Starting from a simple buttery homemade dough, this everything bagel pull apart bread is filled with cheesy garlic & herb cream cheese and topped with everything seasoning. Baked until golden brown and served pull-apart style, this snack is truly irresistible. It’s flaky, salty, savory, garlicky, and cheesy—plus it’s fun to eat & share.
This recipe is brought to you in partnership with Red Star Yeast.
A few readers requested savory football food recipes and snack-style pull apart bread came to mind first. After weeks of brainstorming, asking your suggestions, and a little recipe testing… I baked the BEST PULL APART BREAD you will ever eat. If you have ever tried these pizza pull apart rolls, you know that’s a bold statement. This loaf-style pull apart bread is prepared with easy homemade bread dough, garlic herb & mozzarella cream cheese filling, and everything bagel seasoning on top.
- My assistant said “This is the best thing I’ve ever eaten.”
- Our friend said “This stuff is dangerous.”
- Another friend said “Alert me when you publish the recipe so I can make it.”
- And then “Get this away from me because I can’t stop eating it.”
- And, finally, I said: “This is another example of why I love carbs.”
Pull Apart Bread Dough
The everything bagel pull apart bread begins with homemade dough. A lot of homemade yeasted bread recipes yield 2 or more loaves, but I only wanted 1. It required a little testing, but I found the perfect ratio of ingredients. Pull apart bread dough combines 7 simple ingredients: sugar, milk, butter, salt, egg, flour, and yeast. Here’s the purpose and importance of each:
- Sugar feeds the yeast. Only 1 Tablespoon in the recipe.
- Milk hydrates the yeast and gives the bread a softer texture (as opposed to water).
- Butter and salt give the bread flavor.
- Egg contributes to the bread rising as well as providing texture/structure.
- Flour is the structure of the bread.
- Yeast makes bread… bread!
Baking with Yeast Guide
Reference this Baking with Yeast Guide whenever you work with baker’s yeast. I include practical answers to all of your common yeast questions.
Let’s Talk About the Yeast
We’re using a superior yeast: Platinum Yeast from Red Star. Red Star Platinum Superior Baking Yeast is an instant yeast that strengthens our dough and provides extra volume to the final product. It’s my preferred yeast for any and all bread baking—I use it exclusively in my kitchen because it’s always a guarantee!! If you don’t have Platinum, Red Star Active Dry or Quick Rise Yeast works too! If using active-dry, your dough may take a little longer to rise. We only need 2 teaspoons of dry yeast which is a little less than 1 standard packet.
The dough rises twice.
- The first rise is after the dough is prepared and kneaded. (By the way, I have a detailed tutorial on How to Knead Dough, if you need some extra help with that step.) It will rise for about 1 hour until doubled in size. After the first rise, you can continue with the recipe, refrigerate the dough to use later in the week, or freeze it.
- The second rise is after the pull apart bread is assembled. It will rise for about 45 minutes.
During the first rise, get your everything bagel goodies prepared.
Homemade Everything Bagel Seasoning
Everything bagel seasoning is so easy. You can buy it from the store or mix it up at home with poppy seeds, sesame seeds, dried minced onion, dried garlic flakes, and coarse sea salt or flaky sea salt—the same seasoning I use for homemade everything bagels and these everything biscuits.
Other uses for everything bagel seasoning: sprinkled on hummus, homemade cheese bread, scrambled eggs, toast, fish, chicken, homemade soft pretzels, soft pretzel rolls, cornbread, salads, guacamole, pizza, and more!
Garlic, Herb, & Mozzarella Cream Cheese
We’re combining, butter, cream cheese, shredded mozzarella cheese, garlic powder, and your choice of fresh or dried herbs. This mixture will be spread on top of the dough before it’s shaped in the pull apart style. The first time I made this everything bagel pull apart bread, I skipped the mozzarella cheese. It was good. When I added the cheese, it was GREAT. Much more of a stretchy cheesy pull apart style.
After the dough has risen, punch it down and roll it out. Spread on the cream cheese mixture.
