Do you ever feel like you belong to a culture or a community but you don’t think you have much of factual basis for feeling that way? We both recently did the 23 and Me ancestry DNA testing. Much to our surprise, we both came back with a significant amount of Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry. We don’t have any immediate relatives who are active in the Jewish faith but we have always felt a kind of kinship with the Jewish community. Is that crazy?

Well, if you’ve been around here before you know we love our German and Eastern European food (and we love Monkey Bread!) so when we saw this recipe for Cinnamon-Sugar Pull-Apart Bread (Aranygaluska) on Food52, we knew we had to try making it. This recipe is fabulous. The inclusion of the orange zest, almond extract and apricot jam elevate this pull-apart bread to manna from heaven. Make this Cinnamon-Sugar Pull-Apart Bread and you will never look back at that Pillsbury biscuit monkey bread recipe ever again 😉

Place dough in well oiled bowl covered with a tea towel and set aside to rise.

The dough should just about double in size within about an hour and a half.

Coat golf ball sized pieces of dough in melted butter and cinnamon sugar mixture.

After completing a single layer, dab on the apricot jam.

Top with remaining dough balls in the same manner.

Bake until well browned and set in the center. Allow to cool briefly before removing from pan.

Cinnamon-Sugar Pull-Apart Bread (Aranygaluska)

Dough

• 2 ¹/₄ teaspoons (1/4 ounce, 7g) active dry yeast
• ¹/₂ cup (100g) plus 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
• 1 cup warm water (110°F)
• 4 to 4 ¹/₂ cups (560 to 630g) all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 ¹/₂ teaspoons vanilla extract
• ¹/₂ teaspoon finely grated orange zest
• ¹/₂ teaspoon almond extract, optional
• ¹/₂ cup (1 stick, 115g) unsalted butter, cut into pieces and softened
• 1 teaspoon vegetable oil

Topping

• ¹/₂ cup (1 stick, 115g) unsalted butter
• 1 cup (180g) packed, light brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• ¹/₈ teaspoon kosher salt
• ¹/₃ cup (105g) apricot jam

1. Make the dough: In a large bowl, stir together the yeast, 1 teaspoon of the sugar, and the warm water. Let sit until foaming, 5-10 minutes. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together 4 cups (560 g) flour and the salt.
2. Stir the remaining 1/2 cup (100 g) sugar, the eggs, vanilla, orange zest, and almond extract (if using) into the yeast mixture. Add the flour mixture and gently stir until the dough begins to come together. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead well, adding the softened butter pieces a few at a time, and adding up to 1/2 cup (70 g) additional flour as needed, until you have a suple, slightly tacky dough, about 10 minutes. You might not need all of the flour. (The kneading can also be done in a stand mixer with a dough hook, 5-7 minutes.)
3. Grease a large bowl with the vegetable oil, add the dough, and turn to coat. Cover the bowl with a tea towel and let sit in a warm place until nearly doubled in size, 1-1 1/2 hours. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350F (180C). Generously grease a 9-inch (23cm) round springform pan.
4. Make the topping: In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium-low heat, then transfer to a bowl. In a second bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt.
5. Gently deflate the dough with the heel of your hand. Pinch off a golf ball-size piece of dough and roll it into a ball. Dip it in the melted butter and then the cinnamon-sugar mixture, making sure all sides are coated, and place it in the prepared pan. Continue this process until the pan is lined with a single layer of dough balls. Evenly dollop the jam on top of and around the dough balls. Repeat the rolling and dipping process until all of the dough is used. If there is any melted butter remaining, drizzle it on top, then sprinkle with any remaining cinnamon-sugar mixture.
6. Place pan in the oven (if desired, set a parchment paper-lined baking sheet on the rack below the pan to catch any leaks) and bake until the cake is puffed and golden brown, 35-40 minutes*. Let the cake cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10-15 minutes, then carefully unmold the cake and transfer to a serving dish. Serve warm.

*Note: we had to cook ours for 45 minutes for it to be cooked all the way through.