Cheesy sourdough pull-apart bread is a great way to use up a loaf of sourdough bread that you may need to use. This makes a really delicious appetizer for game day or even an after-school snack for the kids! This recipe is so simple to make! all you have to do is make cuts in a baked sourdough loaf and stuff it with cheese, garlic, and herbs, then bake for 30 minutes till the cheese melts!
If you are looking for a sourdough bread recipe, I have a really good recipe to share with you! To see all the details head on over to this link to read the full post on sourdough bread for a beginner’s guide.
Do you have a sourdough loaf that needs to be used up ASAP and you are not sure what to do with it? This cheesy sourdough pull apart bread recipe is the perfect way to do so! It packs so much flavor, not to mention it is so comforting to eat. Serve this as an appetizer at any event, holiday, or as a school lunch for the kids.
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Baking a loaf of sourdough bread is pure therapy. Not only will it fill your kitchen with delicious smells of yeasty goodness, but you’ll also walk away with a handful of life lessons along with a piece of unbelievably fulfilling bread. This crusty no-knead bread will become something you bake for your family, weekly! This sourdough bread loaf is baked in a Dutch oven to develop a crispy, golden crust, and the inside has a fluffy and perfectly tangy crumb. This recipe takes a perfect loaf of sourdough bread to the next level!
What to serve with sourdough cheesy pull apart bread
Italian Sausage and gnocchi soup
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Baking sourdough bread has become a staple in our household, this bread is made at least four times a week at our house. My kids always ask me to bake this delightful bread, we use it to pair with soups and sandwiches, and how my kids love it the most – with butter and jam while it is still warm from the oven. because I bake it so often, sometimes there is a loaf that doesn’t get eaten right away, and I am always looking for ways to use it up. This is one of my favorite recipes to make for the kids after school as a snack or an appetizer before dinner. Who doesn’t love a side dish of cheesy garlic bread to go with their Italian dinner!?
You can use a storebought loaf of bread to make this recipe quicker
Although I highly recommend that you bake your own sourdough bread, store-bought doesn’t compare to homemade.
MY SOURDOUGH BREAD RECIPE MAKES TWO LOAFS
I often find myself doubling my sourdough bread recipe. I bake one loaf one day and leave the other loaf in the fridge unbaked for a few days or until I want to make sourdough cheesy pull-apart bread.
Ingredients:
- 1 loaf of sourdough bread
- 8 oz colby jack mix ( or you can use mozzarella cheese, cheddar, and parmesan)
- 8 tablespoons ( 1 stick) melted butter
- 1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley or fresh green onions
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3 garlic cloves ( 1 tsp garlic powder)
How To Make Cheesy Sourdough Pull Apart Bread
First you will start with making a fresh loaf of sourdough bread. To do So you will need
- 1,000 grams of bread Flour
- 650 grams of filtered water
- 20 grams salt
- 200 grams active sourdough starter (fed in the last 12 hours)
In a large bowl add 1,000 grams of flour, 200 grams of active sourdough starter, 650 grams of warm filtered water, and 20 grams of salt. For the next part I like to use the best tool there is, my hands! wash your hands and give this a good mix. You don’t want to knead the dough, you want to combine all the ingredients together till there is no dry streaks of flour. The dough will be very sticky, you might be tempted to add more flour. But trust the process! do not add more flour than what the recipe is asking for.
After a good mix, close the bowl with a lid and let the sourdough bread mixture rest for 30 minutes. For this step, you can cover the dough with saran wrap, a tea towel, or a lid. You don’t want a tight seal on the sourdough. You still want some air to circulate into the dough, to help ferment it. Yet you don’t want the dough to develop a hard crust either.
After 30 minutes you will complete 3- rounds of stretching and folding the sourdough. Gluten relaxes over time, this step will help to build up the gluten and give it strength and shape. Which will result in a beautiful rise when baking.
Click here for full stretch and fold directions
After 3 stretches, gently take out the sourdough on a clean countertop. Do not dust any flour on the countertop. Once the dough is out of the bowl, take a bench scraper and divide the dough into two equal pieces. Once it is divided- cover the dough with a tea towel and let it rest for 10 minutes. This step will ensure that your dough relaxes, then it will be easier to stretch it for the next step.
To shape your sourdough take your first dough and with your hands stretch the sourdough out on a clean countertop into the shape of a rectangle. The dough will be a little sticky, but make sure to not add any additional flour. if the sourdough is too sticky to work with use your bench scraper to help. Fold the two sides over to meet in the middle, and then the other two sides.