How to Assemble Pull Apart Bread
There are a billion ways to shape/assemble pull apart bread. King Arthur Flour has a blog post about different ways to shape pull apart bread that I found interesting. This particular way doesn’t require a ruler, strict measurements, or any precise measuring:
- Break out a round cutter. You can use a round biscuit cutter, anywhere around 3.5-4 inches. I have this set of round cookie cutters and the various sizes always come in handy.
- Cut dough into circles.
- Fold the circles in half and arrange in the loaf pan.
What to do with the leftover dough scraps? Scroll down to below the recipe. I have something AWESOME you can make. The results are unbelievable!!
Here are all the filled circles folded in half and lined up in the loaf pan:
Let the assembled pull apart bread rise for about 45 minutes, then sprinkle with our everything bagel seasoning. Look at how puffy it got:
Bake until golden brown, then pull it apart and dig in!
This pull apart bread hits the spot. It’s:
- Buttery
- Salty
- Bagel-y
- Flaky
- Cheesy
- Garlicky
- Soft in the center
- Crisp on the edges
- Fun to eat
- Fun to share
- So addicting it’s scary!!
With make-ahead and freezing instructions, there are so many ways you can prepare this pull apart bread ahead of time. Or if you have a few hours one day, make it all in one go. Truly one of the best savory snacks we’ve had and I guarantee you’ll say the same after 1 bite. See more below the recipe!
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Everything Bagel Pull Apart Bread
- Prep Time: 3 hours
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 3 hours, 55 minutes
- Yield: 1 loaf
- Category: Bread
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Starting from a simple buttery homemade dough, this everything bagel pull apart bread is filled with cheesy garlic & herb cream cheese and topped with everything seasoning. Baked until golden brown and served pull-apart style, this snack is truly irresistible. It’s flaky, salty, savory, garlicky, and cheesy– plus it’s fun to eat & share.
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons Platinum Yeast from Red Star instant yeast*
- 1 Tablespoon granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup (180ml) whole milk
- 3 Tablespoons (43g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 large egg
- 2 and 1/3 cups (291g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled), plus more as needed
- 1 teaspoon salt
Cream Cheese Filling
- 8 ounces (226g) full-fat brick cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- 3 Tablespoons (43g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1–2 teaspoons Italian seasoning*
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 3/4 cup (70g) shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Everything Bagel Topping
- 1 Tablespoon poppy seeds*
- 1 Tablespoon sesame seeds*
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons dried minced onion*
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons dried garlic flakes*
- 1 teaspoons coarse sea salt or flaky sea salt
- 2 Tablespoons (28g) unsalted butter, melted
Instructions
- Make the dough: Place the yeast and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook or paddle attachment. Or, if you do not own a stand mixer, a regular large mixing bowl. Heat the milk on the stove or in the microwave until warm to touch, about 110°F (43°C). Pour warm milk on top of yeast/sugar. Whisk gently to combine, then loosely cover with a clean kitchen towel and allow to sit for 5-10 minutes. The mixture will be frothy after 5-10 minutes.
- If you do not have a mixer, you can mix by hand in this step. Add the butter, egg, flour, and salt. Beat on low speed for 3 minutes. Dough will be soft.
- Knead the dough: Keep the dough in the mixer and beat for an additional 5 full minutes, or knead by hand on a lightly floured surface for 5 full minutes. (If you’re new to bread-baking, my How to Knead Dough video tutorial can help here.) If the dough becomes too sticky during the kneading process, sprinkle 1 teaspoon of flour at a time on the dough or on the work surface/in the bowl to make a soft, slightly tacky dough. Do not add more flour than you need because you do not want a dry dough. After kneading, the dough should still feel a little soft. Poke it with your finger—if it slowly bounces back, your dough is ready to rise. You can also do a “windowpane test” to see if your dough has been kneaded long enough: tear off a small (roughly golfball-size) piece of dough and gently stretch it out until it’s thin enough for light to pass through it. Hold it up to a window or light. Does light pass through the stretched dough without the dough tearing first? If so, your dough has been kneaded long enough and is ready to rise. If not, keep kneading until it passes the windowpane test.
