Delicious warm maple pull-apart bread, filled with homemade maple butter (don’t worry, it’s super easy to make!)
One of my favourite things to make when my supply of maple syrup is refreshed each Spring, is to make Maple Butter.
Today I decided that a pull-apart bread with some maple butter just had to happen. It’s a basic pull-apart bread, with a spread of maple butter as the filling and a topping of maple sugar (or you could use regular sugar). To top it off, I warmed a few tablespoons of maple butter and drizzled it over the top. It was divine. Served warm, it’s the perfect way to celebrate Spring’s bounty.
Ingredients and Substitutions
Maple Butter – You can buy maple butter, but it’s also easy to make. I have an easy recipe for Maple Butter that can be made any time. If you prefer, you could also make this bread with maple sugar, by spreading the dough with a layer of butter, then sprinkling with maple sugar. I do know that maple sugar isn’t always easy to find though. Both would be nice, because maple anything is never going to disappoint.
Yeast – You can use either Active Dry Yeast or Instant Yeast for this pull apart bread.
Recipe Tips
One tip to share – definitely place your loaf pan on top of a foil-lined baking sheet. This one will bubble up and over the sides a bit (and why I didn’t see that coming is completely beyond me, since, you know … it’s not my first rodeo :) And so it was that the lovely smell of warm maple in my house this morning was rudely interrupted by the smell of burnt sugar on the bottom of my oven. You definitely don’t want that!
As a bonus … you’ll have a nice little bit of maple butter left-over after you make this bread. Enjoy! It’s perfect on toast or warm a bit and drizzle over ice cream.
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Get the Recipe: Maple Pull Apart Bread
Ingredients
For the bread:
- 3 cups all purpose flour, spooned and levelled
- 2 1/4 teaspoon Instant yeast
- 1 teaspoon fine salt, use 3/4 tsp. if using salted butter
- 3/4 cup whole milk, warmed to lukewarm
- 2 Tablspoons maple syrup
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 cup homemade or store-bought maple butter, *alternately, you could use a maple sugar/butter filling
- 1 Tablespoon maple sugar, or regular white or brown sugar, for topping before baking
For drizzle:
- 2 Tablespoons maple butter, warmed to thin, for drizzle
For the Homemade Maple Butter:
- 1 cup maple syrup, preferably No. 2 Medium/Amber grade
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter, cut in to cubes
- *Candy thermometer
Instructions
- To make the maple butter: In a medium-large saucepan, add maple syrup and pinch of salt. Heat maple syrup over high heat until boiling (*be sure to use a large-ish pan, as syrup will boil up about double or more). Attach or insert thermometer and boil until syrup reaches 240° Immediately remove from heat and stir in butter until it’s completely melted.
- Pour mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer or alternately, use a large bowl with a hand mixer. Start on low speed and gradually increase speed until you reach high. Continue to beat on high until mixture is lightened and creamy, about 8-10 minutes total. Mixture should be the consistency of a creamy caramel sauce. Pour into a jar or bowl, cover and refrigerate.
- For the bread: Grease an 8 1/2x4-inch loaf pan and place on a foil-lined baking sheet. Set aside.
- (*If using traditional dry active yeast, proof the yeast in your warm milk, rather than adding with the flour). In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a kneading hook, add 2 cups of the flour, the yeast and salt. Heat the milk to lukewarm in a small saucepan or in a bowl in the microwave. Add the maple syrup and melted butter and stir to combine. Stir in the egg (*make sure your mixture isn't so hot it might cook the egg!). Add this mixture to the bowl with the flour and mix to combine.
- Start adding flour 1/4 cup at a time at first and then a Tbsp. at a time until you have a smooth dough that cleans the sides of the bowl. The dough should not be sticky. Remove the dough to a floured surface and knead lightly, then place in a greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise until doubled, about 90 minutes.
- Once dough has risen, remove to a floured surface and roll in to a 15 x 16-inch rectangle. Take your 1/2 cup of maple butter and warm lightly in the microwave (5 seconds), to make it easier to spread. If it gets too thin, just allow it to cool a bit. Spread an even layer over the dough (again, if it's really thin, let is cool a bit before stacking, to avoid a runny, sticky situation). Using a sharp knife or a pizza cutter, cut your dough in to 3x4-inch pieces (you should have 20 pieces when you're done). Stack up 5 pieces and place in the prepared loaf pan, standing them upright. Repeat with another stack of 5 pieces and stand them up next to the first stack. Repeat with 2 more stacks of 5 pieces. Arrange them as best you can, spacing them out a bit and trying to keep them as upright as possible. Cover with a tea towel and allow to rise until they are puffy and have risen above the sides of the pan.
- Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 350° F.
- When dough is ready to bake, if desired, sprinkle top with maple sugar or a bit of regular sugar. Place loaf pan on top of a baking sheet (to catch any bubble-overs). Bake for 30 minutes, then rotate the pan front to back. You may also wish to loosely cover the top with foil if it is brown enough already. Continue baking another 10-15 minutes, until it reaches a temperature of at least 195° F.
- Allow to cool in the pan until warm, then remove. Warm a few tablespoons of maple butter and drizzle over the top.
Notes
More Sweet Yeast Breads to Love!
Hi! I’m Jennifer, a home cook schooled by trial and error and almost 40 years of getting dinner on the table! I love to share my favourite recipes, both old and new, together with lots of tips and tricks to hopefully help make your home cooking enjoyable, stress free, rewarding and of course, delicious!
I love the internet. I just googled Maple Butter recipes and found your gorgeous recipe which I will be making today or tomorrow. During the pandemic I have been making all my own bread and this will be a happy addition to the rotation. I recently ordered and received two gallons of syrup from a Vermont supplier and they included two containers of maple butter. I’m looking forward to tasting this bread and thank you for posting. Stay warm.
Do enjoy Carole! A wonderful way to enjoy that maple butter :)
Hi Jennifer!
I was wondering if it was possible to use 1% milk or if there’s a substitution for whole milk? I just don’t have any in my apartment at the moment.
Hi Mairi and sure, you can go ahead and use the 1%. The bread will be a little less “rich”, but will work just fine :)
Just popped it in the oven and it looks amazing!
Enjoy :)
I want to make this so badly but I’m so bad at using yeast, ahhhh.
Shikha, you’ve probably been using the wrong yeast! Seek out SAF Instant Yeast. It is foolproof and is added directly with the dry ingredients. No proofing required :)
Oh my gosh maple butter sounds incredible! And I can just imagine the unlimited ways it could be used…this bread is an amazing start though. I still haven’t mastered the pull-apart loaf, but sounds like I need to give it another chance! It is getting into winter here in Melbourne, so a morning tucked up inside with bread fresh from the oven would be absolutely perfect. :)
Thanks so much, Claudia and yes, definitely worth another chance :)
Oh my word, I adore anything with maple, and this bread looks simply scrumptious :) LOVE!
I’ve made the maple butter 4 times already. It is so easy and so delicious! I’m going to tackle the pull-apart bread next. My S.O. just brought back a half gallon of maple syrup from a farm in upstate NY specifically to keep me supplied so I can make maple butter. Thanks so much.
So glad you are enjoying it, Don and yes, that stuff is addictive :)
This looks amazing – can this be made ahead a couple of hours [am planning on taking it to work… ] or does it have to be consumed straight away after it comes out of the oven?
Hi Evie, It can definitely be made ahead. A couple of hours is no problem. For longer, it can also be frozen. Enjoy!
Thank you!
If I could reach in and pull that bread out of my computer screen I would. I love all things maple which means I pretty thrilled to have discovered your site! My brother in Minnesota makes his own maple syrup and its my favorite christmas gift.
Thanks so much, Melinda. I love all things maple, too and am so glad it’s so easy to get here :)
I can’t get enough of pull apart breads. I think they’re my favorite dessert next to brownies. And maple butter? Jeeze, Jennifer, you have me drooling all over my keyboard.
Thanks so much, Sarah. I love pull-apart breads, too. There’s just something about ripping in to bread :)
This sounds amazing and I wanted to make that maple butter immediately! It sounds beautiful where you live and really, I think every weekend is meant for some baking!
Thanks Jessica and I do too. I bake all year round, unless it gets really, really hot.
Your photos are mesmerizing…I never thought about maple being a spring ‘thing’, but it makes perfect sense! I love maple enough to have a Pinterest board dedicated to it, and this is going right on it!
Thanks Sue :) And yes, maple sap only runs for about a month every Spring – once the days start to be above freezing and stops as soon as the leaf buds break (or it gets too warm). It’s a good thing Canada has lots of maple trees, to keep us all in syrup all year! Thanks for pinning.
I am dying for this!! Maple butter makes me so happy!!
Thanks Katrina. I love maple butter, too (I’ve been sneaking spoonfuls :)
Such a stunning pull-apart, you had me at maple butter! :)
Thanks so much, Laura :)
Oh my wow. I just don’t even know what to say about this! This looks beyond heavenly!
Thanks so much, Lynn. It was perfect for breakfast!
Oh my word! This looks totally amazing. I’ll take it even though we are already in the midst of full blown spring. There’s always room for something like this!
Thanks Chris. This bread was such a treat. Love maple butter!