Cheesy Garlic Herb Pull-Apart Bread
Flaky pull-apart layers packed with garlic, butter, and herbs.
Garlic Bread is one thing (a great thing), but how about a pull apart version that’s both cheesy and packed full of fresh herbs? Well that sounds even better, right?! And this Cheesy Garlic Herb Pull-Apart Bread just might be. With layers and layers of flaky, buttery dough and plenty of garlic and fragrant herbs, it’s a bread that’s perfect for sharing and pretty impressive even though it’s something novice bakers can easily handle.
We’re making our own dough here, but want to know a secret? If you’re not feeling up to it, you could actually substitute a couple of tubes of refrigerated biscuits here… but I promise it’s not all that complicated to do from scratch. You’re just mixing up an enriched dough (one that has butter and milk) and letting it rise for about an hour.
Once that has happened, you’ll roll it out into a large rectangle…
… and spread butter over the whole thing before sprinkling it with garlic, parsley, basil, rosemary, and mozzarella. Then, things get interesting.
First, you’ll cut the dough into long strips. Then, you’ll take those strips and stack them one on top of the other. Once they’re stacked, you’ll cut them into six sets of squares. You place those square stacks cut side down in your loaf pan so they look like a kind of cheesy, herby accordion.
And then you’ll cover the whole thing in plastic wrap and let the dough rise again for a bit before it heads into the oven. It’ll take almost forty minutes to cook through, but since this is a pull apart bread, it’s a bit more forgiving – you don’t have to worry as much about getting the proofing time exact or anything.
You don’t have to slice anything, just pull apart those flaky layers of garlicky buttery goodness and enjoy. And trust me, it’s very easy to enjoy this bread!
Cheesy Garlic Herb Pull-Apart Bread
For the dough:
- 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
- 1/3 cup milk
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs
For the filling:
- 2 tablespoons butter, softened
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/3 cup fresh parsley, chopped
- 1/3 cup fresh basil, chopped
- 1/4 cup rosemary, chopped
- 3/4 cup mozzarella cheese, grated
Preparation
- When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350°F and grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan liberally with butter.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, stir together 2 cups flour, sugar, and yeast. (If you don't have a stand mixer, use a large bowl.)
- Place milk and butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Cook just until butter melts. Remove from stovetop and let sit 2-3 minutes. Stir in water.
- Add milk mixture to flour mixture, and using your dough hook attachment, mix until combined. (If you don't have a stand mixer, you can stir together by hand.)
- Add garlic powder, salt, and eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
- Add the remaining 3/4 cup flour flour gradually, and beat until the dough comes together, 2-3 minutes more. It will be sticky.
- Place dough in a bowl that has been coated with oil and covered with a clean kitchen towel. Let rise in a warm spot for 1 hour.
- After rising time, punch down dough and turn out onto a floured surface. Roll dough into a large rectangle, about 12x20 inches and trim edges to neaten, if needed.
- Spread softened butter evenly over dough and sprinkle with garlic, herbs, and cheese.
- Using a pizza cutter, cut the dough into 5 strips from top to bottom. Stack strips one on top of the other, then cut into 6 sets of squares.
- Place dough stacks, cut side down, in greased loaf pan. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside to rise again for 30-45 minutes.
- Remove plastic wrap and bake in 350°F oven until top is golden brown, 35-40 minutes. Let cool 10 minutes before turning bread out onto a flat surface. Enjoy!
Recipe adapted from How Sweet Eats.