- 1st rise: Place the dough in a greased bowl (I use nonstick spray to grease) and cover with plastic wrap or aluminum foil. Place in a slightly warm environment to rise until doubled in size, around 60-90 minutes. (If desired, use my warm oven trick for rising. See my answer to Where Should Dough Rise? in my Baking with Yeast Guide.)
- As the dough rises, prepare the filling and topping in the next steps and grease a 9×5-inch loaf pan.
- Make the cream cheese filling: In a large bowl using a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat all of the filling ingredients together until combined. Cover tightly and set aside until ready to use. (Don’t refrigerate unless making well in advance. It’s easiest to spread on the dough when at room temperature. If refrigerated, let it come to room temperature before spreading on dough in step 7.)
- Make the topping: Combine the poppy seeds, sesame seeds, dried minced onion, dried garlic flakes, and coarse salt together in a small bowl. Set aside.
- Assemble the bread: Punch down the dough to release the air. Place dough on a lightly floured work surface and with a floured rolling pin, roll out until the dough is about 1/4 inch thick. The dough can be any shape, just as long as it’s around 1/4 inch thick. Spread cream cheese filling on top. Using a 3.5 – 4 inch circle cookie cutter, cut into circles. I get about 12 circles. Fold circles in half and line in prepared baking pan, round side up. See photos above for a visual.
- 2nd rise: Cover with plastic wrap or aluminum foil and allow to rise once again in a slightly warm environment until puffy, about 45 minutes.
- Adjust the oven rack to the lower third position then preheat oven to 350°F (177°C).
- Brush dough with the 2 Tablespoons of melted butter and sprinkle everything bagel seasoning on top. (Use as much of the seasoning as you want; extras can be used for any of the suggestions listed in the post above.)
- Bake until golden brown, about 40-45 minutes. If you find the top of the loaf is browning too quickly, tent with aluminum foil. Remove from the oven and place on a wire rack. Cool for 10 minutes in the pan, then remove from the pan and serve warm.
- Cover and store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Make Ahead Instructions: Freeze baked and cooled bread for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature or overnight in the refrigerator and warm in the oven to your liking. The dough can be prepared through step 3, then after it has risen, punch it down to release the air, cover it tightly, then place in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. Continue with step 5. To freeze the dough, prepare it through step 3. After it has risen, punch it down to release any air. Wrap in plastic wrap and place in a freezer-friendly container for up to 3 months. When ready to use, thaw the dough overnight in the refrigerator. Then let the dough sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes before continuing with step 5. (You may need to punch it down again if it has some air bubbles.)
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Stand Mixer or Glass Mixing Bowl and Silicone Spatula | 9×5-inch Loaf Pan | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Rolling Pin | Circle Cookie Cutters | Pastry Brush | Cooling Rack | Coarse Sea Salt or Flaky Sea Salt
- Yeast: I always use Platinum Yeast from Red Star, an instant yeast. If using active dry yeast, the rise times could be slightly longer. Reference my Baking with Yeast Guide for answers to common yeast FAQs.
- Italian Seasoning: I used Italian seasoning blend in the cream cheese mixture. You can use any dried or fresh herbs you like. Dried works a little better in the baked bread. Dried basil, parsley, oregano, etc.
- Everything Bagel Seasoning: If you don’t care for one of the everything bagel seasonings, feel free to swap it out with another that you love.
- Leftover Dough: To avoid having leftover dough scraps with the garlic herb mozzarella cream cheese mixture on them, you can spread the mixture individually onto each circle. Make sure you load it onto each! Then just save the leftover scraps to make pizza, rolls, whatever. But I found it easier to spread the whole thing with the garlic herb mozzarella cream cheese mixture. See below for what I do with my extra dough scraps!
Leftover Dough
Since we’re using a cookie cutter for shaping this pull apart bread, we’re going to have some dough scraps leftover. The dough scraps are topped with the herbed cream cheese mixture so WHY NOT shape into a ball, then roll it out to make pizza? Pizza on top of a tender and flaky homemade garlic herb cream cheese dough. This pizza might even be better than the everything bagel pull apart bread itself!!
