Start the apple season off with some Gluten Free Apple Pull Apart Bread. This trendy bread is a mix between a cinnamon roll and cinnamon loaf bread. Now you can enjoy a gluten free apple pull apart bread that is also dairy free, egg free, nut free and Vegan.
Apples showing up in Fall means we’ll start the long transition to cooler weather. Apple and pumpkin recipes are popping up everywhere. I even asked all of you what you’d like to see next, either pumpkin streusel muffins or this apple pull apart bread. And DANG. Apple kicked some serious butt leave the poor pumpkin muffins in the dust. But I can’t blame you. I’ve seen so many version of apple pull apart breads lately on Pinterest. This is one of those ‘must try’ recipes. After all, it must be good if everyone else trying it. <—– peer pressure. gotta love it, right? 😉
I love fall but always find myself struggling a bit to make that transition. I feel like I just got the hang of having 2 energetic boys home all Summer. It’s like we just figured out what to expect, and then things change with school starting. School is not going to be a picnic in the park, or so I’ve heard. I’ve been told by the parents of older kids, 2nd grade is hard. The homework is different and the curriculum also includes first communion and first reconciliation (our school is Catholic)
So it’s a transition in season and in life.
But transitions are so hard sometimes!
Another unexpected transition was taking a giant leap for school lunches. If you follow me regularly, you might remember we have chosen to have Sir sit at the allergy table away from his peers. Our thought has been to minimize the risk of exposure of peanuts. He’s still young, at only 7 years old. Having him be responsible for his life at 4 and 5 years old seem a bit preposterous. Even 7 seems too young. He is just a kid after all. Although it has been difficult keeping him away from his friends (and almost stunting him socially), my husband and I felt more at ease knowing the table he sat at did not have traces of nuts from another child that might have sat at the table only minutes before him. And the allergy table is still our comfort level.
But
Just like being new to school where things change rapidly, our safe seating strategy has changed too. You see, this year Sir was the ONLY child to sit at the allergy table during his lunch. Yes, he could choose a friend with hot lunch (peanut free) to sit with him. Yes, he’d be safer. But… Gosh. To be the only kid isolated that like? The thought of it breaks my heart…We never planned for this change. After the first day of school we found out one of the allergy children moved and the other went up a grade and had lunch earlier.
So here we were left to decide, should we risk his life (not an exaggeration) for social interaction?
It was not an easy decision but after weighing all the options, it just seemed like the next logical step. The older children (and others with allergies in his grade) already sit among the other kids. Everyone’s comfort level is different. Our is not exactly “comfort” in anyway since we already have been to the emergency room.
Thankfully our school has been nothing but supportive and very open to change to make the school safer for those with food allergies. Last year our principal answered our concerns with a food allergy committee consisting of teachers from each grade and cafeteria staff.
With the committee in already in place, I felt confident in meeting with the cafeteria staff, teachers and principals to create a safety plan designed for Sir in mind within the cafeteria. The cafeteria staff and volunteers were so welcoming and never once made me feel like the stereotypical allergy mom labels like: overbearing, helicopter, pushy, uptight, crazy etc. They wanted to know every detail of how they should clean an area assigned to Sir. I suggested a visual cue, like a sign to quickly identify if his area had been cleaned.
This is what my son requested (it’s a spider from MineCraft) and staff had requested I type up a quick easy sheet on how to inject an epi-pen and to meet for an demonstration.
I had also requested that both 2nd grade teachers would speak to the class about choosing not to sit next to Sir if they knowingly had peanut butter or nuts in their lunches and asked the cafeteria workers to check to make sure the students sitting next to him did not have nuts. With a strong plan in place, I nervously agree to start after the weekend… which I totally chickened out and ask to start on the next day incase the teachers couldn’t make an announcement to the class that morning.
Things have gone really well the first week. But it’s not to say I don’t look at the clock around lunch time and keep my phone near me. A tough but necessary transition.
