Whole Wheat Caramel & Pecan Pull-Apart Bread
Irresistible, sweet, buttery pull-apart bread layered with cinnamon brown sugar and crushed pecans, baked until it’s golden brown and drizzled with a sweet salted caramel sauce.
Yield: 1 loaf
Ingredients
For the dough:
- 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
- 1 package (2¼ tsp, ¼oz, 7g) RED STAR Quick·Rise Yeast
- 2 tsp vital wheat gluten (optional)
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 cup milk
- ¼ cup unsalted butter
- 1 egg
- 1 cup bread flour
For the pecan-sugar filling:
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ cup toasted pecans, finely chopped
- 4 Tbsp butter, softened
For the salted caramel glaze
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1 Tbsp corn syrup
- 2 Tbsp heavy cream
- 2 Tbsp butter
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- ½ cup pecans, toasted and chopped
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, using the paddle attachment, combine 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour, yeast, vital wheat gluten, sugar, and salt.
- In saucepan or microwave safe dish, heat milk and butter until warm (120-130°F); butter does not have to be completely melted. Add to flour mixture. Blend at low speed until moistened. Add egg and beat 3 minutes at medium speed.
- Switch to the dough hook and mix in the remaining bread flour a little at a time, to make a soft dough, add more or less flour as needed. Knead the dough for 5 minutes. Place in greased bowl, turning to grease top. Cover; let rise in warm place until double, about 1 hour.
- While the dough is rising, make the pecan sugar filling. In a small bowl, mix together sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, and finely chopped pecans.
- Preheat oven to 350ºF. Grease a 9x5-inch loaf pan, and line with parchment paper or foil, leaving a 1-inch overhang on each long side; butter paper. (For easy removal of the bread from the pan.)
- Punch down the dough. Cover and let rest 10 minutes.
- On a floured surface, roll the dough into a 12x20-inch rectangle. Spread 4 tablespoons softened butter evenly over the dough with a rubber spatula or pastry brush.
- Cut dough in to five strips, each about 12x4-inches with a pizza cutter.
- Sprinkle 1½ tablespoons of the pecan sugar over the first buttered rectangle. Top it with a second rectangle, sprinkling with 1½ tablespoons of pecan sugar. Continue with remaining rectangles.
- Cut the stack into 6 rectangles (each should be 2x4-inches). Carefully place the rectangles of dough into the loaf pan, cut edges up, side by side. Loosely cover the pan with plastic wrap and let the dough rise in a warm place until puffy, 30 to 50 minutes. When you gently press the dough with your finger, the indentation should stay.
- Bake 30 to 35 minutes until the loaf is golden brown. Cover the top with foil if it's browning too quickly. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool in the pan for 10 minutes.
- While bread is cooling, make the salted caramel glaze. In a saucepan combine brown sugar, corn syrup, heavy cream, butter, and salt. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until sauce comes to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until sugar is dissolve and sauce is smooth and syrupy, about 2 minutes. Stir in vanilla extract and chopped pecans.
- Use the parchment paper/foil to remove the loaf from the pan. Flip the loaf over onto a cooling rack, remove the parchment paper/foil, then flip onto another rack so that it’s right side up.
- Drizzle icing over bread. Serve warm or at room temperature.
- Recipe created by Barbara Bakes.
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It looks yummy. I’m gonna try this out.