GAME DAY CHEESY PULL-APART BREAD! (With Variations)
GAME-DAY CHEESY PULL-APART BREAD
This addictive DELICIOUS bread is basically a cheesy garlic bread, but so much more fun! Cheese, garlic, and bread – in pull-apart bread form.
Game-Day Cheesy Pull-Apart Bread
Ingredients
- 1 crusty loaf, choose a heavy, dense loaf like sourdough or country bread
- 1 cup gruyere, fontina or shredded whole-milk mozzarella cheese (hand-shredded)
- 1 stick (8 tbsp) unsalted butter, softened
- 2-3 large garlic cloves, minced
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
- Jar of marinara (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F.
- Combine butter, garlic and salt in a heatproof bowl and melt in the microwave. Stir through parsley.
- Cut the bread on a diagonal into 1" diamonds but do not cut all the way through the bread. Place on sheet of foil.
- Use your fingers pry open each crack and drizzle in a teaspoon of butter and stuff in a pinch of cheese.
- Brush surface with remaining butter.
- Wrap with the foil and bake for 20 minutes until the cheese has mostly melted, then unwrap and bake for 5 - 10 minutes more to make the bread nice and crusty.
- Serve immediately.
- For lots of variations: Think pizza or cinnamon sugar pull-apart bread visit: Lauren-Lane.com or @lauren_lane_culinarian
Notes:
- Flat-leaf parsley is sometimes called Italian parsley. Much better in recipes than the curly parsley. Use fresh garlic in this recipe; The jarred garlic will not taste the same.
- Make-Ahead - The best way to make ahead is to use softened butter instead of melted. Then, smear the butter into the cracks. Add the cheese tuff, wrap and refrigerate or freeze—Thaw before cooking and then follow recipe instructions to bake.
- My favorite store-bought Marinara is Raos. It's all-natural and tastes like homemade. It can be expensive, but it goes on sale, and Costco has it for a much lower price.
PIZZA PULL-APART BREAD
For a pizza version: follow the directions above but stuff the bread with 1/2 the butter mixture, then add chopped pepperoni, onions, and or Italian seasoning to the crevices. Then add the rest of the butter and the cheese and bake as normal.
Cinnamon Brown Sugar Pull-Apart Bread
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
3 tablespoons maple syrup
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Pinch fine sea salt
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 heaping teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1 to 2 tablespoons milk
1 loaf heavy Italian bread
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
Stir together the butter and brown sugar in a medium bowl until smooth. Stir in the maple syrup, vanilla and salt.
Stir together the granulated sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl.
After cutting the bread like above, spoon and push the butter mixture into all of the cuts in the bread. (You may have extra butter mixture, it will just depend on how large your loaf is.) Sprinkle about 1/2 cup of the cinnamon sugar in the cuts and over the top.
Wrap the loaf in foil, place on a baking sheet, and bake until hot and all the butter is melted, 25 to 30 minutes. Open the foil, sprinkle over the remaining cinnamon sugar and bake until the crust is lightly golden brown and crispy, about 10 minutes longer. Transfer to a cutting board or platter and let cool for 10 minutes.
Put the confectioners' sugar in a small bowl and slowly stir in the milk until you have a thick but pourable icing. Drizzle the icing over bread and serve immediately.
Recipe courtesy of Bobby Flay