Cheesy Garlic Pull Apart

Am a novice in Bread Making and this CHEESY GARLIC PULL APART BREAD is my first ever bread I have baked. And guess what? I have been transformed from I love cakes & cupcakes to I love Bread Making. I don't know why I held myself off from bread making. Maybe working with yeast put me off? or I just don't know. But after trying this pull apart I have decided to plunge head down into bread making. The whole process of bread making is actually very therapeutic and much easier than I expected them to be. 

You can make this as cheesy as you want. We actually with a lot of cheese. Since I avoid cheese a lot we tend to go overboard sometimes just to treat our cheese craving. 

And ah I just loved the smell of bread baking in the oven. My entire house was wafting with the smell of garlic and herbs. Big A's face immediately lit up when he came home from office asking "Whats that lovely smell?" I love when he says that. 

Such a wonderful recipe for babies and toddlers too. Freshly baked with no preservatives are a safe bet for babies. Little A loved it too. It can be given as a treat or a one off thing to babies and as a snack for toddlers.    

I tried THIS recipe!

You Will Need:

3 tsp Active Dry Yeast

1 Cup of Warm Milk (Hand hot)

1/4 Cup of Warm Water (hand hot)

2 tsp of Sugar

3 tbsp of Olive Oil

1 Beaten Egg

3.5 Cups of Plain Flour

1 tsp Italian / Pizza / Garlic Bread Seasoning

3 tsp Garlic Powder 

1.5 tsp Salt

200g mozzarella Cheese

1/4 Cup grated Parmesan (Optional, I did not use)

1 Cup of shredded cheddar and mozzarella

1 tbsp Melted Butter

Basting on the top (Optional but Highly recommended):

1 tbsp Melted butter

1 tsp Finely Chopped parsley

1/2 tsp garlic Powder

The Cooking:

Step 1:

Pour the warm water and warm milk into a bowl and sprinkle over the yeast. Then add sugar and olive oil. Stir well and let it proof for 15 - 20 mins till foamy and frothy.

NOTE: If the yeast is not frothy by 30 mins at least you will have to discard the yeast and start with a fresh batch. If the milk is too hot or not warm enough then the yeast will not activate.

Step 2:

In another bowl add the beaten egg, garlic powder, salt, Parmesan cheese (if using) and seasoning.

Step 3:

In a large bowl add the flour. Make a well in the center and pour in the yeast mixture and the egg mixture. Use your hands to make a dough.It will be a little sticky. Just make sure all the ingredients are evenly incorporated. Oil the insides of the bowl and place the dough. Cover with a cling or a tea towel and let it raise / double the size for 1.5 - 2 hrs. Meanwhile grease a 9 inch round pan with melted butter / olive oil. Cut the mozzarella into 12 cubes and shred the cheddar and remaining mozzarella. 

Step 4:

Once the dough has doubled punch it down and knead for 5 mins. Then divide the dough into 12 equal balls. Take one dough ball slightly flatten it in your palms and place a mozzarella cube and roll it into a ball. Do the same for remaining dough balls. 

Step 5:

Now place the balls inside the greased pan and stuff shredded cheese in between each balls and simply wherever you want. Let the dough raise for another 30 - 45 mins. And meanwhile preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius and prepare the baste by mixing together the butter, parsley and garlic powder.

Step 6:

Once the dough has raised again. Brush the top generously with the flavored butter and sprinkle some more any left over cheese if you want. 

Bake in the preheated oven for 30 - 35 mins until the top is golden brown and the cheese is a bubbly. 

Serve hot immediately straight out of the oven with a final brushing of flavored butter! 

Happy Baking!