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–+ servings

Dollywood Cinnamon Bread

5 | 5 reviews
The iconic (iconic!) Dollywood Cinnamon Bread is a longtime favorite at the Dollywood theme park in Tennessee, and I think this is the best recreation recipe for it on the internet. You get the combo of brown butter cinnamon filling and an easy, stretchable dough. Think of it like monkey bread, but with bigger, pull-apart pieces and whole lot of butter. (Which I think would make Dolly Proud!)
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Rising Time 2 hours
Servings: 1 10-inch or 12-inch cast iron skillet

Equipment

Ingredients

For the dough
  • 12 grams active dry yeast, 4 teaspoons
  • 165 grams warm water, between 80-95°F, a little over 2/3 cup
  • 375 grams all-purpose flour, 2 2/3 cups
  • 5 grams Diamond Crystal kosher salt, 2 teaspoons
  • 55 grams granulated sugar, 1/4 cup
  • 1 medium egg
  • 57 grams softened unsalted butter, 1/4 cup
For the filling
  • 226 grams salted butter, 1 cup
  • 2 teaspoons cinnamon
  • 110 grams dark brown sugar, 1/2 cup, lightly packed
  • 1/2 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
For the icing
  • 90 grams powdered sugar, 3/4 cup, lightly packed
  • 1 tablespoon milk of choice

Instructions 

  1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk together the yeast and the water. Add in the flour, salt, granulated sugar and egg.
  2. Using the hook attachment on the mixer, mix on medium until all the ingredients are combined.
  3. Once the ingredients are just combined, begin adding the softened butter 1 tablespoon at a time. When it is fully mixed in, that's when you know to add the next tablespoon of butter.
  4. Turn the mixer to medium-high and mix the dough for 7-8 minutes or until it is pulling away from the sides. You can also do the gluten test (see note).
  5. When the dough is ready, transfer it to a clean bowl and cover and let it rise for an hour or until doubled in size.
  6. While the dough is rising, prepare the filling. Brown the butter in a cast iron skillet. Do this by placing the skillet over medium heat, adding the butter and letting it melt until it starts to fizz and foam. Cook for 4-5 minutes, or until you see flecks of brown start forming in the bottom of the pan. Then turn off the heat and transfer the butter to a heat-safe bowl. No need to wipe out the cast iron skillet.
  7. Whisk the cinnamon into the brown butter while it's still warm, this will "bloom" the cinnamon's flavor.
  8. Whisk in the brown sugar and salt and set aside. This should form a thick paste during the time the dough finishes rising.
  9. Add 1/3 cup of the filling to the bottom of the cast iron skillet. Spread it around.
  10. When the dough is ready, place it down on a clean, unfloured surface and stretch it into a large rectangle. The dimensions don't have to be specific (mine never are), just make sure your dough is about 1 centimeter thick.
  11. Spread 2/3 cup worth of filling onto the rectangle of dough. (You will have a bit of filling left, save it).
  12. Grab the two shorter sides of the rectangle and fold them to the center of the dough so that their edges line up with each other, encasing the filling in the dough.
  13. From there, use a bench scraper to slice the dough into 1-inch thick strips. Fold the strips in half and nestle them together in the cast iron skillet. See the blog post for photos.
  14. Cover and let this rise for another hour, or until 50% bigger in size.
  15. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
  16. When the dough has risen, spread the remaining filling all over the top of the dough.
  17. Bake for 22-26 minutes, or until the bread is a deep, dark brown on top.
  18. While the bread is baking, whisk together the icing ingredients to make a glaze.
  19. Remove the bread from the oven and let it cool until the cast iron is safe to touch. Then drizzle with the glaze and tear apart!

Notes

The gluten test is when you pull a golf ball-sized chunk of dough out and stretch it apart with your fingers. If it can stretch to the point where it's paper thin, a bit translucent and you can see strands of gluten holding it together, that means it has enough gluten. If the dough tears before that point, it's not ready. 
 
To prep ahead of time, you have a few options: 
If you want to just make the dough ahead of time, let it proof for 24 hours in the fridge, instead of 1 hour at room temperature. The next day you will still need to save time for assembly, the second proof, and baking, so this will only save you half of the prep work. 
To prep the recipe for next day baking, you can prep the recipe all the way up until the dough is in the cast iron. Cover and let rest in the fridge overnight, it'll be ready to bake the next day!
If you want to make these ahead to transport them for a party or brunch, I'd recommend baking and just leaving off the icing. 15 minutes before serving, reheat in an oven set to 350°F for 10 minutes. Top with the glaze and serve!