Starting from a simple rosemary-infused homemade dough, this rosemary garlic pull apart bread is shaped and assembled with butter, garlic, cheese, and herbs. Baked until golden brown and served pull-apart style, this flaky and flavorful bread is completely irresistible. Just wait until you smell it baking! Truly a favorite.
This recipe is brought to you in partnership with Red Star Yeast.
Have you ever tried my everything bagel pull apart bread? It is, without a doubt, one of the best bread recipes to come out of my kitchen. I wanted something equally as snack-y and satisfying for this holiday season, so I swapped in some everyday foolproof ingredients like rosemary, butter, and parmesan cheese.
I don’t think a finished recipe has ever disappeared faster in my house. (And I make chocolate chip cookies on the regular.)
Tell Me About This Rosemary Garlic Pull Apart Bread
- Flavor: Cheesy & garlic, rosemary & herb, salty & buttery—all packed inside the homestyle goodness of from-scratch bread. This recipe has a range of some of the BEST flavors around.
- Texture: In addition to the irresistible flavor, this pull apart bread’s texture is definitely something to write home about. The exterior is golden crisp right out of the oven, sealing in a soft and flaky center. The assembly and shape allows for many little peaks and valleys, so you have a lot more texture than, say, dinner rolls or sandwich bread. I’m happy to report that we’re almost nearing croissants in terms of flakiness. (!!)
- Ease: Many pull apart bread recipes use a loaf of bakery bread from the store and while that’s certainly easy and delicious, this recipe utilizes a 9 ingredient homemade dough. If you’ve ever been nervous to bake bread, this recipe is a great starting point. Shaping is pretty simple—the loaf can look messy going into the oven. If you’re new to baking with yeast, review my Baking with Yeast Guide. Lots of helpful information there!
- Time: There’s no arguing that homemade bread takes time, but the results are always so worth the commitment. Luckily this recipe yields 1 simple loaf and once you get the assembly process down, it moves pretty quickly. Set aside at least 4 hours from start to finish, but keep in mind most of that time is hands off as the dough rises.
Looking for rosemary & herb dinner rolls? You will love these herb skillet rolls.
Video Tutorial: How to Make Rosemary Garlic Pull Apart Bread
Let’s Review the Pull Apart Bread Dough
I don’t want to stand in the way of you and this carb-y perfection, so I’ll try to keep this short. This pull apart bread starts with homemade dough. You need 9 simple ingredients including: yeast, sugar, milk, butter, salt, egg, flour, rosemary and garlic powder. Sugar feeds the yeast, while milk hydrates it and gives the bread a softer texture (as opposed to water). Butter, salt, rosemary, and garlic powder add flavor. Egg contributes to the rising and provides more texture and structure.
- We’re using a superior yeast: Platinum Yeast from Red Star. This is an instant yeast that strengthens the 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. We only need 2 teaspoons of dry yeast which is a little less than 1 standard packet.
How to Assemble Pull Apart Bread
There are a billion ways to make and assemble pull apart bread. I use a rolling pin and biscuit cutter for my everything bagel pull apart bread and while you can definitely use that same method here, I opted for something even easier today. You won’t have leftover dough scraps this way.
- Divide dough into 12 equal pieces.
- Flatten into 4-inch circles. They don’t need to be perfect.
- Spread garlic herb butter on top. Sprinkle with cheese.
- Fold the circles in half and arrange upright in a 9×5-inch loaf pan.
*You don’t need a rolling pin, but you could certainly use one if you want.
Pull Apart Bread Step by Step Photos
When you get started, use these helpful photos as your guide.
Make and knead the dough, referencing my How to Knead Dough tutorial as needed. After the dough rises, punch it down and divide into 12 pieces.
Flatten the dough rounds and spread each with garlic herb butter.
Sprinkle with cheese and fold in half to resemble a taco.
Note: I love cheesy bread, but I appreciate that it doesn’t overpower the rosemary in this recipe. If you’re looking for a heavier cheesy flavor, you will love my homemade cheese bread.
Why fold the circles in half? Folding the dough circles in half gives the bread a solid base where no butter/cheese can seep through. I had so much trouble with a similar recipe when I tried to arrange buttered squares of dough in a loaf pan. The butter leaked everywhere and the bread was a greasy mess. While some butter melts around the sides here, the bread’s base is pretty solid.
Line folded circles in a greased loaf pan.
Allow to rise until puffy, then bake until golden brown.
