Pull Apart Bread With Garlic, Basil & Sun Dried Tomatoes







It's been awfully cold here and we are getting dumped with piles of snow for the last few days.  I always wish for hot tea or a warm bowl of soup when I get home after work on cold winter days.  A soft garlic bread stick or garlic bread with a warm bowl of soup is more comforting than anything else on cold evenings for me.





Garlic bread is one of our favorite breads.  My kids cannot have enough of these breads when accompanied with soup.  I had been procrastinating to make these breads for a while, till my blogger friend Manju from Manju's Eating Delights made this wonderful pull apart bread.  It definitely impelled me to bake this yummy 'pull apart' bread.  I had made these few times now and my family is hooked into this soft bread and they prefer it over any other bread that goes with soup.  The basic recipe of the 'pull apart' bread is adapted from Manju's Eating Delights and I had made some variations to the recipe.




There is no exaggeration, my kids absolutely love this and it's a big hit in my family.  I believe I wrote enough to wake up the baker in you and prompted you to give this recipe a try.

Disclaimer:  The only problem is that my kids will finish the bread within minutes and fill up their tummy and the soup will be still sitting in their bowls :).




Recipe adapted from Manju's Eating Delights

Serves - 5

Ingredients

Bread dough
1/2 cup - lukewarm low fat milk
1 tsp -sugar
7 g or 1/4 oz - yeast or one small packet active dry yeast
3 1/2 cups + 3 tbsp - all purpose flour
1 tsp -salt
3 tbsp - softened butter
3 cloves - grated garlic
1/2 tsp - red chili flakes
1/2 tsp - dried oregano + parsley
3/4 cup + 1 or 2 tbsp - low fat milk
1 tsp - extra virgin olive oil

Filling
6 cloves - grated garlic
1/4 cup - chopped fresh basil leaves
2 tsp - chopped sun dried tomatoes packed in oil
3 - cherry tomatoes seeded and chopped
3 tbsp - melted butter
3/4 cup - low fat grated cheddar cheese
1 tbsp - melted butter
1/4 tsp - kosher salt to sprinkle

Directions:

  • Dissolve the sugar in 1/2 cup of warm milk and add the yeast to it.  Let it stand for 10 minutes or till it gets frothy.
  • Combine flour, softened butter, grated garlic, chili flakes, oregano, parsley, salt, 3/4 cup milk and the yeast mixture using an electric stand mixture or using hands to form a soft dough like pizza dough.  If the dough is too tight add 1 or 2 tbsp of milk.  If it is sticky add 2 or 3 tbsp of flour.
  • Use 1 tsp of olive oil over the dough to form a nice ball and keep it covered in a warm place to rise for 1 hr.
  • Meantime you can prepare for the filling.  Mix together the chopped basil, sun dried tomatoes, cherry tomatoes and grated cheese in a bowl.
  • After 1 hr,  punch down the air in the dough and divide the bread dough into 2 equal parts.
  • Roll the first ball into a rectangle on a floured surface.  
  • Brush the melted butter on the rolled dough and sprinkle half of the filling evenly on it.  Press the fillings on to the dough using a spatula or your fingers.
  • Gently lift the rolled sheet and transfer to a baking sheet.
  • Roll the second ball into a rectangle and repeat the process of brushing with butter and sprinkling with rest of the cheese filling.
  • Now carefully transfer the first rolled sheet on to the top of already rolled (second) sheet.
  • Using a knife or pizza cutter, cut the stacked sheets lengthwise into 4 pieces.
  • Now gently place the second strip over the first one and the fourth strip over the third strip, so that you get 2 stacked strips of dough.
  • Cut each strips into 6 pieces to get a total of 12 pieces.
  • Grease a loaf pan or bundt pan and dust with flour.  Place the cut pieces of dough in such a way that the next piece overlaps the end of the previous piece.  Please refer the collage to see how the strips are arranged.
  • Brush the top of the bread with 1 tbsp of melted butter and sprinkle kosher salt over it.  Cover the pan and let it rise for 30 minutes.
  • Pre-heat the oven to 350 degree F and bake the bread for 30 minutes or till the top is light golden yellow and the cheese starts to brown little bit.
  • Serve the warm bread with hot bowl of soup.  
Notes
  • Please refer the collage to check the steps of stacking, cutting and arranging the bread.
  • Feel free to increase the amount of cheese if you love cheesy breads.  
  • Make sure to brush each rolled sheets with butter, otherwise the bread will not pull apart in layers.
  • There are endless possibilities to fill the bread.  Be creative and experiment with different options.
  • Any leftover bread can be wrapped in aluminum foil and refrigerated.  I never got a chance to do so, because it finishes the same day in our house.



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