FALL
Finger food! Serve this fun sweet bread at a party and let your guests peel off their pieces.
Makes 1 loaf
Dough
4 tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter, plus additional for buttering bowl and greasing pan
⅓ cup whole milk
¼ cup water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2¾ cups all-purpose flour, divided, plus additional for pan and rolling out
¼ cup granulated sugar
1 envelope (2¼ teaspoons) active dry yeast
½ teaspoon salt
2 large eggs, at room temperature
Filling
1 cup light-brown sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
4 tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter, melted
1. In a small saucepan, warm butter and milk until butter melts. Stir in ¼ cup water and vanilla. Let sit for 5 minutes, until just warm.
2. In a large bowl with an electric mixer on high speed, mix 2 cups of the flour, sugar, yeast and salt. With mixer speed on low, beat in warm butter mixture and eggs until combined. Dough will be sticky. Add remaining ¾ cup flour and beat until a wet dough forms. Scoop dough into a buttered bowl. Flip dough to coat; cover tightly with plastic and a dishcloth. Let rise in a warm place for at least 1 hour, until doubled in size.
3. Butter and lightly flour a 9-by-5-inch baking pan. Lightly press on risen dough to deflate; scrape onto a well-floured surface. Roughly knead a few times, then roll out into a 12-by-20-inch rectangle. Let dough sit 5 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix brown sugar and cinnamon. Using a pastry brush, brush the entire surface of the dough with melted butter. Sprinkle with the sugar-cinnamon mixture. Using a sharp knife, slice the dough vertically into 6 equal strips. Stack strips on top of each other. Cut this stack into six equal squares. You will have 6 stacks of 6 squares.
5. Pick up each square stack and place it on its side in the prepared pan, like arranging books on a shelf. You may need to push the dough back in order to fit in all the stacks. Cover the pan with a dish towel and let it rise for 30 minutes.
6. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350°F. Uncover the pan; bake 35 minutes, until golden brown and baked through. Let the bread cool in pan for 10 minutes. Run a metal spatula around the edges of the bread to release it from the pan. Invert the bread onto a wire rack.
TIP: Bread tastes best the day it’s made, but you can complete the recipe through step 5, then refrigerate the dough overnight. Let the dough sit at room temperature at least 30 minutes before baking.