Pumpkin Cinnamon Roll Pull-Apart Bread

There's a specific moment in fall when the kitchen becomes the best room in the house. The oven goes on for the first time in months, the windows fog a little, and the whole place starts to smell like cinnamon. This loaf is built for exactly that moment.

It takes everything people love about a cinnamon roll, the soft dough, the buttery brown-sugar layers, the glaze that pools in every crevice, and turns it into something you tear apart with your hands. We folded pumpkin and warm spice into the dough itself, then finished it with a maple cream cheese drizzle that tastes like the season in one bite.

Why a Pull-Apart Loaf

Individual cinnamon rolls ask a lot of you: rolling a perfect log, slicing it evenly, and arranging every spiral just so. A pull-apart loaf skips the fussy parts. You roll the dough into one big sheet, cover it with cinnamon sugar, cut it into strips, stack them, and stand the stacks up in a loaf pan. The oven does the rest, puffing the layers into soft, fanned edges that practically invite you to peel one off.

It also serves beautifully. Set the whole loaf in the middle of the table on a Saturday morning and let everyone help themselves. No knives, no plates required, and a lot of sticky fingers.

What the Pumpkin Does

Half a cup of puree doesn't make this taste like pie. What it does is quieter and better: it keeps the crumb tender and moist, tints the dough a soft golden orange, and gives the spice something earthy to lean against. Paired with the cinnamon sugar and a maple glaze, it reads as fall without shouting about it.

Ingredients

For the dough

• ½ cup whole milk, warmed to 105–115°F
• 2¼ tsp instant or active dry yeast (1 packet)
• ¼ cup packed brown sugar
• ½ cup canned pumpkin puree (not pie filling)
• 4 tbsp unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
• 1 large egg, room temperature
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3¼ cups all-purpose flour, plus up to ¼ cup more as needed
• 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• ¾ tsp fine salt

For the cinnamon filling

• ¾ cup packed brown sugar
• 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 4 tbsp unsalted butter, melted

For the maple cream cheese glaze

• 2 oz cream cheese, softened
• 1 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 2 tbsp pure maple syrup
• Pinch of salt
• 1–2 tbsp milk, to thin

Instructions

1. Wake up the yeast. In a large bowl or stand-mixer bowl, stir together the warm milk, yeast, and ¼ cup brown sugar. Let it sit 5–10 minutes, until foamy.
2. Mix the dough. Whisk in the pumpkin, melted butter, egg, and vanilla. Add the flour, pumpkin pie spice, and salt and stir until a shaggy dough forms.
3. Knead. Knead until smooth, soft, and slightly tacky: about 5 minutes with a dough hook, or 8–10 minutes by hand on a lightly floured counter. Add extra flour a tablespoon at a time only if it's sticking badly.
4. First rise. Place the dough in a greased bowl, cover, and let it rise somewhere warm until doubled, 1 to 1½ hours.
5. Prep the filling and pan. Stir together the brown sugar, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice for the filling. Grease a 9x5-inch metal loaf pan and line it with a parchment sling.
6. Roll and fill. Punch down the dough and roll it into a 20x12-inch rectangle. Brush it all over with the melted butter, then sprinkle the cinnamon-sugar evenly on top, pressing it lightly into the butter.
7. Cut and stack. Cut the dough lengthwise into five 12-inch strips. Stack the strips, then cut the stack crosswise into 6 equal pieces. Stand the stacks on their cut edges in the pan, side by side like pages of a book.
8. Second rise. Cover loosely and let rise until puffy and nearly doubled, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Preheat the oven to 350°F during the last 20 minutes.
9. Bake. Bake 35–40 minutes, until deep golden and the center reads about 190°F. Tent loosely with foil after 20 minutes so the top doesn't over-brown.
10. Glaze and serve. Beat the cream cheese and butter until smooth, then mix in the powdered sugar, maple syrup, and salt, thinning with milk until drizzly. Cool the loaf in the pan 15 minutes, lift it out with the parchment, drizzle, and pull apart while warm.

Make-Ahead

Assemble the loaf through the stacking step the night before, cover it, and refrigerate. In the morning, let it sit at room temperature for about an hour, until puffy, then bake as directed. It's the easiest way to have warm bread on the table for a weekend brunch without an early alarm.

Substitutions

For a classic cinnamon version, skip the pumpkin and both measures of pumpkin pie spice and increase the milk to ¾ cup. For crunch, scatter a handful of chopped toasted pecans over the cinnamon sugar before cutting the strips. If you'd rather skip the cream cheese, whisk the powdered sugar with maple syrup and a splash of milk for a simple maple glaze.

Storing

The loaf is at its best the day it's baked. Leftovers keep, covered at room temperature, for up to two days; a few seconds in the microwave brings back the softness.

At a Glance

Original Efinity Living recipe, developed for this issue.