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Cheddar Pull Apart Bread

Ingredients

For the dough:

  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1 cup whole milk
  • 3 tbs. brown sugar
  • 2 1/4 tsp. active dry yeast
  • 3 1/2- 4 cups all purpose flour
  • 2 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 1/4 cup softened butter

For the filling:

  • 1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
  • 5-6 cloves garlic finely chopped
  • 1/4 cup softened butter
  • 1/4 tsp. salt
  • 1/4 cup fresh chopped herbs
  • 3 tbs. melted butter

Instructions

For the dough:

  1. In a microwave safe bowl, heat the water, milk, and brown sugar in the microwave until it reaches 110-115 degrees on an instant read thermometer. Stir in the active dry yeast, and set aside to bloom for about 5 minutes, or until the mixture is bubbly and foamy.
  2. Transfer the yeast mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer (or into a large mixing bowl), and add in three cups of flour along with the salt using the paddle attachment. The mixture will be fairly soft and sticky at this point.
  3. Add in another 1/4 cup of flour, and continue adding in 1/4 cup portions until the dough starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl at the top, but is still sticking to the bottom of the bowl. Knead for about 5 minutes, or until the dough is slightly smooth. Then, add in the softened butter slowly.
  4. Knead either in the mixer or by hand until the dough is elastic. By hand, this will take about 15 minutes, and by mixer it should take about 10. The dough should be very smooth and stretchy.
  5. Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled large bowl, and cover with plastic wrap. Let the dough rise by about 1/3 in size, which takes about 30-45 minutes for me, but keep an eye on your dough size to avoid over-proofing.

For the filling:

  1. Grease an 8 or 9 inch loaf pan. Set aside. Roll your dough into a large rectangle. In a small bowl, stir together the garlic, herbs, and softened butter until just combined, and spread the mixture evenly all over your dough. Evenly sprinkle the cheese over the butter mixture and lightly press to adhere to the dough. Cut the dough into squares that fit the width of your loaf pan, and stack up the dough squares into your pan gently. Cover with plastic wrap.

  2. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Let the dough rest for about 30 minutes. It will be just slightly puffed. Brush the top of the loaf generously with some of the melted butter, and bake for 45-50 minutes. The dough should reach a deep golden brown color, and you can use an instant read thermometer to see that the inside reaches 175 degrees.
  3. Brush the remaining melted butter over the top of the loaf immediately when you take it out of the oven. Cool for about 20 minutes in the pan, and then turn out onto a cooling rack to finish cooling. Wait until the bread is completely cool to slice. Enjoy!