Biscuits are great. Pull-apart biscuits are fantastic. While there’s nothing wrong with the classic individually baked Pillsbury biscuit, or even crescent roll, it’s a little predictable. Of course, the Thanksgiving table is a place for traditional dishes, but consider making room for a twist with this unconventional path to dinner bread bliss: A pillowy pull-apart loaf of bread made from canned dough.
The chef side of me appreciates a homemade, yeast-raised loaf that you need to slice with a proper serrated knife. But there's another side of Allie—the artificial ingredients, fast-food loving, talks in the third person, store-bought side of me that loves the dough conditioned texture of canned dinner rolls. Arranging your canned dough in a loaf pan gives you the presentation of a crusty loaf of bread, with the soft, stretchy texture of Pillsbury. Plus, peeling a hunk of biscuit off of a larger mass is thoroughly satisfying.
How to make a loaf of bread using canned dough
For a biscuit loaf
There’s no need to butter the loaf pan because the dough has plenty of fat, but if you’re worried about the dough sticking, go ahead and butter it or line it with parchment paper. Using canned biscuit dough is the easiest because the biscuits are already shaped. Pop the can of Pillsbury (or whichever brand you like) and load each biscuit into a loaf pan on its side.
Technically, you could just roll the entire cylinder of dough straight into a loaf pan, but I noticed the biscuits burst out of the pneumatic cardboard roll separately anyhow. Stack them next to each other so they stand up, but give them a little room to expand. I shifted them into a slight stagger. Then bake the entire loaf.
Since a loaf is more densely packed with dough than the tube directions are accounting for, I adjusted the bake time and temperature. I reduced the temperature to 325°F and ended up baking them for 35 minutes. The dough browned nicely over the top and became attractively crusty. Be careful not to take the loaf out too early or the middle will be raw. To prevent this, give the loaf a press in the middle, it should feel very firm and not squishy underneath. If you have a probe thermometer, stick it through one of the folds in the center and check for a temperature of at least 190°F. If nothing else, you can always use the ol’ toothpick test to check for a doughy center.
For a crescent loaf
Canned crescent rolls come in a sheet and need to be shaped, but as long as you don’t smash the dough or try to re-work it, any folded shape will puff up nicely. I had a crescent roll sheet (without the perforated triangles) and cut the dough in half lengthwise, then I cut each side into five smaller rectangles. If you have perforations, just pinch them shut. I folded each small rectangle in half, and then put it in a loaf pan with the folded side facing up. I lined up the folded dough to fill up the loaf pan, which takes about one and a half tubes of crescent dough for a five by 10-inch loaf pan. You don’t need to pack it tightly because they’ll expand, but you don’t want them to fall over. Bake the loaf at 350°F for 30 minutes.
As with the biscuit loaf, look for a burnished brown exterior. It should be sturdy when you press down on the top, and you can use a thermometer to check for an internal temperature of 190°F. If you use a toothpick, make sure it comes out clean with no gooey dough attached.
Allow the loaf to cool for a couple minutes in the pan before you turn it out. Serve the entire loaf in a basket for dinner or on a plate to show off your creativity. Before you pass the bread, make sure to tear off a hunk of biscuit for yourself. It'll go fast.