Key Ingredients
Roasted Garlic – Adds a touch of elegance, deepens flavor without tasting too sharp or harsh
High Quality Butter– A high-fat butter boosts the flavor of garlic and cheese. I like to use a European style butter here.
Milk – I use whole milk in this recipe. It adds a golden color to the bread and amazing fluff!
Fresh Herbs – For a touch of color and aroma. I use parsley and chives- but feel free to get creative!
FAQ’s
Helpful tips
Here are some important Pro tips by Maude
- Use bread flour for the best structure — it helps milk bread stay fluffy yet strong enough to hold the cheese.
- Don’t overfill the cuts with cheese or butter — a little goes a long way and prevents soggy spots.
- Let the bread rise fully before baking. The extra rise gives you that signature pillowy milk bread texture.
- Add more fresh herbs at the end — parsley, chives, or thyme keep their color and fresh aroma better if added to the top of the bread after baking. Adding these herbs to the top before baking, they might burn in the oven.
- Bake covered first, then uncover. This ensures the inside stays soft while the top turns golden and crisp in the last few minutes.
More Recipes!
Here are some similar recipes you might enjoy!
If you try this recipe, I would love your feedback! Please leave a star rating, a comment below or on the reel in Instagram! Also please share what you made and tag @eatmaudes !! Thank you so much for stopping by and making yumminess with me!
Cheesy Garlic Pull Apart Bread
Servings
10 servings
**This post contains affiliate links. If you use these links to buy something, I may earn a commission at no extra cost to you
Equipment
Ingredients
Tangzhong (milk bread base)
- 3 tbsp (25g) bread flour
- 1/2 cup (120ml) whole milk
- 1/4 cup (60ml) water
Bread
- 2 1/2 cups (320g) bread flour
- 2 tbsp (30g) granulated sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tsp (7g) instant yeast (or active dry yeast)
- 1/2 cup (120ml) warm milk (about 105 degrees F)
- 1 large egg
- 3 tbsp (42g) unsalted butter, softened
- Honey (optional, but for drizzling in the filling)
- crushed red pepper flakes (optional but also used for filling)
Filling
- 7 tbsp (98 g) butter, very soft
- 1 tbsp (3 g) parsley, chopped
- 1/2 tbsp (1.5 g) chives, chopped
- 1 head garlic, roasted
- Pinch of salt
- 1/2 tbsp (7.5 g) olive oil
- 2/3 cup (80g) mozzarella cheese, shredded, divided
Instructions
Enable Step-by-Step Mode- For the milk bread, we want to begin with the milk bread base (tangzhong). In a medium saucepan, add flour, milk and water. On low heat, using a hand whisk mix everything until it is smooth and you have a thick like paste forming. Note: *Please be patient, this will take a couple of minutes. Then remove from the pan from the heat, set aside to cool.
- For the milk bread dough, in a bowl fitted for a stand mixer, whisk together flour, sugar, salt and yeast. Add the cooled tangzhong, warm milk and egg. Mix everything until a rough dough begins to form.
- Then begin kneading the dough with a hook attachment in the stand mixer, or mix by hand (for about 10 minutes). Note: to mix by hand can be challenging, so I highly recommend getting a stand mixer with a bread hook attachment. The dough should look and feel smooth. Add the softened butter and knead for another 5-6 minutes, the butter will integrate with the rest of the dough (if dough looks too wet, you can add 1/2-1 tsp of flour. Dough should be elastic and slightly sticky. That is a good sign, don't be tempted to add more flour.
- Shape the dough into a ball place in a bowl greased with butter or oil. Cover with a towel and let the dough rise for about 75 minutes. The dough should double in size. *Please pay attention to visual cues. Depending on the temperature in your kitchen, the dough may proof quicker than 75 minutes. It could also take longer if your kitchen is cold.
- While dough is rising/proofing, work on the filling. Preheat oven to 375, using a knife, cut the top off of the head of garlic. Place garlic in foil or a heat proof dish. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt. Cover and bake for 35-45 min. Remove from oven to cool. Once garlic is cool enough to handle, squeeze out the cloves into a bowl. to that bowl, add butter, parsley and chives. Mix everything well. Set to the side.
- Using your hand, punch the dough down, to release the air. On a well floured surface, roll the dough into a 12x12 rough square. Evenly spread the butter and garlic mix onto the dough. Sprinkle mozzarella over the butter (reserve a handful of cheese to sprinkle on top before baking).*Updated Note: Ive been on a hot honey kick lately, and I liked to drizzle some honey and red chili flakes on top of the garlic butter and cheese. This is totally optional but tastes delicious. I eyeball the amount used- you really cant go wrong!
- Cut the dough into 12 even squares. Stack four slices of dough, then repeat this two more times. Place each stack of four into a greased 9x5 bread loaf pan. Cover the bread and let it rest/rise for about 30 more minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350, place a baking sheet in the oven. Uncover bread and sprinkle remaining cheese on top. Then place bread pan onto the warm baking sheet. Bake bread for about 40-45 minutes. The bread should register about 200-205 degrees. Sprinkle with more chopped chives and parsley! Remove bread about 30 minutes after cooling in the pan. Enjoy.
Note: If your kitchen is cold, you can place the covered dough in the oven with the light on. This will help with the rise.
Storage: I would store this bread in an airtight container in the fridge. To reheat, bake at 350 F for about 20 minutes and then enjoy!
I had to make this for my family 3 days in a row, they truly loved it!
Hi Rosalinda! Gah- this is amazing! I remember the first time trying this bread warm out of the oven and I remember thinking- “I need to make another batch”! Im so glad to hear you and your family loved it! Its so great to hear that its been on rotation. Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts and experience! Enjoy! xo maude