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close-up photo of garlic rosemary pull apart bread loaf

Rosemary Garlic Pull Apart Bread

  • Author: Sally
  • 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 (45gunsalted butter, softened to room temperature
  • 1 large egg
  • 2 and 1/3 cups (291g) all-purpose flour (spoon & 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 (75g) 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 unsalted butter, melted
  • flaky/coarse sea salt for sprinkling

Instructions

  1. 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.
  2. If you do not have a mixer, you can mix the dough together with a wooden spoon or rubber 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. Transfer it to a lightly floured work surface. Using lightly floured hands, knead it for 1 minute. If the dough is too sticky to handle, add 1-3 more Tablespoons of flour, but you want a very soft dough. Shape into a ball.
  3. 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.)
  4. As the dough rises, prepare the filling in the next step and grease a 9×5 inch loaf pan.
  5. 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.)
  6. 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.
  7. Cover with plastic wrap or aluminum foil and allow to rise once again in a slightly warm environment until puffy, about 45 minutes.
  8. Adjust the oven rack to the lower third position then preheat oven to 350°F (177°C).
  9. 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.
  10. Cool for 10 minutes in the pan, then remove from the pan and serve warm.
  11. 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

  1. 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 4. To freeze the dough, prepare it through step 3. 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 4. (You may need to punch it down again if it has some air bubbles.)
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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