Cinnamon Sugar and Cocoa Pull Apart Bread

In a large mixing bowl whisk together 2 cups of the all purpose flour, sugar, yeast, and salt and then set aside.

Whisk the eggs until well combined and set aside.

In a small saucepan, gently warm the milk and butter over medium low heat until the butter is melted. Remove from the heat and add the water and vanilla extract. Let mixture stand for a few minutes, or until the mixture registers 115 to 125 degrees F using a thermometer.

Pour the milk mixture into the dry ingredients and mix with a spatula. Add the eggs and stir the mixture until the eggs are incorporated into the batter. The dough will be very wet and seem like it will never come together. Be patient, keep stirring. Add the whole wheat pastry flour and stir with the spatula until the flour is incorporated. You still want the dough to be a bit sticky but it should be smooth and elastic looking.

Place the dough in a large bowl that has been oiled with a bit of vegetable oil. Give the dough a turn to make sure the top surface is lightly oiled. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and place in a warm spot to rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

After the dough has had a chance to rise you can place some plastic wrap over the dough and place it in the refrigerator overnight.

Before continuing with the recipe allow the dough to come to room temperature, about 30 minutes on the kitchen counter should do the trick.

If you plan to make the bread right away, then while the dough rises, whisk together the sugar, cinnamon and cocoa for the filling. Set this aside and then melt 2 ounces of butter over medium heat until browned. Remove the butter from the heat and set aside.

Lightly oil a 9x5x3-inch loaf pan, line the pan with parchment paper and preheat the oven to 350 F.

Punch to deflate the risen dough and knead in about 2 additional tablespoons of flour. Cover again and let rest for 5 minutes.

On a lightly floured work surface roll out the dough to a rectangle approximately 12 by 20 inches. By all means guesstimate! Brush the melted butter evenly across all of the dough. Sprinkle with all of the filling mixture.

Slice the dough into four equal strips. Carefully stack the strips on top of one another and then slice the stack into eight equal portions. You’ll have eight stacks of four squares. Layer the dough squares into the loaf pan like a flip-book. Place a kitchen towel over the loaf pan and allow to rise in a warm place for 30 to 45 minutes or until almost doubled in size.

Place loaf in the preheated oven and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the top is very golden brown. Joy warns that “The top may be lightly browned, but the center may still be raw. A nice, dark, golden brown will ensure that the center is cooked as well”.

While the bread is baking mix together the powdered sugar, milk and vanilla extract. Stir until smooth and set aside.

When it’s done, remove bread from the oven and allow to rest for 20 to 30 minutes. If you are able to accomplish this you may be canonized for sainthood. Evenly drizzle the icing over the warm bread. Lift the bread out of the pan using the parchment paper. Serve warm with coffee or tea.

I think this bread is best served the day it’s made, but it can also be wrapped and kept at room temperature for up to 2 days. If it lasts that long.