Baklava Pull Apart Bread

If you like an overabundance of nutty and sweet... This pull apart bread is for you. It's yeasty, doughy, crunchy, and sweet. We had this pull apart bread for Christmas morning and we found we didn't even need the honey syrup. It has all of the flavors of Baklava, minus the pesky hassle of Phyllo dough.

It takes a little work and love but trust me, it's sooo worth it...

For the Dough:
3 Tablespoons warm water
2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1/3 cup milk
2 1/2-3 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla

For the Filling:
1 cup granulated sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 cup shelled pistachios
1/2 cup walnuts
1/4 cup sliced almonds
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 Tablespoon vanilla
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted

Honey Syrup:
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup water
pinch of salt

In a small bowl, activate the yeast by combining the 2 1/4 teaspoons of yeast with the warm water and sugar. Whisk quickly just to combine and allow it to rise for 5 minutes, until bubbly.

To make the dough: Fit stand mixer with dough hook attachment. In a small saucepan, combine the 1/4 cup unsalted butter and 1/3 cup of milk. Stir over medium heat just until the butter has completely melted. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly. In the bowl of your stand mixer, combine 2 cups of the flour with the remaining sugar and salt. Add in the yeast mixture, milk, eggs, and vanilla. Stir together on low speed for 2 minutes then increase to medium and mix until the ingredients are well incorporated. Start by adding in a 1/2 cup of flour, a little at a time and up to 1 whole cup. You want the dough to pull away from the sides but still be slightly sticky. Knead for 2 minutes or until smooth.
Place the dough in a large greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and allow it to rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

While the dough is rising, prep the filling.
In a small bowl, stir together the 1 cup of sugar and cinnamon, set aside.
In the bowl of your food processor combine the pistachios, walnuts, almonds, lemon zest and salt. Pulse 4-5 times until the nuts are chopped. Add in the vanilla and pulse just until large clumps form. Set aside.
In a small sauce pan, combine the honey, water, and salt for the honey syrup. Heat over medium until it starts to bubble and then lower the heat to a simmer and cook until the sauce has thickened and reduced by a third. Pour into a heat proof container and cover.

When your dough has doubled in size, turn it out on to a floured surface, gently flatten.

Roll out into a 20x12 inch rectangle. Don't worry about having a perfect rectangle.

Brush the 1/2 cup of melted butter over the top. Sprinkle with the cinnamon-sugar mixture and sprinkle the nut mixture evenly over the top.

Slice the dough into 6 horizontal strips and gently stack each strip on top of each other. Slice into 6 semi-even squares.

Prep a 9x5" loaf pan with parchment paper and grease with cooking spray. Layer each stack, standing upright into the loaf pan.

Cover with plastic wrap and allow the bread to rise in a warm place until doubled and fills the pan.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and bake the bread for 30-35 minutes or until a dark golden brown on top and completely cooked in the center.

Allow to sit in the pan for `15-20 minutes so the bread doesn't fall apart upon inverting. Remove the bread from the pan, drizzle with honey syrup or serve on the side.

Enjoy this nutty, rich, and sweet pull apart bread!

*recipe adapted from Sprinkle Bakes