This Cheesy Pesto Pull Apart Bread recipe is so simple, savory, and utterly delicious, the tender bread are baked with dollops of pesto and loads of cheese — perfect with dinner or as an appetizer, just pull apart and enjoy with your choice of soup or just with olive oil!
I love all things pesto! It has the best flavor and tastes so fresh and delicious.
And this time, YEAST BREAD. My most favorite kind of bread. All dolled up with summer flavor and waiting patiently to make an appearance in your kitchen.
WHAT IS PULL-APART BREAD?
Pull-apart bread starts out like any other yeast bread, but arranging it in the loaf pan is a little more different than just shaping it and letting it do its thing.
After a yeast dough’s initial first rise, it gets shaped and plopped into a loaf pan where it rises again.
INGREDIENTS FOR CHEESY PULL APART BREAD:
- All Purpose Flour – You can replace APF with bread flour but haven’t yet tried this with whole wheat flour.
- Warm Milk – To proof the yeast and also to make the dough. We are using milk entirely to make the dough.
- Yeast – If using instant yeast, there is no need to activate the yeast in warm milk before using. We can use it directly in the dry ingredients.
- Sugar – Just a little to activate the yeast.
- Butter – We need softened butter to add to the dough. We can use salted or unsalted, but I have used unsalted butter.
- Egg – Gives the bread a soft and perfect texture.
- Salt – If using salted butter you can skip it.
- Pesto – You can use homemade or store-bought pesto.
- Grated cheese – I used parmesan, but can use any cheese of your choice.
- Olive Oil- Olive oil adds such a beautiful tenderness to these bread
HOW TO MAKE CHEESY PESTO PULL APART BREAD?
Place the yeast and sugar in the bowl and pour warm milk on top of it. 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.
In a large mixing bowl add the butter, egg, flour, salt and yeast mixture. Form a soft dough out it. Using lightly floured hands, knead it for 1 minute. If the dough is too sticky to handle, add 1-3 more tbsp of flour, but you want a very soft dough. Shape into a ball.
Place the dough in a greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap or aluminum foil. Place in a slightly warm environment to rise until doubled in size, around 60-90 minutes.
As the dough rises, prepare the filling and grease a 9×5 inch loaf pan.
Punch down the dough to release the air. Place dough on a lightly floured work surface. Roll it into large rectangle.
Brush olive oil followed by the pesto sauce. Then, sprinkle the shredded cheese.
Using a sharp knife, slice the rolled dough into roughly 5 equal parts. Stack the slices on one top of each other and then slice the stacked dough into 5 roughly equal size squares/rectangles.
Take a 9×5 loaf pan and carefully place the sliced squares/rectangles one after the other.
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.
Remove from the oven and place the pan on a wire rack. If desired, brush with melted butter.
Cool for 10 minutes in the pan, then remove from the pan and serve warm.
CAN WE USE HOMEMADE PESTO?
YES! I grow LOTS of basil in my garden every summer specifically to make pesto! I freeze it to use throughout the year. It’s the BEST! Check out my recipe to get all the details!
CAN I MAKE AHAED THE DOUGH?
Yes, after the initial rise, the dough can be stored in the refrigerator in a covered container up to 5 days.
CAN I FREEZE THE DOUGH?
Yes, can freeze upto 3 weeks! Simply defrost the dough in the refrigerator overnight before baking.
HOW TO SERVE PESTO PULL APART BREAD?
This bread fits the bill for a snack, appetizer, or alongside dinner. You can slice the loaf or tear off pieces.
Are you making this recipe? Then don’t forget to like and leave your comments for this recipe! I LOVE to see your creations so snap a photo and tag BlendOfSpicesbySara on Instagram with the hashtag #blendofspicesbysara
Reach out to me at blendofspicesbysara@gmail.com and also you can follow me on FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM ,PINTEREST,TWITTER to see what’s latest in my kitchen!
Cheesy Pesto Pull Apart Bread
Ingredients
For the Dough:
- 2 tsp yeast
- 1 tbsp granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup 180ml whole milk
- 3 tbsp 45g unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 large egg
- 2 and 1/3 cups 291g all-purpose flour, plus more as needed*
- 1 tsp salt
For the Filling:
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 cup pesto sauce
- 1 cup shredded parmesan (or your favorite shredded cheese)
Instructions
- Place the yeast and sugar in the bowl and pour warm milk on top of it. 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.
- In a large mixing bowl add the butter, egg, flour, salt and yeast mixture. Form a soft dough out it. Using lightly floured hands, knead it for 1 minute. If the dough is too sticky to handle, add 1-3 more tbsp of flour, but you want a very soft dough. Shape into a ball.
- Place the dough in a greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap or aluminum foil. Place in a slightly warm environment to rise until doubled in size, around 60-90 minutes.
- As the dough rises, prepare the filling and grease a 9×5 inch loaf pan.
- Punch down the dough to release the air. Place dough on a lightly floured work surface. Roll it into large rectangle.
- Brush olive oil followed by the pesto sauce. Then, sprinkle the shredded cheese.
- Using a sharp knife, slice the rolled dough into roughly 5 equal parts. Stack the slices on one top of each other and then slice the stacked dough into 5 roughly equal size squares/rectangles.
- Take a 9×5 loaf pan and carefully place the sliced squares/rectangles one after the other.
- 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.
- Remove from the oven and place the pan on a wire rack. If desired, brush with melted butter.
- Cool for 10 minutes in the pan, then remove from the pan and serve warm.
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