Thoughts from a Canadian Prairie Mom: Orange pull-apart bread....yummy!

Last week I mentioned that I was baking a pull-apart orange bread. It turned out great....as a matter of fact, the kids had devoured almost half a loaf by the time I got to tasting it. So in my books, if its a fav of the kids, its a "keeper" recipe.

I found this recipe online and am sure glad I did! There are lots of great colourful photos and the instructions are so easy to follow. I must say that I got two loaves out of this recipe....not sure if my loaf pans are really small but the dough rose so lovely considering it was -30 C something outside!

Here is the recipe I used found here.
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Pull-Apart Orange Bread

As found on: Givers log -Pull-Apart Orange Bread or the best hostess gift ever

Ingredients

2 envelopes active yeast (2 scant tablespoons)

1/4 cup warm water mixed with a pinch of sugar

1 cup scalded milk, cooled slightly

2 large eggs

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

Finely grated zest of 2 oranges

1/4 cup vegetable shortening

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting

2 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice

Vegetable oil cooking spray, for bowl and tins

Method

1. In a mixing bowl, sprinkle yeast over sugar water; let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. Add milk, eggs, granulated sugar, salt, half the zest, and shortening. Slowly add flour, mixing until combined. Knead until shiny and elastic, 3 to 5 minutes. Place in an oiled bowl; cover with plastic. Let rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 1/4 hours.

2. If you’re making the dough the night before, like I did, so it is all set to roll and bake in the morning, this is the part where you can cover your dough and let it rise in the fridge overnight.

3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Make filling: In a small bowl, mix remaining zest, 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar, and butter. On a well-floured work surface, gently knead dough 3 to 4 times to release air pockets. Roll out dough to an 18-by-14-inch rectangle, dusting with flour as needed. Brush some of the filling over bottom half; fold to enclose. Brush half with filling, and fold again to enclose. Let rest about 5 minutes.

4. Lightly roll out dough again to a 12-by-8-inch rectangle. Brush half with remaining filling, and fold. Cut into squares. Place squares in coated pan with layers facing up. Let rise until almost doubled in bulk, 12 to 15 minutes.

5. Bake until golden, about 30–35 minutes. Remove from oven; let rest 5 minutes in pan, then transfer loaf to a cooling rack.

6. Make a thick icing by whisking together remaining 2 cups confectioners’ sugar and the juice. Drizzle over loaf. Pull apart and taste pure heaven.

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Here are a couple photos from my own breadmaking session.