This bread fits the bill for a snack, appetizer, or alongside dinner. You can slice the loaf or tear off pieces. Whenever or however you serve it, I’m confident every lucky taste tester will beg for seconds. If you love the garlic and herb butter flavors in this recipe, try these pizza pull apart rolls next. And if you’re craving sugar, this homemade monkey bread is equally mouthwatering and perfectly acceptable for breakfast. 😉
PrintRosemary Garlic Pull Apart Bread
- Prep Time: 3 hours
- Cook Time: 50 minutes
- Total Time: 4 hours
- Yield: 1 loaf
- Category: Bread
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Make a flavorful pull apart bread using this delicious rosemary-infused yeasted dough. You can use your favorite cheese in the filling. I love and usually use shredded parmesan.
Ingredients
Dough
- 2 teaspoons Platinum Yeast from Red Star*
- 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
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 Tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary (or 2 teaspoons dried)
Filling
- 5 Tablespoons (71g) unsalted butter, extra soft (see note)
- 1 Tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary (or 2 teaspoons dried)
- 1 Tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley (or 2 teaspoons dried)
- 2 garlic cloves, minced or 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup (95g) shredded parmesan, mozzarella, or white cheddar cheese (or your favorite shredded cheese)
Optional Topping
- 1 Tablespoon (14g) unsalted butter, melted
- flaky/coarse sea salt for sprinkling
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 the dough together with a wooden spoon or silicone spatula in this step. Add the butter, egg, flour, salt, garlic powder, and rosemary. Beat on low speed for 3 minutes. Dough will be soft.
- Knead the dough: Keep the dough in the mixer (and switch to the dough hook if using the paddle) 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: Shape the kneaded dough into a ball. 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 in the next step and grease a 9×5-inch loaf pan.
- Make the filling: In a medium bowl, mix the soft butter, rosemary, parsley, garlic, and salt together. If the butter is soft enough, you can just mix it all together with a spoon or fork. You can use an electric mixer if that’s easier too. 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 pieces.)
- Assemble the bread: Punch down the dough to release the air. Place dough on a lightly floured work surface. Divide it into 12 equal pieces, each about 1/4 cup of dough and a little larger than a golf ball. Using lightly floured hands, flatten each into a circle that’s about 4 inches in diameter. The circle doesn’t have to be perfectly round. I do not use a rolling pan to flatten, but you certainly can if you want. Spread 1-2 teaspoons of filling mixture onto each. Sprinkle each with 1 Tablespoon of cheese. 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).
- Bake until golden brown, about 50 minutes. If you find the top of the loaf is browning too quickly, tent with aluminum foil. (Don’t be alarmed if there’s melted butter around the sides of the bread as it bakes, it will seep into the bread before it finishes.) Remove from the oven and place the pan on a wire rack. If desired, brush with melted butter for topping and sprinkle with sea salt.
- Cool for 10 minutes in the pan, then remove from the pan and serve warm.
- Cover and store leftovers at room temperature for up to 2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Since the bread is extra crispy on the exterior, it will become a little hard after day 1. Reheat in a 300°F (149°C) oven for 10-15 minutes until interior is soft again or warm in the microwave.
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 4, 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 4. After it has risen, punch it down to release the 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): Electric Stand Mixer or Large Glass Mixing Bowl with Wooden Spoon / Silicone Spatula | 9×5-inch Loaf Pan | Cooling Rack
- 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.
- Flour: Feel free to use the same amount of bread flour instead of all-purpose flour. You can also try swapping out 1 cup of flour for whole wheat flour. Do not replace all of the flour with whole wheat flour—just 1 cup.
- Extra Soft Butter for Filling: Have you ever read my page about room temperature butter? Room temperature butter for baking should still be cool to the touch. You want room temperature butter for the dough. However, for the filling, you want extra soft butter so you can easily spread it onto the flattened dough without tearing the dough. Feel free to microwave it for 10-15 seconds to help it get extra soft.
Keywords: pull apart bread, garlic bread
Great recipe. Mine came out perfect.
My brother said this might be the best bread he had ever had! It was so fluffy, flaky, buttery, and flavorful on the inside, and a little crunchy on the outside. I appreciate when breads come out flaky like this rather than crumbly. I used the mixer the knead it completely and I used part parmesan, part Romano for the cheese. It does start browning fairly quickly in the oven, but overall, it was enjoyable to make and even more enjoyable to eat.
★★★★★
It seems that 3 tablespoons and 43g of butter are VERY different amounts. 43g is about 1.5 tablespoons according to my utensils. Also I had to add a lot more flour to stop my dough being too sticky to handle. Any tips?