Since the dough is covered with the wet cream cheese mixture, you’ll need extra all-purpose flour on hand. Using well floured hands, peel the scraps off the counter and shape into a ball. This will be messy. Add more flour to the dough as needed (I probably added about 1/2 cup of flour) and place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. It’s still going to be a little wet; thats ok. Flatten it out with floured hands or a floured rolling pin as best you can. Top with pizza toppings and bake in a 475°F (246°C) oven for 15-20 minutes or until browned to your liking.
I used homemade pesto, mozzarella cheese, caramelized onion, halved baby tomatoes, and when it came out of the oven, I topped it with our everything bagel seasoning. 🙂
In partnership with Red Star Yeast.
Reader Comments and Reviews
I have premixed everything bagel seasoning. How much should I use?
Hi Jax, you can simply replace the total amount of seasonings listed with the store bought everything bagel seasoning (if your store bought seasoning doesn’t contain salt, you can still add that in separately). Or simply cover each bagel with your desired amount of seasoning. Enjoy!
I bake for an 84 year old man. He loves bagels but hasn’t eaten them lately due to teeth issues. Too tough but this look great. It’s the first thing I’ll be making tomorrow.
Hi! I was wondering what the measurement would be if we use store bought everything bagel seasoning?
Thank you!!
Stephanie
Hi Stephanie, you can simply replace the total amount of seasonings listed with the store bought everything bagel seasoning (if your store bought seasoning doesn’t contain salt, you can still add that in separately). Or simply cover each bagel with your desired amount of seasoning. Enjoy!
For the dough, it seems to me that 2 and 1/3 cups all-purpose flour is heavier than 291 grams. The weight would be closer to 345 grams. Is it possible ?
Hi Denis, 1 cup all-purpose flour = 125 grams, so 2 and 1/3 cup = 291 grams. You can read more about accurately measuring baking ingredients in this blog post!
SOOO yummy. This bread is a real treat. I will definitely make it again – next time I think I’ll just do half of the circles with the cheese spread. It was a little too rich for me, but I’m saving this recipe for sure!
OMG! One of the best things I have ever baked. I’d give it 10 stars, if I could.
I have a friend who started a Quarantine Bake-a-long Group during the Pandemic, and this was one of our assignments. I also used the dough scraps as you suggested, and make an awesome pesto pizza 2 days later.
Your blog is now the first place I go to find any new recipe I want to try. Keep up the good work!!
Amazing bread! Made the recipe exactly as written and it was perfect. The whole family loved it.
If I don’t have a loaf pan, can I use a glass dish?
Hi Tarini, we haven’t tested this recipe in any pan other than a loaf pan. If you try anything, let us know how it goes!
I’ve made this bread a couple times before (I have to pace myself and can’t make it too often because I have no self control around it lol) but tonight I made it, filled it with pesto and finely shredded chicken breast and mozzarella cheese.. omg it was soooo good!! Definitely my new favourite variation. Love this versatile pull apart dough! It’s so tender
I have made this several times, and it is always a crowd pleaser. I have now started to make more than one loaf since it disappears so quickly. This led me to try doubling the recipe, which I know Sally often does not endorse. But I have now doubled and tripled the recipe, and it turned out perfect. I just weigh my stand mixer bowl ahead of time, make the dough, reweigh the bowel with dough in it and then divide up the dough evenly for the first rise. Then I assemble separately and bake the loaves at the same time.
Thanks for your quick reply.
Can you use bread flour in place of all purpose? Can’t rate since I haven’t made it yet.
Absolutely! No other changes necessary.
Hi Sally,
I am a fan of your recipes, especially the breads. Do you think I can skip the egg in this recipe? Or will I need to substitute it? I am planning to make a pesto filled loaf.
Thank you in advance and keep inspiring us!
Hi Smita! We haven’t tested any egg-free variations of this bread. Let us know if you do! If you’re interested, here is our egg free baking section. Happy baking!
Love using this easy recipe! I do recommend rolling out and then cutting the circles first, then spreading the cream cheese on the circles before folding them. By doing that I’m able to use all of my scraps and normally end up with enough for a smaller 8×4 loaf as well, and there’s plenty of filling for it.
Made this today.
