Lemon pull-apart bread

I've made this recipe twice (once to try and once for Easter morning) and it is delicious!  A perfect alternative to cinnamon rolls for special breakfasts....and the glaze is out of this world, I could eat it straight out of the bowl.  I've seen several versions of this bread on Pinerest but I based my recipe one I found at Two Tiny Kitchens.

Ingredients for Dough:

2 1/2 cups flour (I used 1 cup whole wheat and 1 1/2 cups white)+ extra for rolling and kneading

1/4 cup honey

2 1/4 tsp yeast (one packet)

1/2 tsp salt

5 TBSP milk

4 TBSP butter

1/8 cup water

2 tsp vanilla

2 eggs

Ingredients for Lemon Paste Filling:

1/2 cup honey

Zest from 2 lemons (just the yellow part on the outside)

1 TBSP butter, softened

Ingredients for Lemon Cream Cheese Glaze:

2 oz cream cheese, softened

2 TBSP butter, softened

1/2 cups powdered sugar

Juice of 1 lemon (watch for seeds)

1 tsp milk (or more, depending on preference of glaze thickness)

To make dough:

Place butter and milk in microwaveable bowl.  Microwave until butter melts, stirring occasionally.  Allow to cool (1 minute) and add water, honey and vanilla. 

In large bowl (I used the bowl for my KitchenAid mixer because I would be using it to knead), place 2 1/2 cups flour, yeast and salt.

Pour butter/milk mixture into dry ingredients and mix with paddle attachment.

Stir until combined and then add eggs, one at a time, until fully incorporated.

Change paddle to kneading hook and knead until smooth, 5-10 minutes.  Because of the honey, I found the dough to be sticky and added extra (about 1/4 cup) additional flour.

Place the kneaded dough in an oiled bowl (turning dough until covered in oil) and cover with a tea towel.

Set aside in a warm place until doubled in bulk (about 1 1/2 hours-the whole wheat flour leads to lengthened rising time)

While dough is rising grease bread pan and get started on Lemon Paste Filling:

Mix honey, zest and butter until well combined.  Set aside.

Once the dough has risen, roll out on a well-floured surface into a 20x12" rectangle (or something close).  Spread with lemon paste filling, pressing to adhere to the dough.  

Cut dough into strips, 4x12", and stack them onto each other.  

Cut the stack into smaller pieces, 2x4".  

Place cut stacks into prepared bread pan with cut sides up.  

Fan out the slices to fill the pan, using fingers.  

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cover loaf pan and allow bread to rise until double in size (about 1 1/2 hours).

Bake loaf for 25-35 minutes, until the top is golden brown.  Mine looked like this:

To prepare the glaze, cream together cream cheese and butter.

Then add powdered sugar, lemon juice and milk and mix until combined. 

Remove bread from oven and place on wire rack to cool.  After 10 minutes, remove from pan and cool completely.  Then top with lemon glaze and enjoy!

What are some of your favorite special occasion breakfasts?