Cheesy Garlic Pull Apart

Another day in lockdown, another amazing bake to feed your iso soul. This bread is soft, garlicky, cheesy, and everything you need to get you through lockdown. The dough follows basic principles – try my Iso-Focaccia and Iced Buns if you need some practice with yeast – and can be filled with whatever you like. Bake it in a wreath like I did, or in a loaf tin for a more traditional pull apart, whichever way you bake this you will not want to share it!

Today I was not going to create a new recipe, and was to follow an existing bread I found on Pinterest; but, in true Bub’s Grubs form, I wasn’t happy with the way my first dough turned out, so I remade it using my own methods (not like I have anywhere else to be) and here we are. If you’ve made any of my other yeast doughs before, you’ll know I stick to a pretty predictable formula – always warm your liquid, sprinkle the yeast over the top, and never stir. After 5 minutes you’ll see your yeast has bloomed beautifully and you’ll instantly know your dough is going to rise. If you follow this basic rule, you will always have light, fluffy bread.

I filled this baby with a butter mixture of garlic, parsley, pecorino, and mozzarella, but you can use whatever filling you like. Think bacon and caramelized onions, chorizo and sundried tomatoes, the sky is the limit!

A question I get asked a lot is what kind, if any, of wash should you put over your bakes. As a general rule, bakes such as scones require only a milk wash as the sugars in the milk are what gives them a beautiful browning on top. Egg however, provides breads and pastries with a glossy shine, so I always do both an egg and milk mixture for my breads to get both a gorgeous golden colour, as well as a deep glossy shine.

Ingredients:

• 1 ¼ Cup Lite White Milk

• 7g Dry Active Yeast

• ½ Tsp Honey

• 2 ½ Cups Plain Flour + extra for dusting

• ½ Tsp Salt

For the Filling:

• 100g Butter, Softened

• 5 Cloves Garlic, Minced

• Handful Parsley, Finely Chopped

• 1/3 Cup Pecorino, Grated

• ½ Cup Mozzarella, Grated

• 1 Egg

• 2 Tbs Milk

• Oil for greasing

Let’s Make This Pull Apart!

1. In a saucepan, warm milk over a low heat. You want the milk slightly above lukewarm.

2. Pour the milk into a mixing bowl and stir in the honey. Sprinkle over the yeast and allow to sit for 5 minutes. Yeast will bloom and look foamy.

3. Add in the flour and stir with a metal spoon. Add the salt and combine.

4. Tip the dough out onto a lightly floured bench and knead for about 4 minutes by hand, or if you’re using a mixer, knead with the dough hook for about 2 minutes. The dough will be soft and bounce back when lightly poked.

5. Transfer dough to a well-oiled bowl and cover with cling film. Rest dough in a warm spot for an hour, or until dough doubles in size.

6. Meanwhile, combine the butter, garlic, parsley, and pecorino in a small bowl, and grease a Bundt tin with oil.

7. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and roll out into a rectangle, about 2cm thick.

8. Spread the butter mixture evenly across the surface of the dough. Sprinkle the mozzarella over the mixture.

9. Roll up the dough on its long edge and cut in half lengthways. You should have two long logs of pastry.

10. Lightly twist each roll, then wrap the rolls over each other to create one big twist.

11. Transfer to the oiled Bundt tin and cover in clingfilm. Allow to rest for 30 min, or until dough increases in size by about 30%. Halfway through the proofing, preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius, and in a small bowl or mug, whisk together the egg and milk to create your egg wash.

12. Once dough has risen, brush generously with egg wash and bake for 30 min. Check on bread after 15 min in case it needs turning in the oven.

13. Allow to cool in the tin before turning out onto a serving board.