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Cheesy Garlic Pull-Apart Bread

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Cindy Rahe
Updated Aug 15, 2025
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There was a time, over a decade ago, when pull-apart breads were the viral recipe trend. Variations could be found on seemingly every recipe blog and for good reason! Essentially, a pull-apart bread is just a loaf made from shingles of dough, buttered in between, and sprinkled with a flavorful mix of ingredients. Our version is packed with herby garlic butter and lots of cheese. The result is a golden loaf that's fragrant with garlic and perfect for sharing. Instead of slicing, leaves of dough are peeled off, revealing an herb-speckled, buttery interior just held together with stretchy cheese. Be sure to serve warm for optimal cheese pull.

Recipe Ingredients

Here’s a look at some of the ingredients you’ll need to make this cheesy garlic pull-apart bread.

Softened Butter: Every good garlic bread has butter. Be sure to use butter that is soft enough to mix in the garlic and herbs. I used unsalted butter, but salted butter is fine, just adjust the salt in the recipe.

Herbs: I used soft, mild herbs—specifically chives and parsley —but you could sub in heartier herbs like rosemary or thyme; just use about half of the amount called for in the recipe.

Cheese: A blend of cheeses is nice in this recipe. I used an Italian blend that included parmesan, Romano, and mozzarella, as well as additional mozzarella for that coveted cheese pull.

Other ingredients you’ll need: Gold Medal™ All Purpose Flour, yeast, honey, salt, and an egg.

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How to Make Cheesy Garlic Pull-Apart Bread

Tips for making this irresistible cheesy pull-apart bread.

1. Make the Dough

Mix up the dough and let it rise. It’s crucial to let the dough double in size to achieve a fluffy and delicious pull-apart bread. If you choose to refrigerate the dough (my preferred method) for a slower rise, you’ll be rewarded with a very easy-to-work-with dough when you move on to the buttering and stacking steps.

2. Make the Garlic Butter

Simply mix the butter, garlic, chives, parsley, and salt together in a bowl!

3. Butter and Stack

Once the dough has risen, roll it out, spread on the garlic butter, and top with the cheese. Cut it into three long strips, then stack those on top of one another. Cut the strips in half, then into 3 equal-ish portions.

4. Arrange in the Pan

Place stacks of dough upright in the pan, making sure that the buttered sides of the dough are facing inward at each end of the loaf. Cover and allow to rise a second time.

5. Bake the Bread

Bake the bread in the oven on a baking sheet to prevent the garlic butter from dripping into the oven and burning.

6. Let It Cool

Once baked, allow it to cool—just a little! Since the butter and cheese will be very hot, you don’t want to risk burning your mouth. Wait 10-15 minutes, then serve still warm so you get all that melty, cheese pull.

How to Make Ahead Cheesy Garlic Pull-Apart Bread

This recipe is best enjoyed warm from the oven, but some of the steps can be prepped in advance.

Make Ahead and Freeze: You can prepare all the steps up to the second rise, then freeze the whole loaf. Prepare the recipe from steps 1 to step 4. Skip the second rise, then wrap the entire pan in a double layer of plastic and freeze for up to 1 month.

Thaw and Bake: Unwrap the loaf and thaw, loosely covered in plastic wrap, in the refrigerator overnight or at room temperature on the counter. Once thawed, it will need to do its second rise at room temperature before baking.

Cheesy Garlic Pull-Apart Bread Variations

With a few swaps, you can change-up the flavor of this loaf however you like!

Switch the Herbs or Cheese and Add Mix-ins: Try dill and cheddar, maybe even some finely diced pickles too. Or try basil, oregano, and sundried tomatoes for a pizza-esque spin!

Go Sweet: Go a totally different direction and opt for cinnamon sugar and butter. Go an extra step and mix up a simple icing to drizzle over the top for cinnamon roll vibes!

Cheesy Garlic Pull-Apart Bread

  • Prep Time 40 min
  • Total 3 hr 20 min
  • Servings 8
  • Ingredients 15
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Ingredients

Dough

  • 1/4 cup water, room temperature
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
  • 3/4 cup milk
  • 1 large egg
  • 3 1/2 cups Gold Medal™ All Purpose Flour
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt

Filling

  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
  • 4 to 6 cloves of garlic, grated or minced fine
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (4 oz)
  • 1 cup shredded Italian cheese blend (4 oz)
Make With
Gold Medal Flour

Instructions

  • Step 
    1

    Combine the water, honey, and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer, and set aside for five minutes until the mixture is foamy. Add the milk and egg to the bowl, whisk gently to break the egg, then add the flour, salt, and melted butter. Using the dough hook, mix the dough on medium-low speed until a dough forms. You may need to use a spatula to combine the wet and dry ingredients. Turn the mixer up to medium and continue mixing for 10 minutes.

  • Step 
    2

    Shape the dough into a ball, place in an oiled bowl, and cover with plastic wrap.

  • Step 
    3

    Allow the dough to double in size at room temperature, about 1 hour. Alternatively, you can refrigerate the dough and allow it to rise for 8 to 12 hours. This is great if you want to make the dough ahead of time.

  • Step 
    4

    While the dough is rising, make the garlic butter. Combine the softened butter in a bowl with the garlic, herbs, and salt.

  • Step 
    5

    Once the dough has doubled, punch it down to deflate and roll out into about an 18x9-inch rectangle.

  • Step 
    6

    Spread the garlic butter over the entire surface of the dough and cover with the cheeses. 

  • Step 
    7

    Cut the rectangle into 3 strips lengthwise, stack the strips on top of each other, and cut into 6 portions. You will have 18 rough squares of dough.

  • Step 
    8

    Lightly butter a 9x5-inch loaf pan and arrange the dough squares upright in the pan. Be sure to have the buttered sides facing inward at the ends of the loaf pan (dry dough side toward the pan).

  • Step 
    9

    Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise for about 1 hour or until puffed and about doubled in size.

  • Step 
    10

    Heat the oven to 400°F.

  • Step 
    11

    Place the loaf pan on a baking sheet (to catch any garlic butter that may drip) and bake about 30 minutes or until golden. Remove from the oven and cool on a rack for 10-15 minutes before serving.

Nutrition

Nutrition Facts are not available for this recipe

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