Best Bread for Pull Apart Bread
This recipe is made with a crusty artisan loaf of bread. Loaves with a harder crust and soft inside, like sourdough, are my favorite to use because they hold their shape and the cheesy filling. If you can’t find a crusty loaf at your bakery or grocery store, use a loaf of Italian bread or French bread. You will need to be a little more gentle as you stuff it, but it will work. They are not wrong. This bread recipe is buttery, garlicky, and delicious with melty cheese. There are so many things to love about this delicious recipe.
Cut the bread. Use a sharp knife to cut the bread diagonally, cutting down most of the bread, but not all the way through. See the photos below. Make the butter mixture. Melt the butter in a small bowl and whisk in the garlic, parsley, salt, and pepper. Brush the butter mixture into the cracks of the cut bread, saving some for the end. Add the cheese. Mix the cheeses together and push them into the bread. Brush the last of the salted butter mixture onto the top of the bread. Bake the bread. Cover loosely with aluminum foil, and bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until the cheese is completely melted. Enjoy warm.
Tips for Cheesy Pull-Apart Bread
This is your too long, didn’t read section. Here are the key points for making sure this recipe turns out perfectly. Cut the bread diagonally, then turn the loaf and cut diagonally again creating one-inch squares. See my photos above for how this should look. If you need to reheat pull apart cheese bread that has already been baked, pop it into a warm oven for just a few minutes with foil tented over the top so it doesn’t burn.
Use a crusty bread. Read the section above on why a sturdy crusty bread works best for this recipe. Cut the bread properly. Use a serrated knife and make sure to make deep cuts in the bread without cutting all the way through the bottom. This will make it both easy to stuff and keep the loaf together. Use freshly shredded mozzarella cheese. As mentioned above, store-bought cheese is covered in preservatives that make it difficult for it to melt. Given that the cheesiness is half the joy of this recipe, lets enjoy it to it’s fullest! Skip fresh herbs. It is so tempting to use fresh herbs in recipes. However, if they are going in the oven, the freshness will be ruined by the high heat. You are far better off to use dried parsley here and then garnish with fresh parsley at the end. Stick to unsalted butter. Salt in butter varies from brand to brand. That is the reason that I call for unsalted butter in my recipes so the I can control the salt content. If you only have salted butter, then I suggest just adding 1/2 a teaspoon of kosher salt or 1/4 teaspoon table salt.
More Great Pull Apart Bread Recipes
Buffalo Pull Apart Bread Mushroom and Swiss Pull Apart Bread Ranch BLT Pull Apart Bread
If you make this pull apart cheese bread recipe or any of my other recipes, I’d love to hear what you think and would be so grateful if you came back and let me know!
