Whole wheat herbed garlic pull-apart bread

Pull apart breads. Don’t you just love them.

They could be sweet. Like Joy the baker’s cinnamon pull apart bread. Or, Kitchen Corner’s blueberry one. Or like the pumpkin one I made.

Or they could be savory.

And the flavor combinations for each are plenty.

Since I have already tried my hand at the sweet version, I thought of going the other way this time.

I tried making a whole wheat herbed garlic and sundried tomato pull-apart bread.

And well, it was AWE-SOME!

I actually used my whole wheat country seed bread recipe and instead of shaping as the regular loaf, I made it into a pull apart bread. I knew garlic had to be there, so did cheese. While rummaging through my refrigerator for other things that could be added I saw sundried tomatoes which could definitely benefit from starring in this dish. And oh my god, star they did!

This bread is a meal in itself. The tanginess from the sundried tomatoes blended with some herbed garlicky cheesy goodness is enough to satisfy the needs of your stomach. Of course you could have a nice salad to accompany it. But its really not necessary.

This bread lasted two days in our household of two. And this is when we are not primary bread eaters.

You really have to make this bread. Like. Now.

You could use any of your favorite bread recipe. After its first rise, roll it out into a 1/4 inch thick rectangle.

Slather it with some melted butter.

Spread the garlic-herb-sundried tomato-parmesan & mozarella cheese goodness on it.

Cut it into strips of six.

Tower those strips one on top of the other. Cut it again into six pieces. And then fit it into the bread pan.

Let rise, and then bake till golden brown. This step is the most difficult one as you patiently wait while the whole house fills with the smell of yeast doing its magic and the cheese melting into small pockets in the bread. All making it so, so gooooood!

Once baked, and while its still warm, sprinkle some more parmesan cheese on it. Why? Well, because you are worth it!

Whole wheat herbed garlic pull-apart bread

Recipe Type: Bread, side

Author: Shumaila

I think this bread is best served the day it’s made, but it can also be wrapped and kept at room temperature for up to 2 days; that is if it lasts that long! There is no way that you can eat just one leaf of this warm pull-apart yeasty tangy, cheesey garlicky bread!

Knead time: 10 min; Rise time: about 2 hours; Rolling & shaping: 10 min; Baking time: 30-40 min

Ingredients

1 country seed bread dough (without sunflower seeds)

For filling:

2 tbsp fresh basil, finely chopped
1 tsp dried oregano
3 tbsp sundried tomatoes, finely chopped
3 tbsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp herbs de provence
1 tsp chilli flakes
1/4 cup parmesan, freshly grated
Freshly ground pepper, to taste
1/4 cup mozzarella cheese

For slathering:

3 tbsp melted butter

Instructions

Follow instructions of making the country seed bread till first rise. ( I did not use the sunflower seeds mentioned in the recipe for the pull apart bread)
Mix all the filling ingredients together.
After the dough has doubled during the first rise, punch it down and let rest for 5 minutes.
Roll dough out into a 1/4 inch rectangle. Slather all over with the melted butter.
Sprinkle the filling on the buttered up rolled out dough.
Stack the strips on top of one another and slice the stack into six equal slices once again. You’ll have six stacks of six squares.
Layer the dough squares in a greased loaf pan on the side.
Place a kitchen towel over the loaf pan and allow in a warm place for 30 to 45 minutes or until almost doubled in size.
Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F.
Bake the bread for 30 to 35 minutes, until the top is very golden brown. Remove from the oven and sprinkle some more freshly grated parmesan.