Pull-Apart Cheese Bread
A round loaf cut into a grid and stuffed with garlic butter and mozzarella, baked until the cheese melts into every gap.
Photograph credit: Herb & Cheese Pull-apart Loaf by Divya Kudua · CC BY 2.0 · Flickr
It is a loaf of bread that is meant to be torn apart with the fingers. A round sourdough or country loaf is cut into a diamond grid, almost to the base but not through it, then stuffed with cheese and brushed with garlic butter. In the oven the cheese melts into the cuts and the edges crisp.
The cuts are the key. Use a long serrated knife and slice at 2 cm intervals in one direction, then turn the loaf and slice across, so the loaf is divided into squares that still hold together at the base. Open the cuts gently with your fingers and push the cheese in as far as it will go.
Wrap the loaf in foil for the first 20 minutes, so the steam softens the crumb and the cheese melts, then open the foil for the last 10 minutes to crisp the top. Garlic butter is made from softened butter, crushed garlic, parsley and a little salt. Serve the loaf hot, in the centre of the table, for people to pull apart.
Pull-Apart Cheese Bread: Step by Step
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Heat the oven to 190°C / 375°F. Cut the loaf into a 2 cm grid, slicing almost to the base without cutting through.
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Mix the melted butter, garlic, parsley and salt. Brush it into the cuts and over the loaf.
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Push the mozzarella and Parmesan into the cuts. Wrap the loaf in foil and put it on a baking tray.
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Bake for 20 minutes. Open the foil and bake for 10 minutes more until golden and bubbling. Serve hot.
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Worth Getting Right
- Use a serrated knife for clean cuts.
- Do not cut through the base, or the loaf falls apart.
- Serve straight away, while the cheese is stretchy.
Common Substitutions & Variations
- An eighth of a teaspoon of garlic powder per clove is the stand-in usually given when you are out of fresh garlic; it will not brown the same way, and it burns easily, so add it with the liquid.
Pairs Well With
Tomato soup · Pasta · Green salad · Dipping sauce
Leftovers and Storage
Best eaten hot. Keeps for 1 day and reheats in a hot oven.
Nutrition per Serving
Per serving, calculated from the ingredient list with USDA FoodData Central figures (SR Legacy). A calculation, not a laboratory analysis: brands, cuts and how you measure change the real numbers. How the figures are worked out.
Your notes on this recipe
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Compiled by Turab
Checked by script for timings, diet labels and nutrition arithmetic. How the recipes are checked. Found a mistake? Tell us.
First published ; last changed .
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