I know I’ll get past this eventually. New things can be scary for everyone and especially when you child’s life is at risk. The older he gets, the more we have to trust him to watch out for himself. I just want to make sure the school is there to help him. 🙂
And on to this lovely gluten free apple pull apart bread… This pull apart bread has been all over the internet in so many forms. There are too many different breads to mention and so many who have done this already but I haven’t found any that gluten free AND egg free. This sort of thing needs structure so it stays as individual slices after it bakes and not just a glob of dough. Believe it or not, the dough was pretty easy to work with. Just be sure to have greased hands and work surface for easy moving.
Inspired by Garnish With Lemon
- 3 cups gluten free white all purpose flour mix
- 1¼ cup + 2 tbsp milk of choice
- 1 rapid yeast packet or 2½ tsp
- 3 tsp xanthan or guar gum (omit if mix already contains gum)
- ½ tsp salt
- ¾ cup sugar
- 2 Tbsp melted vegetable shortening + extra for parchment paper
- 3 Tbsp shortening
- 3 small apples (thinly cut)
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- 2½ tsp cinnamon
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 4 tsp water
- Heat ¼ cup of milk of choice to 100 degrees. Add yeast and set aside for until foaming.
- Mix all dry ingredients for the dough. Combine yeast, melted shortening and remaining milk of choice.
- Vigorously mix ingredients by hand for 10 minutes or stand mixer for 5 minutes to help activate gum. Cover bowl and let dough rest for 10 minutes. Work on apples while waiting.
- Wash, peel and core apples. Thinly slice apples into small bite size bits, set aside until needed.
- Lightly grease a sheet of parchment paper the size of a baking sheet. With greased hands, gently press out dough to form a rectangle approximately 16x20 inches.
- Lightly spread shortening over entire dough. Mix cinnamon and brown sugar and evenly sprinkle over entire dough (reserve 2 Tbsp for sprinkling on top)
- Slice dough into 6 equal rows lengthwise (right to left) and 4 equal columns width wise (top to bottom)
- Gently drop apple bits over entire dough in a single layer. (You'll have a little apples left over)
- Carefully move each square into a 9 x 5 inch bread pan stacking upon one another. For the last end piece, make sure the filling side is down so the it won't stick to the pan. Sprinkle with remaining filling.
- Cover with plastic and allow to rise in a warm area for 20 minutes. (do not allow dough to double in size or risk collapse during baking)
- Bake at 375 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until top turns golden brown and internal temp reaches 190 degrees F. Remove from oven and allow to sit in the pan to steam another 10 minutes before removing to fully cool on a wire rack.
- Top with glaze. Enjoyed best the first day.
Some other things you may like:
Gluten Free Dairy Free Samoa Ice Cream Cake (aka Caramel deLites)
Gluten Free Panera Cinnamon Crunch Bagel Recipe (Vegan Copycat)– vegan dairy free egg free
Gluten Free Vegan Apple Crunch Bagels (egg free dairy free)
Gluten Free Danish Apple Pie Tart
Gluten Free Blueberry Danish (egg free dairy free vegan option)
Hello, I’m Laura! Thanks for stopping by… I hope this blog will help you or someone you know and love. 
I can’t even imagine how hard it must be to send your child to school with an allergy and the prayer that everyone will do what they need to. Sounds like you are doing a great job at being proactive! This apple bread looks beyond amazing!
Thank you so much Tonia! It has been a very big adjustment but has gone really well! We’re very lucky everyone has been so open to helping.
This apple pull-apart bread looks just amazing – that has been on my list for YEARS to make every fall. It’s happening this year!
Thank you Stacey! I have seen it too and finally decided to make my own version. 😀
This bread is just beautiful! I totally understand on the allergy front, my daughter went to her first peanut-allowed camp this summer.
Thank you so much Sara! You must have been so nervous with your daughter’s camp! So glad to hear it all went well.
I can’t even handle this! And it’s GF and vegan <3 I've never even had pull-apart bread, but o I always have!!
LOL, Rebecca! Now’s the time to try the bread! 😀
First of all, I have to say how much I love your photographs! So beautiful! And second, I can only imagine how scary it can be for you and your son. You’ll get past it 🙂
Thank you Maryanne! Allergies are scary when you have a new routine but we are managing well and have the full support of the school staff.
Ohhhh wow, that looks so delicious!!!
Thank you so much Amanda!
