Garlic Parmesan Pull-Apart Bread
06.10.2011 
I once made the driest pancake in the world.
I can see you sitting at home, staring at your computer screen, and scoffing at my bold statement. Driest pancake in the world? Yeah, right. How would you even know? But this is the truth, my friends. I really did make the driest pancake in the world.
Let me share my story with you.
A few years back, I made chocolate chip pancakes. The process to create them was normal and they tasted all right. They weren't bad and they weren't good; I ate them in peace. There were a few leftovers so I stashed them in the refrigerator for breakfast the next day.
Quickly flash to the next morning. It's 6 am. I was tired. I had to get to class early and barely had enough brain power to microwave the leftover pancakes from the day before. I don't know about you, but my brain doesn't begin to work properly until at least 8 am. After a minute on high, I took them out and proceeded to take a bite. The texture seemed off and they were ice cold, as if the microwave hadn't heated them at all. I put them back in for another minute. I was too sleepy to question this strange occurrence; it was 6 am, no high school student can be expected to reason at this obscene hour of the day. After the minute was up, I pulled them back out.
Still cold.
Confusion.
Was the microwave broken? I warmed up a piece of bread to test my theory. In 20 seconds, the bread was piping hot. Why wasn't my pancake?
I got angry, as one will when they want food and want it now. I stuck them back in the microwave for 5 minutes. I remember feeling very clever—I was going to beat the pancake at its own game.
When I took it out, the pancake was slightly less cool. Not warm, not hot, and definitely not enough heat to burn my mouth. In fact, it was probably only warmer because it had been out of the fridge for 10 minutes. What was wrong with this pancake? Did it develop magical superpowers overnight? I trashed the pancake and ate the warm slice of plain bread while running out the door.
It took me a few hours to realize what had happened. Microwaves work by hitting food with, well, microwaves; the energy from the waves are then absorbed by water or fats in the food. This process heats up the food quickly, making microwaves a quick way to cook or warm up food.
It only stands to reason that my pancake was so utterly dry that there wasn't enough water in it to be absorbed by the microwaves. I've seen plastics with a higher water content!
Thus, the world's driest pancake was born.
And to think I took a bite...
Luckily, this Garlic Parmesan Pull-Apart Bread is definitely not dry. The loaf is made of small pieces of dough rolled in a garlic herb butter and sprinkled with freshly grated Parmesan cheese before heading to the oven to bake. When it emerges, the bread is so soft, tender, and packed with flavor. The bread pulls apart effortlessly, turning a solid loaf of bread into bite-sized pieces. This bread is best served with a side of marinara or tomato sauce.
One Year Ago: Chocolate Orange Miniature Cakes
Garlic Parmesan Pull-Apart Bread
Yields 1 loaf
2 teaspoons active dry yeast
1 1/3 cups barely warm water
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons salt
3 1/2 cups all purpose (or bread) flour
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 tablespoon dried parsley flakes
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
In a large mixing bowl, stir together the yeast and water. Let sit 5 minutes until yeast is foamy. Mix in the olive oil, salt, and flour. If you have a stand mixer, attach the dough hook and knead the dough for 5-6 minutes, or until elastic. If you are doing this by hand, knead the dough on a lightly floured surface until dough is elastic, 7-10 minutes. Transfer dough to a lightly oiled bowl and cover with a clean kitchen towel. Allow to rise for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or until dough is doubled in size.
In a small bowl, combine melted butter, parsley flakes, and minced garlic. Set aside.
Punch down the dough. Tear off small pieces of dough (roughly the size of the bowl of a medium spoon), coat 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. Cover the pan with a clean towel and allow to sit until dough has doubled in size, 20-30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until bread is golden brown. Serve hot with a side of marinara or tomato sauce.
bread, garlic, parmesan in bread/yeast
Reader Comments (147)
More pics, less pancake!
The Teenage Taste-- Oh, I have definitely had my fair share of kitchen failures. I agree, the worst ones are the one where the texture is so awful you can't eat it. Who wants to eat a dry sponge? Haha.
Hannah-- Thanks! This bread reminds me closely of a pizza monkey bread. Let me know if you try it! I'd love to hear how it turns out.
Jess-- There are a few tricks to getting a loaf of bread to rise. The first is making sure your yeast is relatively fresh and not expired (the longer yeast sits in your home, the less effective it becomes). The second is to dissolve it in lukewarm water (110 to 115 degrees F) and let sit until the yeast become foamy and fragrant (5-8 minutes). If it doesn't become at least a little foamy, your yeast was either too old or ineffective. To help dough rise, cover and leave in a warm, dry place (I like to turn my oven on to the lowest temperature, turn it off, and let the dough rise in the warm space. You'll be surprised how fast it can rise!) I hope some of these tips are helpful. I used to have problems with bread rising too, but these are small tricks I picked up along the way.
b) your food makes me feel like i'm in a warm kitchen.
c) this bread looks wonderful.
I just found your site through TasteSpotting. The picture is SO inviting. I want to eat this for dinner!
Can I borrow it and link it back to you? I can just smell and taste it now....YUM!!!
What an amazing recipe. Thank you!
Lynne-- What a compliment! You may certainly borrow the link as long is credit is paid where credit is due.
Jen-- Glad you liked the lesson, even if it doesn't help you! This bread would make a perfect appetizer for an Italian meal.
Lindsay-- Let me know how it turns out!
Amber-- I had a very noticeable garlic flavor in my bread. Was your garlic fresh? Garlic that has been setting out for awhile or comes ready-peeled will have lost quite a bit of its flavor (making it harder to notice in food). I also used a garlic press to mince the garlic. If the garlic was not minced small enough, the bread will end up with pockets of flavor instead of an overall flavor. In any case, you could always throw a little extra garlic powder into the butter mixture to increase the flavor of the garlic (some people do like flavors stronger than others and this is one way to supplement).
Mechelle-- I'm so happy you liked it! I love to get feedback. Thank you!
Austin-- I used spaghetti sauce from a can (I know, I know, cooks aren't supposed to do that), but I'll look into making a tomato sauce though!
Lilmel-- Oh my goodness. That is definitely going on my list for future baking adventures. So much cheese!
Jilian-- Once you start baking with yeast, you might just find you can't stop. Fresh, hot bread is just too good. :)
Diane
Diane-- I'm not sure I would use canned biscuits because the texture is definitely different (they use a lot more butter in the dough to make it flaky). It may not turn out well, so I would hesitate recommending it as a substitute. Instead, I would use 1 lb frozen bread dough. Simply take it out in the morning/over your lunch hour and let in sit on the counter or sink. The dough should be completely thawed just in time for dinner. Hope this helps!
Anna-- Thank you. Such kind words!
Sarah-- You could easily make this in a loaf pan. The baking time may change slightly (though not much, if any) so I'd keep a closer eye on it. Otherwise, a loaf pan is a perfect substitution, especially if you don't have a bundt pan.
I wonder if it's worth substituting the cheese, or if it'll taste just fine without?
But funny.
I made Exquisite Pizza Sauce to dip it in and it was a match made in heaven: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/exquisite-pizza-sauce/detail.aspx
YUM! I think I need to make it again this weekend...