Sure, you can get store-bought croissants, roll them, and arrange them to make pull-apart bread. BUT, you can also make croissants from scratch not only feel satisfied with your bake and also make it completely your own. Pull-apart bread makes the ultimate family dinner bread or potluck or party and Holiday, perfect for sharing and really stunning to look at.
A bit of history
Pull-apart bread is accepted as having originated in Hungary. You may have heard of it referred to as “monkey bread.” Funny story, since it is considered finger food, it is eaten by picking apart, similar to how monkeys eat their food. Starting in 1950, and making its way across the Atlantic to Hungarian Jewish bakeries in the United States. Monkey bread was eventually featured in a Betty Crocker cookbook in 1972 and even became a staple in the Regan White House of the 1980s. Today pull-apart bread has made its way as a well-known bake in the United States, especially our home!
Before you go off
Before rolling your croissants, you can also fill them with your favorite jam or Nutella for a sweet variation. Sprinkle with cinnamon for a breakfast that is sure to delight kids and adults alike. Or stuff with a cheese and herb mix to create a savory meal of your pull-apart bread. Either way, let me know how you do, your base is below!
Pull-Apart Croissant Bread
Ingredients
- 7 cups (850g) bread flour (sifted) + 1/2 cup for kneading
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 tablespoons (9g) active dry yeast
- 2.5 cups (625ml) milk, divided
- 2 tablespoons sour cream
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup butter (115g) (softened and divided into four pieces)
- 1 egg yolk + 1 teaspoon water for brushing
Instructions
- Add yeast to a 1/2 cup warm milk (110F) and sprinkle with teaspoon of sugar. Leave until bubbled.
- Sift flour.
- Pour remaining 2 cups of milk (heated to 110F) into a mixer bowl.
- Add activated yeast, remaining sugar, sour cream, eggs and 2 cups of flour.
- Mix and then add salt.
- Gradually add the rest of the flour and mix until soft dough forms.
- Transfer the dough onto a floured surface and knead to form a ball.
- Then transfer the dough into a lightly greased bowl and let it rise until it is double in size.
- Divide the dough into 5 parts.
- Knead each to form a ball. Let it rest for about 15 minutes.
- Using a rolling pin stretch one ball to a circle (about 10″)
- Take one piece of butter, and smear over the top. Move aside.
- Do the same with another ball and put it over the first one. Repeat with the remaining balls.
- The last one should not be buttered but instead, put over a stack of four buttered circles, stretch a little using your fingers, and tuck under to form a ball. Cover and let this rest for 15 minutes.
- With a rolling pin stretch dough into a big circle. Cut it up into 16 triangles.
- Roll each to form a croissant.
- Line 12 croissants in a round 12-inch (30cm) baking pan and put the last 4 into the middle, placing them so that one end is on the bottom of the pan and the other is up.
- Brush with egg yolk mixed with 1 teaspoon of water. Sprinkle with sesame seeds if you wish.
- Bake on 375F for 30-35 in a convection oven (400F for 35-40 min. in conventional oven).
- Brush with melted butter.
For more bread as pretty as it is yummy, try my Homemade Flower Bread.
