Garlic Parmesan pull apart bread

I kept seeing all these post about pull apart bread on Pinterest (damn you, Pinterest) so last night I finally gave in and tried one out since I was making chicken soup for dinner. Here is a recipe for Garlic Parmesan pull apart bread:  http://smells-like-home.com/2012/09/garlic-parmesan-pull-apart-bread/

Garlic Parmesan Pull-Apart Bread
source: adapted from Pastry Affair

Ingredients:

• 2 1/4 tsp (1 packet) instant yeast
• 1 1/3 cups warm water
• 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tsp salt
• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 4 tbsp (1/4 cup) salted butter, melted
• 1 tbsp dried parsley flakes or 2 tbsp fresh parsley, finely chopped
• 1/4 tsp Italian seasoning
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions:

The dough after the first proof

Butter, parsley, seasoning, and mmmm garlic!

1. In the bowl of the stand mixer, stir together the yeast and water. Let the mixture sit for 5 minutes until yeast is somewhat dissolved. Mix in the olive oil, salt, and flour. Using the dough hook, knead the dough for 5 minutes, or until elastic. (Alternatively, you can mix the ingredients in a large bowl then knead the dough on a lightly floured surface until it is elastic, 7-10 minutes.) Transfer dough to a lightly oiled bowl and cover with a clean kitchen towel or plastic wrap. Allow the dough to rise for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, or until it has doubled in size.   

 2. In a small bowl, combine melted butter, parsley, Italian seasoning, and minced garlic. Set aside.

 
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Ready to go in the oven

4. Gently push the air out of the dough. Tear off a golf ball-size piece of dough, roll in the butter mixture, and place in the bottom of a Bundt pan. Repeat this process until you have one layer of dough balls. Sprinkle on 1/3 of the Parmesan cheese. Continue layering the dough balls and cheese until you have 3 layers. (Note: We ended up with only 2 layers but the bread still turned out fine.) Cover the pan with a clean towel or plastic wrap and allow the dough to double in size, 20-30 minutes.

5. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until bread is golden brown. Let the pan cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes then invert the pan onto a large serving plate and let the bread fall out of the pan.  Serve hot.

the end result

My notes: Since you have to proof it twice, it actually took a lot longer than I thought it would. But with my Kitchenaid mixer, this recipe was a snap. And fresh out of the oven? Heaven and loveliness. I modified the recipe by putting FOUR (yes, count them FOUR) cloves of garlic because the husband is Romanian and a bigger garlic lover than I (who would have thought it possible, but it is). I also used Trader Joe's romano parmesan instead of fresh because I was too lazy to actually grind it up in the food processor. I'm not sure if I had "Italian seasoning" (it's an Italian spice mix), so for good measure, I threw in a few dashes of Johnny's Garlic spread and seasoning. I use that stuff on EVERYTHING (goes great with roasted potatoes) and available at Costco in of course, Costco-size.

I don't own a bundt pan so I used my tube pan instead. Hopefully I didn't ruin it by spraying Pam all over it. It didn't make three layers of dough, just one and a few balls in the second layer. Still took about 20 minutes to bake.

The end result was a little salty but tasty! It was fun pulling it apart and dipping it into our soup. To store, I put in a plastic bag and knotted the top to seal the air out. Had another piece today and it's still soft and lovely and yes, very garlicky. Will make this again but will consider using another pan instead of the tube pan. Maybe a loaf pan instead?