Candied Sweet Potato Pull Apart Bread

My life has been swallowed up whole by Pinterest - wardrobe, decor, and menu. I have chalkboard-painted cookie sheets in my kitchen. I have multiple "upcycled," old-shirt scarves. I have a stash of mason jars awaiting their calling in life.

Something about being on there, it just sucks you in and makes you feel a lot more crafty and creative than you really are. And yeah, 98% of my Pinterest projects end with "it looked better on Pinterest." But it's just so dang addicting.

Anyway...

Lately it seems that I cannot get on the internet, let alone Pinterest, without seeing pull-apart bread. So, I made my own. The idea of this recipe was to incorporate the flavors of one of my favorite Thanksgiving foods - candied sweet potatoes.

It was my first time making bread like this and I made a couple mistakes along the way, so I"ll point those out to you as we go.

Shall we?

(Not pictured, all ingredients, because I may have been making this up as I went along.) 

My base dough for this was 1/2 the recipe for Pioneer Woman Cinnamon Roll dough. I love her recipe for cinnamon rolls. I've made them several times and they always turn out great. 

Start by heating the milk, oil, and sugar over medium heat, until almost boiling. You don't want this to boil. Then, take them off the heat and let the milk cool to....warm. It can't be scalding hot, but you don't want it to be luke warm or cold either. It needs to be warm, like a nice bath. Does that explain it?
I hope so. 

While the milk mixture is cooling, cut the sweet potatoes into about 1 inch cubes. Toss them, just to coat, in vegetable oil and spread them out on a baking sheet. Then, roast them at 400F until they were fork tender and a brown around the edges, about an hour. 

Once the milk has cooled, add one package of active dry yeast. If you buy it in the 4 oz containers like this one, that's 2 1/4 teaspoon - thank you, Google. But first, measure it into a cute bowl that doesn't really serve a purpose other than being cute and holding things that are already measured. But it's so cute! And bendy! And fun! 

 Sprinkle the yeast over the now-warm milk mixture. 

It should get bubbly like this one did. That means your yeast are enjoying their bath. 

 Add 4 cups of flour. It will be a hot (warm) sticky mess, but that's okay. Just cover it with a towel and let it rise for  about an hour.
I hope it's easier for you to find a clean towel than it was for me. When a trip home is coming up, I tend to put laundry off as long as possible. Actually I do that all the time, but my trip home was coming up this time, so I had an excuse. 

Your sweet potatoes should probably be done roasting by this point. If you haven't checked them, now is the time.
If they are nice and tender, go ahead and mash those up. I used a hand mixer, but you could use a potato masher, or your hands, or find a strong man to do it for you. That's what a lady from work would suggest - find a strong man to do any moderately physically demanding task. My friend Emma (Check out her blog. She's really super cool and makes beautiful, delicious things in a kitchen.) would do it herself though. And so did I. And so can you!

 When your dough is done rising, you are going to add another 1/2 cup of flour, 1 scant teaspoon baking powder, a heaping 1/4 teaspoon baking soda, and 1 cup of mashed sweet potatoes. Go ahead and measure those out now. Use your cute bowls again! 

My cup of sweet potato is a little scant. I may have had some for lunch.

This is what your dough will look like when it's done rising. About twice its original size and still kind of a hot sticky mess. 

Add your flour, baking powder, baking soda, and mashed sweet potatoes. Mix it thoroughly. You could do this in a mixer, but I just used my hands. I recommend using your hands. I really like to use my hands rather than a utensil as often as possible. It reminds me of when I was just a little foodie and my mom let me mix meatloaf with my hands. 

 When you've got it all mixed up, flour your counter and roll it all out to about 1/2 inch with a rolling pin, or find a strong man to do that for you too. Now, here's where I made the biggest mistake. I didn't add any butter. Butter is always the right choice, but I didn't have any so I skipped it. The bread still tasted great, but my layers wouldn't peel apart.
So now, melt 1 cup of butter and pour it over the whole thing. Make sure you cover every bit of surface. 

