Dollywood Cinnamon Bread Recipe

This Dollywood cinnamon bread recipe is my best attempt at recreating the soft, pull-apart bread I’ve read so much about. It starts with a simple homemade bread dough that is cut almost all the way through, coated generously in cinnamon sugar, then baked until the loaf is golden brown with sticky, caramelized edges.

The finished bread is soft and fluffy in the center, with cinnamon sugar tucked into every pull-apart section. The outside gets slightly crisp where the sugar caramelizes against the pan, while the inside stays tender and warm.

If you love big cinnamon flavor, you might also like my homemade cinnamon chips recipe.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Soft, fluffy bread. A little added fat keeps the crumb tender while still giving the dough enough structure to rise beautifully.

Cinnamon sugar in every bite. Deep cuts in the loaf allow the cinnamon mixture to settle between the sections instead of staying only on top.

No rolling or filling. Unlike cinnamon rolls, you do not have to roll the dough into a rectangle, spread a filling, or shape individual rolls.

What Makes Dollywood Cinnamon Bread So Famous?

Dollywood’s cinnamon bread is made fresh at the Grist Mill in the Craftsman’s Valley section of Dollywood theme park in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. Dollywood calls it its world-famous cinnamon bread, and it is traditionally served with vanilla icing or Dollywood apple butter.

What makes this bread different from an ordinary cinnamon roll is the way the dough is shaped before baking.

Instead of rolling cinnamon sugar inside a sheet of dough, the bread is formed into a loaf and cut with several deep crosswise slits. The fat and cinnamon-sugar mixture work their way down between those cuts, creating distinct sections that puff up as the loaf rises and bakes.

The result is a warm pull-apart bread with soft centers, cinnamon-coated edges, and plenty of sticky sugar tucked between the sections.

If you ask me,  that sounds like the kind of theme park food worth standing in line for.

Is This the Real Dollywood Cinnamon Bread Recipe?

I have never been to Dollywood, although it has been on my list for years.

After Dolly Parton’s recent passing, I found myself thinking about what an incredible woman she was and the legacy she left behind. Her music was only part of her story. She also built successful businesses, invested in her Tennessee community, and created the Imagination Library, which grew from a local literacy program into something that has reached millions of children.

So, no, I have not tasted Dollywood’s famous cinnamon bread, but I hope I get to do that someday.

While researching the bread, I found visitor reports indicating that versions served at Dollywood have been made without dairy. That led me to try Butter Flavor Crisco in my version, although I am also including instructions for using butter if that is what you prefer.

This is not Dollywood’s proprietary recipe. It is my copycat version based on the technique, texture, and flavor that make the original bread so famous.

Equipment You’ll Need

You can knead this dough by hand, but I prefer using the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook.

You will also need:

• One 9 x 5-inch loaf pan, or three x3.5x2 mini loaf pans. 
• Cooking spray
• Kitchen scissors

How to Make Dollywood Cinnamon Bread

Make the Bread Dough

Add the warm water, yeast, and a small amount of the sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer.

Let the mixture sit for about 5 minutes. If you are using active dry yeast, you should begin to see a little foam or bubbling on the surface. Instant yeast may not foam as much, so do not worry if the mixture looks fairly quiet.

Add the remaining sugar, bread flour, salt, and softened Butter Flavor Crisco or butter.

Fit the mixer with the dough hook and mix on low speed until the flour is incorporated and a rough dough begins to form.

Increase the mixer to medium-low speed and knead for about 5 to 7 minutes.

The dough should become smooth and elastic and should begin pulling away from the sides of the bowl. It should feel soft and slightly tacky rather than dry or stiff.

Try not to add extra flour unless the dough is truly sticky. A softer dough will give you a softer, fluffier loaf after baking.

Let the Dough Rise

Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl.

Cover it with plastic wrap and place it in a warm spot.

Let the dough rise until it has roughly doubled in size, about 60 to 90 minutes.

Use the appearance of the dough as your guide rather than relying only on the clock. It should look noticeably larger, soft, and slightly domed.

If your kitchen is cool, the rise may take a little longer.

Prepare the Pans

You can make this recipe as one large loaf or three mini loaves.

For one large loaf, use a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan.

For three mini loaves, divide the dough among three small disposable aluminum loaf pans.

If you are using disposable aluminum pans, you generally do not need to line them because the bread releases easily.

If you are using a regular metal or glass loaf pan, you may want to line the pan with parchment paper or lightly grease it to make removing the sticky cinnamon bread easier.

Shape the Loaf or Mini Loaves

Turn the risen dough onto a lightly floured work surface and gently press it to release any large pockets of air.

For one large loaf, pat the dough into a rough rectangle with the smooth side facing down against the work surface. Roll the dough up into a loaf, keeping the surface fairly tight as you roll. Pinch the seam closed and place the loaf seam-side down in the prepared 9 x 5-inch pan.

For three mini loaves, divide the dough into three equal portions, about 230 grams each. Shape each piece the same way, rolling it into a short loaf with a smooth top. Place each loaf seam-side down in a mini loaf pan.

Begin the Second Rise

Cover the loaf or mini loaves loosely and let them rise for about 20 minutes.

At this point, you are not looking for the dough to double in size.

The loaves should simply look a little softer and puffier and should be about halfway through their final rise.

Add the Butter Flavor Crisco or Butter

Melt the Butter Flavor Crisco or butter.

Pour it generously over the top of the loaf or divide it evenly among the three mini loaves.

Use a pastry brush, spoon, or your fingers to spread it across the entire top surface.

I prefer adding the melted Butter Flavor Crisco or butter before making the cuts. As you slice into the dough, some of the melted fat naturally runs down into the openings.