Roll the dough into a ball. After the sourdough is formed into a ball start to twist the dough on the table to create tension on the bottom of it. This helps to close up any open holes. Repeat the same process on the other dough.
lightly flour your proofing basket then flip your sourdough with the bottom facing up into your basket or bowl. Pinch to seal any holes. Dust the Sourdough ball with a little bit of flour, then cover it with a clean shower cap then place the two sourdough loaves in the fridge overnight (12-15 hours) for a slow fermentation.
An unbaked loaf can be stored in the fridge for a week. The longer it ferments in the fridge the more “sourdough” flavor will come through.
TIME TO BAKE YOUR SOURDOUGH BREAD
Place a Dutch oven into the oven with the lid closed and preheat the oven to 500F. While your oven is preheating (with the Dutch oven inside) take your loaf out of the fridge and gently flip your dough onto parchment paper. Make one deep score down the middle of your bread.
Take out the Dutch oven from the oven, be careful a preheated Dutch is very hot! Use oven mitts for your safety. Place the sourdough bread into the Dutch oven with the parchment paper, and bake for 30 minutes at 500F with the lid closed on the Dutch oven. After 30 minutes remove the lid from the Dutch oven and lower your heat to 450F and bake an additional 3-10 minutes depending on how much color you want on your sourdough bread.
Once the bread bakes, take it out of the Dutch oven and let it cool completely ( for 4 hours at least)
Once your loaf has cooled, preheat your oven to 350f.
While the oven is preheating, make diagonal cuts using a serrated bread knife ( this is the knife I use and love!) across the sourdough bread leaving 1 inch of space between each cut. Cut all the way down until the knife hits the bottom of the loaf but do not cut all the way through the bottom. You still want the bottom to be attached in one piece.
Rotate the bread 45° and make diagonal cuts the opposite way 1 inch apart, to create a grid pattern (crisscross).
Make the garlic butter mixture
In a microwave-safe small bowl melt the butter then add pressed garlic, salt, and parsley to make a garlic herb butter mixture. Brush the garlic herb mixture in between each cut of the bread leaving a few tablespoons to brush on top of the whole loaf later.
Next, pack the cheese in between every cut to make sure that when you will the bread you get cheese in every bite!
Brush the top with the reserved butter. Put the cheesy garlic pull apart bread either into a cast iron skillet or a baking sheet then cover with aluminum foil. Bake for 30 minutes or until all the cheese has melted.
Serve cheesy pull apart bread while it is hot with your favorite Italian-inspired dish, fresh salad, or a bowl of soup. Or dip it in homemade marinara sauce and wrap it in a slice of salami, and it tastes just like pizza! It will also be delicious to dip it in some homemade ranch dressing. I am sure your kids will love it this way!
If you try this recipe and love it, I would love it if you could come back and give it 5 stars!
More sourdough recipes to try!
- Sourdough Discard Scone Recipe
- Sourdough Focaccia Bread
- Sourdough Peach Cobbler
- How To Grow A Sourdough Starter
cheesy sourdough pull apart bread
Ingredients
- 1 sourdough loaf
- 8 oz colby jack mix ( or you can use mozzarella cheese, cheddar, and parmesan)
- 8 tbl ( 1 stick) melted butter
- 1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley or fresh green onions
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 3 cloves garlic (pressed)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350fWhile the oven is preheating, make diagonal cuts using a serrated bread knife ( this is the knife I use and love!) across the sourdough bread leaving 1 inch of space between each cut. Cut all the way down until the knife hits the bottom of the loaf but do not cut all the way through the bottom. You still want the bottom to be attached in one piece. Rotate the bread 45° and make diagonal cuts the opposite way 1 inch apart, to create a grid pattern (crisscross).
- In a microwave-safe small bowl melt the butter then add pressed garlic, salt, and parsley to make a garlic herb butter mixture. Brush the garlic herb mixture in between each cut of the bread leaving a few tablespoons to brush on top of the whole loaf later.
- Next, pack the cheese in between every cut to make sure that when you will the bread you get cheese in every bite!
- Brush the top with the reserved butter. Put the cheesy garlic pull apart bread either into a cast iron skillet or a baking sheet then cover with aluminum foil. Bake for 30 minutes or until all the cheese has melted.
- Serve cheesy pull apart bread while it is hot with your favorite Italian-inspired dish, fresh salad, or a bowl of soup. Or dip it in homemade marinara sauce and wrap it in a slice of salami, and it tastes just like pizza! It will also be delicious to dip it in some homemade ranch dressing. I am sure your kids will love it this way!
- If you try this recipe and love it, I would love it if you could come back and give it 5 stars!
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