Thank you
Hi Jess! 1 Tbsp butter is commonly known to weigh 14.2g, so 43 would be right for 3 Tbsp. How are you measuring? Here’s more on measuring baking ingredients. There are a lot of variables that go into the consistency of dough, even down to the weather and humidity in the air. There’s nothing wrong with adding just a little more flour to bring the dough into a less sticky and knead-able consistency.
Dang it, I knew I had seen a comment about letting my stand mixer do all the work. This is my first bread recipe using the new stand mixer and I pulled it out and it was a gloppy
mess. Lesson learned. Thank you very much
I’m so glad I found this recipe, I’ve made it 3 times in the last week! It is so easy to make and delicious, I love to pair it with soup. I made one version that was jalapeño and parmesan and it was a hit.
★★★★★
What a gorgeous dough to work with! I let my stand mixer do the kneading and spared getting my hands gunky. Added a few tablespoons of flour until the dough pulled away cohesively from the sides of the bowl.
Now, we love Rosemary, but thought it out of place in this recipe. Next time, will add more parsley to both the dough and the butter/cheese spread. Speaking of, will use a high ration of mozzarella to parmesan next time to get the gooey cheesey thing happening.
Also need to hone my math skills as I somehow only had 8 discs vs 12! All worked out in the end!
★★★★★
Hello there! I’m going to prep this later today and bake tomorrow early. My question is, 50 minutes? I’ve made lots of breads and never gone over 30 minutes. Just curious. Thank you!!
Fantastic recipe, but one fairly large note. Please do not use a pullman loaf pan that has seams as the butter can leak through and you’ll end up with a smokey house like we have. I didn’t even think about this and let me assure you it’s a one time only kind of mistake. Call me Mr. Rookie. Still a fantastic recipe so don’t let this deter you, but please make sure you use a seamless pan. Keep on posting Sally and thanks for the inspiration!
This might be the single greatest bread I’ve ever made! I’ve been baking bread for a number of years now, and I consider myself to be pretty good at it. But this bread is just unbelievable. Not only is the dough extremely easy to work with, it’s actually super fun to make, and even more fun to pull apart. And then when you do pull it apart, you just see these beautiful completely Parmesan glazed slices of bread. Bake this, you will never stop eating it!
★★★★★
I’m very new to baking breads (this was my second recipe) and it turned out amazing! Looking back I think I should’ve let it rise a bit longer after shaping and before baking as it ended up much shorter than the recipe photos but the taste was impeccable! I’ll definitely be making this again and probably sooner than I should!
★★★★★
This bread was delicious! My family loved it and gobbled it up! I loved the technique of the dough disks folded with butter and herbs. I’m wondering if I could do a sweet version and swap the herbs for cinnamon and sugar. Thanks, Sally!
★★★★★
Hello to my favorite bakers. I plan to make this to go with Christmas dinner, but I am not able to find the Red Star Platinum Yeast at any of the three grocery stores that are available to me here in lovely po-dunk USA
My question; will this work with Fleischmann’s active dry yeast? Please say yes.
Hi Tara, absolutely. If using active dry yeast, the rise times could be slightly longer.
I just made this recipe today and it is delicious. Just the wonderful aroma of it baking in the oven makes you want to dive in.
I’ve never made a pull apart bread but it sounded so good and I had fresh rosemary on hand so I made it. It smells amazing coming out of the over and it tastes even better. With the crunchy outside and buttery herb flavor bursting on the inside it was a win win! The directions were so easy to follow. We will definitely make this again.
★★★★★
Hi! Would I be able to make this without the egg?
Hi Urvi, We don’t recommend skipping the egg. It provides necessary structure and flavor to the bread. You could try an egg substitute but we haven’t tested any. Let us know how it goes!
Can I use 2% milk? I can not wait to make this bread. It looks so good.
Hi Celine, you can use 2% milk in a pinch.
Just made this bread today. Easy and delicious. I was worried about the dough being so sticky, so I ended up adding a couple of tablespoons of flour. Instead of making the garlic butter spread, I used a stick of Kerrygold Garlic and Herb butter. I will definitely make this again.
★★★★★
Was a huge hit for thanksgiving. Was delicious and will make this again.
★★★★★
Looking very much forward to making this recipe! Can this recipe be doubled to make two loaves? TIA Del
Hi Del! We recommend making two batches for absolute best results.
This was delicious!! I say “was” because it disappeared very quickly! My family loved it!
I’ve never had good luck with yeast breads, but this one was easy and now I’ll try more. Thanks for this recipe!
