Lemon Pull Apart Loaf

After making the challah for Rosh Hashanah, I had extra dough left over so I decided to give this recipe a try. I had actually been meaning to make it for quite some time but every time I made sweet dough my mom insisted that I make the fruit filled cream cheese braids because she fell in love with them. This time, however, I finally convinced her to let me give this recipe a try. The technique is actually really cool and it makes such a beautiful looking loaf, I just couldn't resist. My only qualm is that I wish it had a stronger lemon flavor, but that can be achieved by simply making more of the lemon filling and really slathering it on the dough.

Lemon Pull Apart Loaf
Note: This loaf uses half of the dough from the sweet dough recipe.

• Sweet dough (recipe can be found on link above)
• Zest of three lemons (use more if you want more filling)
• 3 tbsp sugar
• Melted butter
• Juice of one lemon
• 1 tbsp icing sugar

1. Mix together the lemon zest and sugar and set aside.
2. Roll out the dough into a large rectangle and cut into five strips.
3. Brush the first four strips with melted butter and then spread with the lemon filling.
4. Stack the strips on top of one another, making sure the plain strip is on top.
5. Cut the strips into six equal sized blocks and arrange them, cut side up, side by side in a pre-greased 9" x 5" loaf pan.
6. Cover the pan with plastic wrap and set aside in a warm, dry place for half an hour. Brush with an egg wash while you preheat the oven.
7. Bake the loaf at 350 Fahrenheit for about 45 minutes. If it starts to get too brown on top cover it with aluminum foil to keep it from burning while the inside keeps baking.
8. Once it's baked, transfer the loaf to a metal rack to cool. Mix together the lemon juice and icing sugar to create a simple glaze that you can pour over the top while its still hot.