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)
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:
Nutrition Information:
LIFE OF DOZER
Yesterday, today, tomorrow… #HardLifeOfDozer
Clara Gonzalez says
Hi,
This photo/recipe is being used by a FB page that has been a thorn on the side of me and many of my fellow bloggers. They keep stealing our photos and recipes, and while they have been suspended before because of the many DMCAs, they are back at it again. Please file a takedown with FB, maybe they’ll get the message this time and stop this.
This is the page: Un-millón-de-Recetas-839891779453046
Thanks, and regards,
Clara
Nagi says
Reported. 🙂
Nagi says
Hi Clara, thank you so much for letting me know. Makes me so cranky!!! I will report them 🙁 Grr! Thanks again Clara! N x
kushi says
This one is gorgeous. Bookmarked. Going to try this soon 🙂 Have a great weekend!
Nagi says
Thank you Kushi! I do hope you love it! 🙂
Martina says
Hi, I had some difficulties baking the thing, but probably bcs I didn’t read the whole recipe with tips on the end ? Successfully burned 2, but made 1 to die for! Thx for sharing and have a great day ?? Regards, Martina
Nagi says
YAY! So glad the 3rd one worked out for you, it’s INSANELY addictive isn’t it???
Lindsey says
Made this for New Year’s Eve and now making for a party tonight. When asked what I should make everyone said the same thing “the cheesy bread!!!!!!!” I also love that I can make ahead and toss on the oven at a later time.
Nagi says
Glad to hear that you’re in love with this as much as I am Lindsey!! 🙂 N x
Hira says
Hey? I justt love too cook and bake, can i bake perfectly everything in a convection microwave or in an OTG? Like baking cakes and breads? And lasagna?
Nagi says
Hi Hira! I’m terribly sorry to say this won’t work in a microwave – it doesn’t crispy and and foil can’t be used in microwaves!
Sudarshan Hebbar says
looks really yumm… thanks for sharing the recipe.
Nagi says
No worries! I hope you try it!! 🙂
Janet says
I made two of these a year ago when we had the family (15 of us) over for a home made pizza night. We are doing pizza night again tomorrow and everyone is asking me to make this again! It’s great!!!
Nagi | RecipeTin says
PERFECT for pizza night ? 15 in the family??? I can’t even imagine the carnage as everyone dove into it???
macey says
Just tried this with a tiger loaf and it was yum can’t wait to try it with other ingredients like chicken etc. It was so easy to make…next recipe is nachos cheese sauce ummm
Nagi | RecipeTin says
Oooh….I LOE the nachos cheese sauce!!
Daisy says
I just made this and added pepperoni – with marinara to dip on the side. My mom and dad couldn’t stop eating it. Thank you for this wonderful recipe and I am excited to use more of your recipes!! 🙂
Nagi | RecipeTin says
OMG – you made a pizza version. RIPPER!
Alison says
I absolutely loved this recipe! I made it for a party and it was super quick and easy to make for all of the people.
Nagi | RecipeTin says
YESSSSS! So glad everyone enjoyed it, thanks for letting me know Alison!
Kelly says
Hi!
This looks incredible! Can’t wait to try it…one question, how many tablespoons is 3.5 ounces?
Nagi | RecipeTin says
Hi Kelly! 7 tablespoons will do the trick.
Chai says
So I’ve found that for softer bread, it’s best to half freeze the bread. It makes it much easier to cut without it falling apart :}
Nagi | RecipeTin says
Thanks for the tip Chai! I’ve tried it with soft bread and find that the crust broke, as per a comment from a prior reader. 🙂
Frances says
We tried this and the flavor was amazing, used the same bread as directed. The pieces were really hard to pull out, I’m thinking maybe we didn’t make the cuts deep enough? I tried to go as deep as possible without it breaking apart but was maybe too conservative. Has anyone else had this happen? Was there something else we could have botched? The tops of chunks pulled off and we were left with the bottom half of the loaf as one big chunk.
Nagi | RecipeTin says
Hi Frances!! So glad you loved the flavour! Do you have a fan forced or convectional oven?? It sounds like it didn’t get hot enough inside. 🙂 Hot bread tears so easily so it shouldn’t fall apart when you pull the pieces out! 🙂
Joan O says
We made this as part of our Christmas Eve appetizers this year and it was a super hit. Loved it!
Nagi | RecipeTin says
I’m so glad you enjoyed this Joan!! Thank you so much for taking the time to come back and let me know. 🙂 And HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
Angela McIves says
Hi Nagi
I wanted to make this for some friends but i will not have an available oven my friend says he has a turbo broiler. Can i use that instead? Thank you in advance
Nagi | RecipeTin says
Hi Angela! I’m sorry but I don’t think a broiler will work for this 🙁
Operation Cooking says
Oh, this is my very big addiction. I tried a lot of varieties of cheese with it and every time it turn out to be just perfect. Thank you for the really great inspiration!
Nagi | RecipeTin says
I know, it’s INSANELY delicious, isn’t it??!
Heather says
This looks so fun! I’m going to make this tomorrow for dinner. Thanks!
Nagi | RecipeTin says
Hope you LOVE it!! 🙂
Cathy Cavalcante says
I cannot wait to make this for my son’s annual big Christmas party Dec 13th! I am making 3! lol A cheese and garlic one and I want to play around with it and make a cheese and pepperoni one, AND I thought of coming up with a bacon and cheddar version! I will post back with how they all came out! 🙂
Nagi | RecipeTin says
Oooh!! I love ALL those variations!!! N x
Marquetta says
I made this last year for Thanksgiving and it was a huge hit….well for the people that were in the kitchen, because once it came out of the oven, it never made it out the room lol. I felt bad because my husband didn’t even get any. Like most, I spend basically all of Thanksgiving Day in the kitchen as do most of my female guests. They like to watch me cook, not help lol. I’m a tad territorial about my kitchen lol. I will be making it again this year, but this time I will make two, one for the kitchen and one for the living room. Thanks for the great recipe! I look forward to many more.
Linda says
After it comes out of the oven, of course you want to dig in.But of course it is hot. Use tongs to pull out the pieces. Works great!
Nagi | RecipeTin says
BA HA HA!!! That is SO FUNNY!!!! Cook’s perks, that’s what I say! And yes, make sure you make two this year!!! I can’t wait to get home and make a big thanksgiving spread to share on my blog – thank you for the idea to include this in my menu! What else made your thanksgiving menu? N x
Karley G. says
This looks AMAZING!!
I’m one of the youngest members of my family, and this year for Thanksgiving I’ve been asked to bring the bread…
I know, they must have great trust in me to bring such an important dish (side note: my cousin’s only responsibility is the ice so I didn’t feel so bad).
Anyways, how many loaves do you recommend making to feed about 20 people?
Thanks:)
Ted says
20!
Nagi | RecipeTin says
Hi Karley! BA HA HA!! What does that say when you’re given ICE to bring! 😉 Oooh, you will blow your family away with this one! As a side for 20 people, I would suggest making 3 loaves, so 6 people per loaf. But because this bread is going to steal the show (it’s THAT good!) I suggest you consider making 4!!!