Laura this bread looks so good! Like, drool-worthy good! I love that it’s vegan!! Definitely pinning!
Thank you so much Jessica and thanks for pinning!
This screams fall, Laura – can’t wait to give it a try!
Thank you Melanie!
I always LOVE a good apple recipe, thanks for sharing! 🙂
Thank you so much Kristyn!
I think the school should be nut free. Is the convenience of peanut butter worth all you are going through? We are fortunate not to have allergies. I think that in itself makes up for the loss of the peanut butter convenience. Sorry you have to deal with this.
Love the look of your recipes, but can’t get over the amount of sugar which you use. Sugar has been positively associated with heart and inflammatory conditions and it bothers me that it is used so freely in your recipes. you are already using Apple, which is a sweet fruit – is it really necessary to have to add so much additional sugar?
Thank you for your comment Janine, Lol, I’d have to say overall my recipes do not ridiculous amounts of sugar… I agree the last batch has been higher buut that is to be expected with recipes involving a frostings and glazes.;D
I think you’re missing the point of this recipe Apple Pull Apart Bread— a sweet breakfast bread. This is similar to a densely sugared cinnamon sticky bun/donut or sweet apple raisin bread. I could remove all the sugar and only use apples but then it would just be bread… with apples.
If you search my recipes you’ll find whenever possible I use natural sweeteners like maple syrup or fruit juice in place of sugar. We cannot use the artificial sweeteners like Stevia or Truvia since they are closely related to sunflower (we are allergic to sunflower). In the end, the look of my recipes do not matter since the whole purpose of this allergy blog is to create foods (and treats) that meet my family’s needs. 😀
Just to throw my two cents in… Stevia isn’t artificial at all, it’s grown on a tree. And you could always use whatever sweetener you want, you don’t have to use sugar just because it’s in the recipe. 🙂 Look delicious!
Thanks Stephanie! I did know that, I meant to say “we can’t use artificial sweeteners, stevia, or etc..”
I feel your pain, Laura! My daughter is in 7th grade, also with a peanut allergy, and finding a happy medium for everyone during lunch time is a delicate dance. Having a supportive school environment definitely makes a difference. Best of luck as you continue navigating life with food allergies!
This looks awesome! Pull apart bread is always good–I imagine this apple variation is just divine 🙂
Oh dear. Not sure what I have done wrong. My dough looks more like cake batter. I assume it is supposed to look more like bread dough. I have added some more flour, but still not getting a good dough. I didn’t have shortening,so used butter. But other than that, I measured carefully. I used a flour blend from Bulk Barn. Any suggestions? This bread looks yummy!
Hi Trish, Sorry to hear things didn’t go as planned! Gluten free dough will be more batter like for almost all baked goods. This recipe, however, shouldn’t be as thin a cake batter. It could be partly to blame on the butter since shortening contains 0% water while butter has 18% water. I think the mix also has something to do with it. Does the mix have gum included, does it contain whole grains or filled with starch etc… Gluten free mixes all vary so much. Maybe try it again with less butter and a bit more flour you used the first time. Hope that helps!
Love this and sounds so good. Can I sub the milk with almond milk and the flour do either whole wheat or some other gluten free option? Thank you
This recipe is genius! I’ve been wanting to make pull-apart bread for a long time now!
Question about stacking the slices. Do you mean top to bottom in the pan or front to back?
Hi Michael, For stacking the bread, just place on top of each other (filling side or top up). For the last piece that goes on the top, flip it over (filling side down) to reduce sticking to the pan for easy removal. Hope that answers your question.
I am celiac and my grand daughter and i are both allergic to eggs, nuts as well as shell fish and many other foods. I have been looking for a great bread/cake recipe i can make that is not to fating so I can enjoy it with her and she can also help me create it. I worry about her starting school in 2 years as she has severe eczema on top of everything. else. we are making this tonight!
SO happy you found this recipe you can both enjoy!
Can I pass this off on the non allergy folks as sweet Rolls? Will they taste the difference? So thrilled I have found this and will be able to have a Christmas am treat. Getting brave and trying baking gluten/egg/dairy free….been just avoiding so far….and I’m a foodie so all the joy was sucked out of cooking. Fingers crossed I can pull this off. Any newbie tips?