It is absolutely delicious.
Sally, love your recipes and hoping to make this one, unfortunately I don’t have a loaf pan, would a 4 qt Dutch oven work?
Thanks!
Hi Nicole, I’m sure you could fit these pieces of dough somehow in that size dutch oven. I’m unsure of the best bake time, though.
I made this to use up 8 oz of Boursin (garlic & herb) I had leftover. It was awful. I substituted 1:1 the Boursin for the cream cheese and adjusted the garlic/Ital seasoning proportionately. So so disappointed. Anybody else have this experience? It may be lovely as written, but this sub was a terrible idea. (It was a dream to make, gorgeous to look at; but bitter and yucky.)
Soo good! I was intimidated to try this at first but I made your star bread and you walked me through it!!! My family thought I was so talented 😉 (THANKS!!!) This dough is very similar… I knew I could do it and WOW this recipe DELIVERS!!!! 5 ⭐
Do you think I could adapt to make jalapeño cheddar? What would your suggestions be?
Hi Ashley, we haven’t tested it but don’t see why not. You could add a Tbs shredded cheddar with some finely chopped pickled (drained) or fresh jalapeños to the inside of each dough pocket. Would love to hear how it goes if you try it.
I can’t have dairy (butter is fine for me)— so I made this with almond milk, Kite hill everything cream cheese, and Earth Grown vegan mozzarella shreds (Aldi brand). It’s delicious! It doesn’t ooze/stretch but that is normal for dairy free cheeses. Quite yummy.
I put my scraps on the bottom of the loaf pan before putting the folded circles in. This recipe is a keeper. Thank you.
Such a great idea! I’ve made this several times and can’t believe I didn’t think of this, but I will be doing it next time. Thanks!
Instead of rolling out the dough, cutting into circles, and having leftover scraps, I just pinched off lumps, rolled into balls with my hands, and flattened (like making tortillas). No leftovers that way and for me it’s easier. Turned out great. Great recipe.
Another homerun, Sally! I bought a bottle of Everything Bagel seasoning on sale recently with no clue what to do with it. Then, I saw your post about the Rosemary Bread and decided to make this one instead. (I’ll make that one too!) It was fun to make…easy…and was a hit with my adult children. It was their favorite thing on the table on Christmas Day. I will be making this many more times.
Thank you so much for sharing your talent with us. Wishing you a very blessed New Year!
This is the second time baking this addictive loaf and I have to agree with everyone who’s tried it….this is the best savory bread I’ve ever tasted!
amazing recipe! I added minced jalapeños in the dough, which worked out well. Making the circles and sticking them together was becoming really messy since my dough was quite sticky, so I just rolled it up babka-style with the filling spread inside, still let it rise for 45 minutes, and baked it as a full loaf. It tasted awesome even without the pull-apart style 🙂 Thanks for this recipe!
This was my first time in years doing a yeast bread without my bread machine, and it was a total success! I love the pull-apart style so much more than regular sliced bread. (“This is the best thing since sliced bread” lol had to say it). Fantastic recipe. Fool proof, easy to follow, meticulous instructions as always. There is no way this scrumptious stuff will last until Christmas Eve AM like I planned. Which is fine, gives me a reason to test the rosemary/parmesan version tomorrow. Thank youuu!!
Hi Sally, I’m planning to make this recipe soon and am wondering for the everything bagel seasoning if dried garlic flakes are the same thing as dried minced garlic.
It’s my understanding that they are completely the same, just with a slightly different name. I would use them interchangeably in recipes.
This bread tasted like regular bread instead of a bagel but was still delicious. Next time I’ll add more mozzarella for a more cheesier flavor and replace AP flour with bread flour for a chewier texture.
Hi Sally!! Do you think that this recipe would work with partial/all swap out of whole wheat flour for the all purpose? Btw, love your recipes and site!!
Hi Beth, We haven’t tested this recipe with whole wheat flour. You can try to use half whole wheat and half all purpose but expect a heavier and more dense texture. Let us know if you try it!
Can you use a flavored cream cheese, such as onion & chive, instead of mixing the one in the recipe?
Absolutely!