Cheese and Garlic Crack Bread (Pull Apart Bread)

This Cheese and Garlic Crack Bread is EPIC! “Crack bread” is an appropriate name for this because it’s garlic bread – on crack…..

It’s basically a cheesy garlic bread, but so much more fun AND delicious! Cheese, garlic and bread  – in pull apart bread form. You can’t go wrong. Guaranteed to be the most popular thing at any gathering you take it to!

A CHEESY PULL APART GARLIC BREAD

“You will never be able to look at garlic bread the same again….”

If you haven’t tried this Cheese and Garlic Crack Bread before, let me warn you now: garlic bread will never be the same again. It’s like a pull apart bread, but tastes like garlic bread plus you have the mozzarella cheese which stretches wonderfully as you pull bits off.

This is INSANELY delicious. I especially love the way the bread is cut into diamond shapes so you can tear bite size pieces off. Every piece is garlicky and buttery and oh-so-cheesy…….

“Kids go NUTS over this…. and adults turn INTO kids when they get stuck into this!!”

This is one the kids go NUTS over, don’t say I didn’t warn you! And grown ups turn into little kids when they get stuck into this. I made this for a dinner and let me tell you, it took 5 hands about 30 seconds to demolish this!

HOW TO MAKE THE BEST CHEESY BREAD IN THE WORLD!

Best bread –  The best bread to use for Cheese and Garlic Crack Bread is crusty sourdough or another dense type of bread, but it works well with plain crusty loaves as well.

The reason it works better with sourdough is because the bread is denser so the bread tends to hold together better when you pull bits off. But believe me, there is no compromise on flavour if you use other types of bread! In fact, in the photo I chose to use a crusty Vienna loaf because it was on special.

Best cheese – I really recommend using mozzarella cheese for this, you want it to stretch and pull when you tear the pieces off.

Other flavourings – I kept the flavours quite simple, going for a garlic bread with cheese, but you can go really wild with the flavours for this! Ranch dressing, kick of chilli, other herbs – the possibilities are endless!

When it comes out of the oven, it’s all golden, crusty and buttery on the inside and you know that’s just the start of the eating experience that’s about to commence….

….then the devouring begins…. that cheesy pull! That buttery, garlicky bread!! And yet, and yet, there’s even more to come….

THE BASE IS THE BEST BIT!!

Everybody goes so nuts over the cheese bits that you pull out, but my favourite part is the base of the bread. All the butter and cheese drips to the bottom and it bakes so nice and crispy…..

PULL APART BREAD for parties!

This is a great centrepiece for a dinner that could just be accompanied by a fresh salad to make a complete meal. Or as a fabulous appetiser or party food – think game day!

It’s by far the most requested party food by my family and friends. I usually make it at home then take it to the venue and bake it there. The best way to make ahead is to use softened butter instead of melted butter and slather it into the cracks, then stuff with cheese. Wrap and bake before serving.

But you can even bake it in advance then reheat quickly in the microwave as long as you use a crusty sourdough. The crust gets so crusty when you bake it, it stays crusty even if you reheat it in the microwave.

Go forth and enjoy! Make this cheesy garlic bread once, and you’ll be asked to make it again and again and again…. – Nagi x

CHEESE and GARLIC CRACK BREAD
WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT

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Cheese and Garlic Crack Bread (Pull Apart Bread)

Author: Nagi | RecipeTin Eats

Prep: 10 mins

Cook: 20 mins

Total: 30 mins

Appetizer, Side Dish

4.9 from 101 votes

Servings8 - 10

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Recipe video above. This is garlic bread - on crack! Great to share with a crowd, or as a centre piece for dinner accompanied by a simple salad.

Ingredients

• 1 crusty loaf , preferably sourdough or Vienna
• 1 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese (or other melting cheese)

Garlic Butter

• 100 g / 1 stick (8 tbsp) unsalted butter , softened
• 2 large garlic cloves , minced
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp fresh parsley , finely chopped

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 180C/350F.
• Combine butter, garlic and salt in a heatproof bowl and melt in the microwave. Stir through parsley.
• Cut the bread on a diagonal into 2cm/1" diamonds but do not cut all the way through the bread.
• Use your fingers or a knife to pry open each crack and drizzle in a teaspoon of butter and stuff in a pinch of cheese. This might sound like a bit of an effort, but I promise you it is worth it! You don't need to be super neat, it's nice to have some of the butter drizzled over the crust.
• Brush surface with remaining butter. 
• Wrap with foil and bake for 20 minutes until the cheese has mostly melted, then unwrap and bake for 5 - 10 minutes more to make the bread nice and crusty.
• Serve immediately. (See note 1 for best make ahead methods)

Recipe Notes:

1. Make Ahead - The best way to make ahead is to use softened butter instead of melted butter, mix with garlic, salt and parsley then smear into the cracks. Stuff with cheese, wrap and refrigerate or freeze. To cook, thaw then follow recipe instructions to bake.

To make ahead so that it just requires a brief 2 minute reheat in the microwave to serve, you must use a crusty sourdough loaf. Bake per recipe (including unwrapped stage), then wrap it up in foil and let it cool. Refrigerate up to 3 days, then to serve, just microwave for 1 1/2 - 2 minutes on high just to melt the cheese again. Because the crust gets so crusty in the oven, it stays crusty even when reheated in the microwave. 

2. Bread type - The denser the bread, the better the pieces will hold together when pulled off. Sourdough works best!

Use already baked bread, not uncooked bread dough.

3. "Speedy Tip"  **Update** A reader reminded me of a fabulous "SPEEDY" tip that I should share with you! Instead of melting the butter, cream it. Then cut diagonal slices (in one direction only) and use all the butter and generously spread it in each crack, on both walls. Then cut the bread to make diamonds and as you drag the knife through the bread, it will spread the butter into the new crevices you are cutting. This doesn't provide quite the same even coverage of butter but for a speedy version, it is a small compromise. Thank you to CJ for the tip!

4. Nutrition per serving, assuming this serves 10.

Nutrition Information:

Serving: 58gCalories: 191kcal (10%)Carbohydrates: 19.5g (7%)Protein: 2.5g (5%)Fat: 10.9g (17%)Saturated Fat: 6g (38%)Cholesterol: 26mg (9%)Sodium: 374mg (16%)Potassium: 15mgFiber: 1.4g (6%)Sugar: 1.4g (2%)Vitamin A: 350IU (7%)Vitamin C: 0.8mg (1%)Calcium: 90mg (9%)Iron: 0.5mg (3%)

Keywords: Cheese Bread, Cheesy Bread, Crack Bread, Pull Apart Bread

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