Hi Lori, you can always not mention it’s gluten free allergy friendly… With many gluten free baked goods, the textures are a bit denser or just not the same as wheat based. Taste however is completely comparable when it comes to a sweet treat like this. They probably won’t even notice!
I couldn’t get the dough to rise with Fisheman Rapid Yeast. I tried heating the milk I’m step 1, but it would not foam. I mixed it dry with the other dry ingredients, the dough looked fine, but it bake right. I’m want to try it again. What brand of yeast would you recommend? Thanks. Here’s to better luck next time!
Brandon, usually if the yeast does not foam it is either too old (dead) or the temperature was too hot and killed it. I haven’t used that brand but any yeast will produce the same results. I suggest buying fresh yeast and try again!
I don’t have rapid rise, only active dry yeast. Should I do anything differently? Thanks
Regular yeast works just fine. It may take just a little longer to activate and rise.
Hi,
I have tried the recipe yesterday, even made two cakes with different brands of yeast just to make sure it wasn’t the yeast if it doesn’t rise…i did replace xantan gum with psyllium and flax as they dont sell the gum in my area…(maybe that was it..)
I am sorry to say but it turned out absultely horrible… MUCH TOO sweet even though almost half the sugar was left and i didnt put almost any of the glaze… It didn’t rise properly and the texture is super weird… I am sorry I made it for a bday because now I am simply embarassed to bring it…
🙁
Iga, I am sorry to hear you had such a terrible time with recipe. It is very important to note this recipe was not created with the use of flaxseed or psyllium as the binder instead of guar or xanathan gum. The weird texture you describe occurred from the substitute. I often encourage people to try a recipe as a trial before using it for a special occasion to avoid the excess stress of substitutions like this fail.
This looks delicious.
I am wondering about the vegetable shortening though – it contains soybean oil?
My 4 mo might be suffering from a food allergy so I’m on a strict diet where soy is off limits, so that’s why I’m wondering.
Hi Jo, the vegetable shortening I use is actually soy free. We are also allergic to soy. It is non-hydrogenated Palm Shortening by Spectrum Organics. Likewise, you can use any solid fat (including butter for this recipe). Hope that helps!
just made this and it turned out great! I used bob’s red mill gluten free flour, and i used coconut oil instead of vegetable shortening. The dough was a little sticky and difficult to work with at first, but the finish product was delicious. Can’t wait to try more of your recipes!
My daughter is allergic to sugar. Can we use honey to replace it?
Hi Pilar,
I think honey would work for sweetness… The only thing I’d be concerned about is possible burning before being fully baked through the center. I would add a foil tent to start baking (maybe there first 20 minutes?) to help control browning. I used regular sugar and it was close to becoming burned. 🙂 Hope that helps!
Emily did you use bobs red mills 1 to 1 flour? We can get that blend and robin hood gf blend here. I am very excited to try this tomorrow.
Ps. Laura, I will be doing Your recipe exactly as written as i think it is unfair of people to judge a recipe when they sub stuff in or do variations without trying it as written first…so excited!!
Hi there,
Does this freeze well?
Hi adore! Yes, the bread freezes well but glaze becomes sticky. If you plan on freezing, only glaze the portion you eat.
Wonderful – Thanks! Looking forward to trying it.
Hi, we found out our youngest has a long list of allergies after ending up in the ER when he was just over a year old. That being said I love the recipe you have and I think he would love the pull apart bread. Is there a suggested substitute for cinnamon? He is allergic to cinnamon :(, so many things require it and I want to be able to make something that he enjoys. Thank you!
Hi Tiffany,
So sorry to hear your little guy has multiple food allergies too. Whenever a recipe calls for spice, feel free to omit what you cannot have. The over taste will be different but *safe* and still really good! I have blueberry cinnamon roll which could be easily made into plain Blueberry Rolls. You could even make your own pumpkin spice blend without cinnamon (since it’s often hidden in there) if he can tolerate the other spices.
Hope that helps!
Thank you! It does. That’s the only spice he can’t have. I’ll be trying it this week!
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