If you’re a frequent reader of my blog, you know that I have fallen in love with making pull-apart / crazy bread. I’ve made Maple and Brown Sugar, Garlic and Cranberry-Camambert. It’s just so good! No knife required, Nd it is more or less “pre-jammed”. Yum.
Ingredients
for the bread dough
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup lukewarm milk
1/4 cup lukewarm water
1 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast
for the filling
5 fresh peaches, peeled, pit removed and diced
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
3/4 cup brown sugar, divided
1 teaspoon vanilla paste
1/2 teaspoon salt
Directions
First make your dough as it will need time to rise. Heat milk and butter in a small saucepan over medium until the butter is melted. Remove from heat and whisk in the water and the sugar. Let cool to a maximum of 110F and a minimum of 100F (check with an instant-read thermometer) and before stirring in the yeast. Set aside for about five minutes or until the yeast is foamy.
Combine flour and salt in a stand mixer with the dough attachment. Add the vanilla and beaten egg to the yeast mixture and turn the mixer on low. Slowly pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix until combined. Turn the mixer up to medium and let knead until a sticky dough has formed. Grease a large bowl, place dough inside, and cover with a dish towel or plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm place for an hour or until the dough has doubled in size. Note that at this point, you can refrigerate overnight; just bring up to room temperature before moving to the next step.
Meanwhile, prepare the filling. Melt the butter in a medium pan over medium heat. Add 1/2 cup of the brown sugar and stir until melted. Add the peaches and salt, and let simmer for about 10 minutes. You are in essence, creating a quick jam. Once the peaches are soft and more or less falling apart, remove from the heat and add the vanilla. Let cool while the dough rises.
Prepare a parchment paper sling for your 9 x 5 inch loaf pan and spray liberally with baking spray. Pour about half (1/8 cup) of maple syrup in the bottom on the pan.
Turn the dough out onto a well floured board and knead it a few times. Roll out a 12×20 rectangle with the dough (this doesn’t need to be exact). Add on the peach mixture evening over the whole surface. Sprinkle over the remaining brown sugar. Using a knife or a pizza cutter, cut the bread into thirds from one end of the long side to the other (about 20×4 pieces). Next, slice the bread into fifths on the short side until the whole thing is cut like a pizza you were slicing into squares. Stack the slices on top of each other and transfer sideways to your prepared loaf pan (the same way sliced bread lays in a pan) and repeat with the rest of the dough. Cover with plastic wrap or your tea towel and let rise for another 45 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350F. Using a pastry brush, brush the surface of the bread with the remaining maple syrup, trying to get it into the uneven crevices as well. Bake for 55 to 60 minutes. Check often and remove from oven once the top is crispy and the inside is cooked all the way through (the inside temperature should be around 180F). If the top is getting too dark, cover lightly with aluminum foil. Let cool for a minimum of 20 minutes in the pan before removing with the sling (or just pull out peaches from the pan, which is what I do).