Followed the recipe to a tee except I increased the proofing time since it’s colder today. Used mozzarella and the bread came out absolutely fabulous. My three year old loved going to the bread and pulling off layers himself. Excited to have found this recipe!
★★★★★
I am really looking forward to trying this recipe. I was wondering if I could use sourdough starter/dough and how would I adjust the recipe for this? Thanks for sharing all these wonderful recipes. I really enjoy your site!
Hi Chris, we haven’t tested this recipe using sourdough starter, so unfortunately we can’t offer any advice based on our experiences. Let us know if you do give anything a try!
I love your recipes. You have taken time to test and publish the final recipe. I do bake and cook frequently but the everything bagel of recipe (which I did twice) was not successful
Could you review the y
Hi CD, thanks so much for making and trusting our recipes! We’re happy to help troubleshoot. Are you referencing our everything bagels recipe or the everything bagel pull apart bread?
Hi! This looks amazing. Would it be okay to leave out the cheese? Or would it be missing a major profile/texture?
Hi Jordan, you certainly can. Feel free to add a little more herbs if you’d like.
Hi Jordan – You’ve probably made this bread already but if you haven’t, I have made this bread twice, loved it both times, and left out the cheese both times. This bread is delicious and satisfying without it. I love cheese but am trying to make better choices and there isn’t a whole lot of wiggle room if you want to enjoy this decadent bread but the cheese wasn’t even missed.
★★★★★
I’ve made this today. Didnt go to well as I’ve a really cold house and couldnt get it to rise after a few hours (also really bad at making bread)
Could the dough be made in a breadmaker with these ingredients?
Hi Stacey, The bread machine should work on its dough setting for this recipe, but we haven’t tested it.
This recipe was so good- we did a mix of mozzarella and shredded parmesan cheeses. I will absolutely be making these again. My only change would be to do an egg wash over the top of the bread. Keep up the great recipes Sally!
I made this last night, and thought the rosemary was too strong, and that I couldn’t taste the garlic. Today it was ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS. The rosemary had quieted down, and the garlic smelled and tasted yummy. I baked it until the sections started to separate, and it was perfect! My baking girlfriend said it was WONDERFUL! Thank you so much, Sally and your team, for coming up with this recipe! And, thank you, Lexi, for your quick responses to my questions. I’ll be making it for my next Book Club meeting.
★★★★★
I made this tonight, and it was very good. However, I felt like there was too much rosemary, and not enough garlic. When measuring the rosemary, how packed should the tablespoons be? And, what size garlic cloves should be used? I used one large and one small.
Hi Carol, the tablespoons don’t need to be heavily packed, and we used regular sized garlic cloves (about 1/2 teaspoon each once minced). You can certainly adjust the spices and garlic as you wish for your next batch!
I made this tonight. It smells heavenly. But, I didn’t know when it was done. It started turning golden brown after about 25 minutes, and I tented it. But, I didn’t know when to take it out. I took the tent off after about 35 minutes, then let it bake until 42 minutes, and took it out of the oven. The bread was starting to separate at the folds and sections. Was this correct, or should I have let it bake shorter or longer.
Hi Carol, one way to test that the bread is done is giving it a gentle tap on the top. If it sounds hollow, it is likely done. For a more accurate test, the bread is done when an instant-read thermometer reads the center of the loaf as 195°F / 91°C. We do find it takes closer to 50 minutes in our ovens, but each one is a bit different. Did the inside of yours seem done? We’re glad you enjoyed it!
Yes. I think it was done perfectly! It was crunchy but not burned on the outside, and tender on the inside. It’s good to know that there’s a test for when it is done, though. This is the first time in over 30 years that I’ve made bread or used yeast, and only the third time I’ve ever made bread. I used the Red Star Platinum yeast, and it did exactly what it was supposed to do. Thank you!
Can you make this using mini loaf pans for gifts?
I’ve made this two times and adore it. I used young manchego cheese and increased the dried herbs using an Italian blend. I plan on making again tomorrow for company but don’t have whole milk. I do have half&half and low fat milk though. If I were to use mostly low fat milk with a little half&half added to it, would that replicate whole milk well enough for this recipe or any recipe for that matter. (Also plan to try your pineapple -carrot cake tomorrow!) Thank you.
★★★★★
I made this for a small get together with neighborhood friends and all asked for the recipe! For the event, I left out the cheese since I was serving with blistered tomatoes and whipped goat cheese. However, my second loaf was even more amazing when I sprinkled with romano cheese — delightful and both were addictive! Thanks much for another keeper!