Sprinkle it heavily with 1 cup brown sugar, 3 tablespoons cinnamon, and 1 tablespoon allspice. Just when you think you have enough, add a little more.
Then cut it into strips. I used a pizza cutter and it made it super fast and easy. 

If you have a loaf pan, now is the time to get that out. I don't, so I used my 8x8 baking dish. It would have been better in a loaf pan, but I am too cheap to buy things and just make due with what I have. 

Whatever you are using, you want your dough strips to be about 3/4 as tall as your dish, so when they rise they don't get too big for their britches. Don't stuff your dish completely full of these. They will need a little breathing room. I left about an inch for them to grow and it worked out perfectly. 

At this point, you could cover it and keep it for one or two days in the fridge. Or you could make it now. That's what I did. 

Bake in a 375F oven for 30 minutes. This won't quite cook it all the way, but that's what we want. 

While the bread is in the oven, make the marshmallow glaze. Melt 1 stick of butter, 1/2 a bag of mini marshmallows, and 1 tablespoon of vanilla over medium-low heat. Stir it continuously, so everything melts quickly and evenly, and because I am a compulsive stirrer. This will turn into a golden, butter-colored, lava-hot syrup. Keep it warm, over low heat until the bread comes out of the oven. 

After 30 minutes, take your bread out of the oven. It should be really, really close to being done. Carefully, pour your marshmallow glaze over the top. Make sure you get the whole thing covered, top and sides, edges, peaks and valleys. Every bit of it. Especially around the sides, so it sinks in and coats the whole thing. I put some marshmallows on top too, so I could get that toasted marshmallow taste with the marshmallow glaze. If you have any pecans or walnuts hanging around, now it the time to add those too. 

Put it back in the oven for another 5-10 minutes, until the bread is completely cooked.  

Try to refrain from eating it before it cools at least a little. It is covered in molten sugar glaze, which is as dangerous as it is delicious.
I definitely waited until it was completely cool before I started eating it with my bare hands. Not even a taste, because I am Mrs. Foodie Willpower. A model in self-control and self-discipline. That's me. 

See all that deliciousness bubbling up? That's why you want to make sure you cover the entire perimeter. That's also why you don't want to dive into this straight out of the oven.  

If you haven't made a side to take to your Thanksgiving festivities, this a great choice. It is delicious hot or at room temperature. And you can make the dough a day ahead of time then just have to bake it and glaze it the day of. 

Ingredients:
For Sweet Potato Pull-Apart Bread
2 medium sweet potatoes
2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil, plus more for tossing sweet potatoes
1/2 cup sugar
1 package active dry yeast
4 1/2 cups flour, divided
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, melted
1 cup brown sugar
3 tablespoons cinnamon
1 tablespoon allspice
1 cup pecans or walnuts (optional)

For Marshmallow Glaze
2 sticks (1 cup) butter
1/2 bag mini marshmallows
1 tablespoon vanilla

Directions: 
Preheat oven to 400F.
Cut sweet potato into 1'' cubes. Toss in vegetable oil. Roast until fork-tender and golden brown, about 1 hour. Remove from oven, mash and let cool.
Set oven to 375F.
While sweet potatoes are roasting, heat milk, oil, and sugar until almost (but not) boiling. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly, to warm.
When milk is warm, not hot, add yeast. Stir until all yeast is wet. Let sit 1-2 minutes.
Add 4 cups of flour and mix completely. Cover with a towel and let rise 1 hour.
Add last 1/2 cup of flour, baking powder, baking soda, and sweet potato. Mix completely using a stand mixer with bread hook or by kneading by hand.
Roll to 1/2 inch on a lightly floured surface. Cover with melted butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, and allspice.
Cut into strips, 3/4 the height and width of loaf pan.
Place strips in greased loaf pan (see above photo). Bake 30 minutes.
For marshmallow glaze - melt 2 sticks of butter, mini marshmallows, and vanilla in a sauce pan over medium-low heat. Stir continuously. Keep warm over low heat until bread is done.
Carefully pour marshmallow glaze over entire surface of bread, making sure to get all the way around the edge. Top with mini marshmallows, pecans, or walnuts (optional).
Bake 5-10 minutes longer, until marshmallows are toasted and bread is done.