That helps coat the inside of each section and gives the cinnamon sugar something to stick to.

Make the Deep Cuts

Using a sharp knife, make deep crosswise cuts across the loaf.

For one large loaf, make about 5 or 6 cuts.

For three mini loaves, make about 3 or 4 cuts in each loaf.

Cut almost all the way through the dough, leaving about ½ inch connected along the bottom.

The loaf should still hold together as one piece, but the sections should be able to separate slightly as the dough rises and bakes.

These deep cuts are what create the pull-apart texture and give the melted Butter Flavor Crisco or butter and cinnamon sugar plenty of places to settle.

Add the Cinnamon Sugar

Sprinkle the cinnamon-sugar mixture generously over the top of the loaf while the melted Butter Flavor Crisco or butter is still coating the dough.

Use your fingers to gently open the cuts and sprinkle or press some of the cinnamon sugar down inside each one.

Do not worry about making this step perfectly neat.

You want the cinnamon sugar tucked into the cuts as well as coating the top of the bread.

Some of the mixture may fall down the sides or collect in the bottom of the pan. That is fine. As the bread bakes, the sugar melts with the Butter Flavor Crisco or butter and creates sticky, caramelized edges around the loaf.

The top should look well coated before the bread goes into the oven.

Finish the Rise

Let the coated loaf or mini loaves rise for about 15 more minutes while you preheat the oven to 350°F.

The dough should look noticeably puffier by the time it is ready to bake, but it does not need to double in size.

The cut sections should begin opening slightly and pressing toward one another.

Bake

Bake the bread at 350°F.

For three mini loaves, bake for about 30 minutes.

For one large loaf, bake for about 35 minutes.

The bread should be deep golden brown on top, and the cinnamon sugar around the edges should look melted and caramelized.

Because the cinnamon-sugar coating can make the outside look finished before the center is fully baked, use a probe thermometer if you are unsure.

Insert the thermometer into the thickest part of the loaf and look for an internal temperature of about 190°F to 200°F.

The center should be fully baked and fluffy, without any gummy or doughy areas between the pull-apart sections.

Cool and Serve

Let the bread cool in the pan for about 10 minutes before removing it.

If you are using disposable aluminum pans, you can also leave the mini loaves right in the pans for serving, storing, or selling.

Serve the cinnamon bread while it is still slightly warm, when the crumb is soft and the cinnamon-sugar layers are sticky and caramelized.

Drizzle it with vanilla glaze or serve the glaze and apple butter on the side for dipping.

Make a Simple Vanilla Icing

Dollywood serves its famous cinnamon bread with vanilla icing or apple butter, and I can understand the appeal of both.

For a simple vanilla icing, whisk confectioners’ sugar with vanilla and enough water to create a thick but pourable glaze.

Add the liquid gradually.

You want the icing thin enough to drizzle, but thick enough that it clings to the warm bread rather than immediately disappearing into it.

For a little contrast to all the sweetness, add a small amount of fresh lemon juice.

You can drizzle the icing over the entire loaf or serve it in a small bowl for dipping.

Serve It With Apple Butter

Apple butter is another traditional accompaniment to Dollywood’s cinnamon bread.

Serve a warm loaf with thick apple butter on the side and let everyone pull off individual sections for dipping.

The Secret Is in the Deep Cuts

If there is one technique that makes the biggest difference in this recipe, it is how deeply you cut the dough.

Do not treat these cuts like decorative scoring.

The cuts need to extend almost to the bottom of the loaf.

Leaving approximately ½ inch of dough connected at the bottom keeps the loaf together while still allowing the individual pieces to pull apart easily after baking.

Those openings also create more surface area for the cinnamon sugar.

If the cuts are too shallow, most of the coating will stay on the outside of the bread.

If they are deep enough, the shortening and cinnamon sugar will settle between the sections and create sticky cinnamon layers throughout the loaf.

Those are the bites everyone is going to reach for first.

Can I Use Butter Instead of Crisco?

Yes, If you would rather use butter, you can substitute melted butter for the Butter Flavor Crisco in the cinnamon-sugar coating.

You can also use softened butter in the bread dough.

In fact, the cinnamon bread recipe published in Dolly’s Dixie Fixin’s uses melted butter.

I chose Butter Flavor Crisco for this version because I like the way shortening tenderizes bread dough, and melted shortening does an especially good job of coating the dough and holding onto the cinnamon sugar.

Butter will give the bread a slightly different flavor and texture because butter contains both water and milk solids, while shortening is almost entirely fat.

Either version should be delicious.

Can I Make Mini Cinnamon Bread Loaves?

Absolutely. Divide the dough into equal portions and shape each piece to fit your mini loaf pans.

I used three 6x3.5x2 disposable bread pans in the photos.

Make several deep cuts in each loaf, leaving the dough connected along the bottom, then coat the smaller loaves with melted Butter Flavor Crisco and cinnamon sugar just as you would the full-sized loaf.

Because smaller loaves bake much more quickly, begin checking them well before the full-sized loaf would be finished.

You could package the loaf by itself or offer a small container of icing or apple butter on the side, depending on your local cottage food regulations.

Can I Make the Dough Ahead?

Yes.

Prepare the dough and allow it to complete the first rise.

Cover it tightly and refrigerate it overnight.

The next day, remove the dough from the refrigerator and let it sit at room temperature for about 20 minutes.

Shape the loaf, make the deep cuts, coat it with shortening and cinnamon sugar, and continue with the second rise.

Slightly chilled dough can actually be easier to shape and cut because it is a little firmer.