsp salt

*All the ingredients need to be at room temperature.

Ingredients for the filling:

200g prunes
30g melted butter

*Instead the prunes filling you can use jam, cinnamon sugar, nuts, chocolate paste or any other filling you like.

Step 1

Let’s start by proofing the yeast. In a clean bowl mix half of the warm baked milk, about half of the tablespoon of sugar, dry yeast and 3 to 4 tablespoons of flour. Whisk all together. The consistency of the mixture should be almost like pancake dough. Cover the bowl with a lid or plastic wrap and set it in a warm place for 15-20 minutes.

*If the mixture turns creamy and foamy, it means that the yeast is working. If nothing happens, the yeast is dead, and you will need to discard the mixture and try again with different yeast.

Step 2

In a stand mixer bowl place the yeast mixture, egg, sugar, salt, the rest of the baked milk, fermented baked milk and whisk on the low speed of your mixer until all the ingredients are combined.

Step 3

Next, start to gradually add the flour. When mixing with a whisk gets to be too hard, change it to the hook attachment and keep kneading the dough. If you don’t have a hook attachment, transfer the dough to your work surface and keep kneading with your hands. Yeast dough loves to be kneaded for quite a while, so don’t rush this process.

Step 4

When most of the flour is in, add the softened butter and wait until it incorporates into the dough. If you touch the dough, it will be still very sticky. So, continue to gradually add more flour and knead the dough. At the moment the dough starts to detach from the mixing bowl walls and stops sticking to your hands, you can stop kneading the dough using the stand mixer.

Step 5

Sprinkle the work surface with some flour, lay the dough on top and knead it by hand for at least 5 more minutes. The dough turned out very soft and tender but at the same time doesn’t stick to my hands.

Step 6

Coat a clean bowl with vegetable oil and place the dough inside. Cover the bowl with a lid or plastic wrap and set aside in a warm place. Allow the dough to rise for about an hour and a half to two hours.

Step 7

While the dough is rising, let’s make the filling. Place the fruits and melted butter in a food processor or blender and grind them well. If the mixture is too thick, add a couple spoons of water and grind again. Transfer the mixture to a clean bowl and set aside.

* If your prunes are to dry, cover them with boiling water and let them sit for about 15 to 20 minutes. Then strain the water and let them dry out.

Step 8

As you can see, our dough has doubled in size and become very airy. Now we need to deflate it and expel the gases. Place the dough onto your work surface and roll it out onto a rectangle, about a quarter of an inch thick.

Step 9

Next, spread the filling all over the dough. Starting on the long end, roll the dough up tightly and seal the roll by pinching the edge against the roll.

* Instead the prunes filling you can use jam, cinnamon sugar, nuts, chocolate paste or any other filling you like.

Step 10

Using a regular thread or dental floss, lift the end of your dough and slide the thread under the dough about an inch from the edge. Cross the two ends over the top of the dough and pull them in opposite direction. Now you have a nice cut slice of dough. Repeat the process with the remaining dough. Try to cut the dough into an even number of pieces.

Step 11

Next, let’s prepare the baking pan. Today I’m going to use a bread loaf pan that I grease with oil. Next, place all the pieces of dough vertically into the pan to make two straps. Cover the dough with plastic wrap a let it rise for another 30 minutes. In the meantime, preheat the oven to 350 F degrees.

Step 12

Before you bake it, whisk one egg and brush the top of the bread. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until it develops a golden-brown color. Check the readiness with a skewer inserted into the bread.

Let the bread cool in the baking pan for about 5 minutes and take it out. I think you’ll agree with me that the bread looks absolutely beautiful! It’s easy to pull apart, it has soft and airy texture and it taste amazing.

Notes:

All the ingredients need to be at room temperature.
If you don’t have a stand mixer you can knead the dough just with your hands. The only difference will be is time. By hand you may need to knead the dough for 15 to 20 minutes.
If your prunes are to dry, cover them with boiling water and let them sit for about 15 to 20 minutes. Then strain the water and let them dry out.
Instead the prunes filling you can use jam, cinnamon sugar, nuts, chocolate paste or any other filling you like.

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