Dollywood Shared How To Make Their Famous Cinnamon Bread — Here's the Recipe (2024)

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Dolly Parton's Tennessee amusem*nt park, Dollywood, is world-renowned for many things: its exciting rides, beautiful views, and high-quality entertainment just to name a few. But there's one thing at the park that might just be as famous as Dolly herself, the cinnamon bread.

Dollywood's cinnamon bread is made fresh daily at the Grist Mill in the Craftsman's Valley section of the park. And if you've ever visited Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, then you definitely remember the heavenly smell of the cinnamon bread baking as you walk through the scenic paths.

All About Dollywood's Cinnamon Bread

In fact, not only can you smell the bread, but you can also watch it being made while you're at the park. Bakers at the Grist Mill make the pull-apart cinnamon bread right in front of guests — which typically has as long a line as many of the main attractions. But those long lines obviously don't deter guests from purchasing the famous bread because Dollywood sells more than 210,000 loaves of cinnamon bread every year.

Dollywood's Grist Mill was built in 1982 and is the first fully operational grist mill built in Tennessee in over 100 years. This means that the flour used for the bread is ground onsite, in addition to stone-ground corn meal and grits, which are available for purchase as well.

Originally, the world-famous cinnamon bread was only available at the Grist Mill where it's topped with icing or hot apple butter. It later became available at the Spotlight Bakery in the Showstreet area of the park. But because it was only available in the park, you could only enjoy it during Dollywood's season, which typically runs from mid-March to December. In 2018, Dollywood made their cinnamon bread available all year long by offering it at the DM Pantry inside Dollywood's DreamMore Resort and Spa.

However, when the COVID-19 pandemic began, and Dollywood's doors closed, they knew their guests couldn't go without their cinnamon bread for long as it's the ultimate comfort food, so they released their official recipe. Now, you can make Dollywood's mouthwatering cinnamon bread at home anytime with this 5-star recipe.

Official Dollywood Cinnamon Bread Recipe

Ingredients

For the Dough:

• 1/2 cup warm water (100 to 110 degrees F, or 40 to 45 degrees C)
• 3/4 teaspoon active dry yeast
• 1 tablespoon plus a pinch white sugar, divided
• 1 1/2 cups bread flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• Cooking spray

For the Topping:

• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 2 tablespoons light corn syrup

For the Glaze:

• 1 1/4 cups confectioners' sugar
• Pinch salt
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 3 to 5 tablespoons milk

Instructions

1. Combine warm water, yeast, and a pinch white sugar in a small bowl and whisk. Then let it sit until foamy, about 5 to 8 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, in a stand mixer, whisk bread flour, remaining 1 tablespoon white sugar, salt, and melted butter.
3. Once yeast mixture is foamy, add it to the stand mixer.
4. Using the dough hook, knead on medium speed until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes.
5. Transfer dough ball to a lightly greased bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let it rise in a warm place (about 75 to 80 degrees F, or 25 degrees C) until doubled in size, about 1 1/2 hours.
6. Punch it down, then transfer dough to a work surface and knead a few times. Cut it in half and gently shape into two 3x6-inch loaves (be careful not to overwork the dough).
7. Place the loaves on a parchment-lined baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm place until puffy, about 30 minutes to 1 hour.
8. Make the topping by whisking white sugar, brown sugar, and cinnamon in a small baking dish. Whisk melted butter and corn syrup in a separate small baking dish.
9. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) and line two 9x5-inch loaf pans with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on both sides.
10. Cut four deep slashes across the top of each loaf (the loaves will deflate).
11. Dip each loaf in the butter-corn syrup mixture, coating it completely, then coat with the cinnamon-sugar mixture, making sure the mixtures get in all the crevices.
12. Place loaves in prepared loaf pans and drizzle with any remaining butter and cinnamon sugar.
13. Bake until golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes.
14. Lift the bread out of the loaf pans and let cool, about 15 minutes.
15. Meanwhile, make the glaze by whisking confectioners' sugar, salt, melted butter, and 3 tablespoons milk in a bowl until smooth. Whisk in up to 2 more tablespoons milk, if needed to thin out the glaze.
16. Drizzle the glaze on the warm loaves or serve on the side for dipping.