Have I told you how much I adore Rhodes Bake N Serv? I do, I really do.
I have been using their frozen bread for years and years. Sure, I use it to make bread. Like plain ol’ white bread. And my kids adore coming home and smelling bread in the oven. There is nothing like homemade bread with a bit of local honey slathered on it, is there?
Recipe Tester Tammy says:
We really enjoyed this! It was impressive looking, tasted great, and the texture was good… crispy, caramelized crust with soft fluffy inside. It was sweet but not too sweet. The caramelized almonds on the outside were a delightful surprise!
This almond bread has a bit of a crescent roll texture because of the layers of butter, sugar, and bread. My favorite is the little buttery, crispy edges…so good! Give me a cup of coffee and this bread and you won’t see me for hours. Yum!
Monkey Bread vs. Pull Apart Bread: What’s the Difference?
You might have heard both terms tossed around, and honestly, they’re pretty close cousins in the bread world. Pull apart bread is the umbrella term for any bread made up of small dough pieces or balls baked together so you can just tear off a piece whenever you want. It’s the perfect shareable treat, whether you’re craving something savory or sweet.
Now, monkey bread is a special kind of pull-apart bread, usually sweet and coated in cinnamon sugar, baked in a bundt pan. The name? Well, it probably comes from how those little dough balls piled up look like a barrel of monkeys—cute, right?
If you are looking specifically for a monkey bread recipe you’ll love my Berry Monkey Bread.
Is it easy to make a pull apart bread from frozen bread dough?
Yes, making pull apart bread with frozen bread dough is super easy! I usually start with a loaf of Rhodes frozen bread dough or frozen dinner rolls dough that I’ve thawed overnight in the fridge. Then, I set the dough in a greased loaf pan in a warm spot to let it rise until it doubles in size. From there, it’s just a matter of slicing, layering with butter and toppings, letting it rise again, and baking. Using frozen dough keeps things simple and quick, and the result is always a beautiful loaf with buttery, crispy edges and soft, gooey insides that my family loves!
Can I make this recipe with homemade bread dough?
Yes, you can absolutely make this Almond Pull Apart Bread with homemade dough! Just prepare your favorite bread dough recipe and let it rise until it’s doubled in size. Then, follow the same steps: slice off pieces gently, slather them with butter, sugar, and almonds, fold them up, and line them in your loaf pan. Let the dough rise again until it’s just about touching the sides of the pan, then bake as usual.
How To Make Almond Pull Apart Bread
Start with a loaf of Rhodes frozen bread dough or Rhodes dinner rolls dough that you have let thaw. I recommend putting the dough in the fridge the night before you want to use it and then…
Set that dough in a greased loaf pan, in a warm place, and let the dough rise until double in size.
By the way, I am terrible at remembering to grease the plastic wrap that I put on the bread while rising. When you don’t grease it, it causes the dough to fall when you pull the plastic off the dough. Major bummer. I do it all the time!!
This Almond Pull apart bread is now just a matter of slicing off bits of that risen bread dough (try to handle it as little as possible) and covering it with butter, sugar, and sliced almonds.
Put a bit of almond extract into the melted butter to amp up the almond flavor and keep this loaf easy to make! Of course, you can add a bit of cinnamon here, if you want. Or change up the nuts and try walnuts or pecans, instead.
Note, if you change the nuts I would also recommend using vanilla instead of almond extract with the butter.
Fold over your little bundles of goodness and line them up in a little row in your loaf pan to do a second round of rising. Brush any leftover butter on the loaf.
You’ll be looking for the bread to come close to touching the sides of the pan, but just barely. THEN it’s ready for the oven.
Gosh, is that a pretty looking loaf of bread!! And sooo easy.
I love to peel off all the crispy edges and leave the soft inside for my family. That is my absolute favorite part ;).
easy Almond Pull Apart bread
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Put the loaf of frozen bread in the fridge overnight to thaw.1 loaf Rhodes frozen white bread dough or 12 Rhodes Dinner Rolls
- The next day, put the dough into a bowl (if using rolls, put about 2 inches apart onto parchment paper) and set it in a warm location to double in size (I usually set mine in a sunny window). This usually takes about an hour, or so.
- After the dough has risen, gently form a loaf shape (this isn't necessary if using rolls – take each roll and move on to step 5). Be careful to be as gentle as possible.
- Slice about a 1/2 inch of dough off, press it out a bit to about 3/4 of the width and depth of your loaf pan (I use a 9 by 5 loaf pan)
- Slather melted butter (with the almond extract stirred in) on one side of the dough, sprinkle with a teaspoon of sugar, and a scattering of almonds. Check notes for a helpful shortcut.1/4 cup butter, 1/2 cup sugar, 1 cup sliced almonds
- Fold the dough in half and set into a greased loaf pan. Repeat the process with the entire dough loaf.
- After all the little squares are set into the loaf pan, drizzle the rest of the butter over the loaf and sprinkle the rest of the sugar and almonds on top.
- Cover and set the loaf in a warm place to once again rise. This time let it rise enough to touch the sides of the loaf pan.
- Bake at 350 degrees for about 35 minutes, uncovered. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for another 10-15 minutes.
- Let cool for a few minutes before taking out of the pan.
Nutrition
Notes
Lay all the flattened pieces on parchment paper, brush all with butter, then sprinkle sugar and almonds over everything at once instead of filling one at a time.
Tried this recipe?
Let us know how it was!Other shortcut bread recipes to try (including more pull apart breads!):
Berry Cinnamon Roll Monkey Bread
Cheesy Ranch Garlic Pull Apart Bread
Thanks so much Kristen!
This looks simply incredible. Thanks for sharing.