Sourdough Pull Apart Bread
This sourdough pull apart bread is one of my favourite ways to serve homemade bread. Each piece is layered with garlic and herb butter and a little cheese, and because everything is stacked together in a loaf pan, you can simply pull the pieces apart when it comes out of the oven. It’s lightly enriched with egg and butter, which gives it a soft, tender crumb that stays that way for days.
About this recipe
The dough for this pull-apart bread sits somewhere between a lean bread and a full brioche. It’s enriched with egg and butter, but not so much that it becomes heavy or super rich. I make the dough in a stand mixer because it starts quite sticky, and the mixer makes it really easy to develop the gluten. You could knead it by hand using stretch and folds or slap and folds, though. After an initial room temperature ferment, I pop the dough in the fridge overnight. This slows fermentation, develops flavour, and makes the dough much easier to handle when you’re rolling and shaping.
The shaping is really fun. Each piece of dough is rolled flat, spread with garlic butter and cheese, folded in half, then stacked snugly into a loaf pan. As the bread bakes, the layers puff up, and the butter melts into the dough, creating pockets of flavour throughout. Once it’s baked, you can pull the pieces apart right at the table.
If you’re new to sourdough baking, my sourdough hub has guides on starters, fermentation, and enriched doughs.
A peek at some of the key ingredients
Baker’s schedule
This is a flexible guide. Exact timing will depend on your kitchen temperature and how active your starter is.
Day 1
- Feed your starter (in cooler weather you can do this the night before while in warmer conditions, a morning feed works well)
- Mix the dough: Let it rise in a warm spot until it has increased by about 30-40% (approximately 3-5 hours depending on temperature)
- Late afternoon/evening: Refrigerate the dough overnight
Day 2
- Shape the bread and let it rise again in a warm spot for 4-6 hours until doubled in size, then bake
Method
- Fit a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment.
- To the bowl of the stand mixer combine milk, sugar, sourdough starter, egg, flour and salt.
- Mix on low speed to form a thick dough, then add the softened butter a few cubes at a time.
- Mix for around 10 minutes until the soft dough is smooth and strong and it pulls away cleanly from the sides of the bowl.
- Transfer the dough to a container with a lid, or cover a bowl tightly. Let the dough rise by around 30-40% before refrigerating overnight.
- Mix softened butter with garlic and chopped herbs.
- Cut the proofed dough into 12 equal pieces and roll into balls.
- Roll each into a flat round and spread on garlic butter and a little cheese.
- Fold them in half.
- Place the half circle into a lined loaf pan. Continue with the remaining dough and pesto, snuggly stacking the layers of dough.
Let them rise again until doubled in size, then brush with egg wash and bake until deep golden brown.
Tips and tricks
Storing
Leftover pull apart bread can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. After the first day, I recommend reheating it in the microwave for 15-20 seconds or in a low oven to soften it up again, as the enriched crumb will firm up over time.
To freeze: Let the baked bread cool completely, then wrap tightly in plastic wrap and place in a freezer bag. It will keep for up to 2 months. Thaw at room temperature and reheat gently before serving.
I haven’t tested freezing the unbaked dough, but you could try shaping the bread, freezing it before the final rise, then thawing overnight in the fridge and letting it proof before baking.
More sourdough recipes to try
If you enjoy making enriched sourdough breads, you might also like my soft sourdough hamburger buns or pillowy sourdough hot dog buns. For another fun, shareable bread, try my easy sourdough garlic knots. And if you love rosemary and garlic together, my rosemary sourdough bread is a beautiful loaf with similar flavours.
Sourdough Pull Apart Bread
Ingredients
Sourdough starter
- 20 g starter
- 40 g all-purpose flour
- 40 g water
Dough
- 180 g whole milk
- 30 g granulated sugar
- All the sourdough starter around 100g active starter
- 350 g all-purpose flour or bread flour
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 55 g unsalted butter room temperature
Filling
- 85 g unsalted butter softened
- 2 Tablespoons fresh parsley finely chopped. Or use rosemary or thyme
- 2 cloves garlic minced, or use a teaspoon of garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 50 g grated cheese parmesan, mozzarella, cheddar cheese, Edam…
Egg wash and topping
- 1 egg + 1 Tablespoon water
- Melted butter
- Flaky salt
Instructions
- Mix sourdough starter, flour, and water in a small bowl until well combined. Transfer to a clean jar and let rise until doubled in size and bubbly (this can be done the night before in cooler weather, or in the morning in warmer conditions). 20 g starter, 40 g all-purpose flour, 40 g water
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment, combine milk, sugar, doubled sourdough starter, egg, flour, and salt. Mix into a thick and slightly sticky dough. 180 g whole milk, 30 g granulated sugar, All the sourdough starter, 350 g all-purpose flour, 1 large egg, 1 teaspoon salt
- Add in the softened butter and mix again for around 10-15 minutes on medium speed until the dough is silky and strong and passes the window pane test. 55 g unsalted butter
- Shape into a ball and place in a container with a lid, or a bowl and cover it.
- Let the dough rise in a warm spot (ideally around 25°C/77°F) for anywhere from 2-5 hours, depending on temperature, until it's bulked out by around 30-40%. You can create a warm and humid spot by placing the dough into a turned-off oven alongside a dish of boiled water. Replace the water as needed when it cools down.
- After this rise, ensure the dough is covered tightly and refrigerate overnight.
- The following day, remove from the fridge and let it come to room temperature for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, mix together the softened butter, herbs, garlic, and salt for the filling. 85 g unsalted butter, 2 Tablespoons fresh parsley, 2 cloves garlic, 1/4 teaspoon salt
- Line a 9×5 inch loaf pan with parchment paper.
- Pull the dough onto a lightly floured surface and form it into a 12-inch (30cm) long log and cut it into 12 equal 1-inch pieces with a bench scraper or knife. If you want them even, weigh the whole dough first and divide it by 12.
- Shape each piece into a little ball. Roll each ball into a circle around 4 ½ inches (11cm) in diameter.
- Spread each piece with garlic butter, leaving a little border around. Add a sprinkle of cheese, then fold the dough circle in half. 50 g grated cheese
- Place the half circle into the loaf pan with the edges facing up. Continue with the remaining dough and filling, stacking the layers of dough. They will need to be squished in.
- Cover the pan and let the dough rise again in a warm spot until doubled in size, around 4-6 hours depending on temperature.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Whisk together egg and water for the egg wash and use a brush to brush this all over the top of the bread. 1 egg + 1 Tablespoon water
- Bake for around 40-50 minutes until deep golden brown. If the top of the berad is browning too fast, loosely cover with a sheet of aluminum foil. After baking, brush the hot bread with melted butter and sprinkle a bit of flaky salt. Melted butter, Flaky salt
- Leftover sourdough pull apart bread can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days. After day 1, reheat it in the microwave before eating to soften it up, as the enriched bread will stiffen on the following days.
Question: can i make this recipe if i use a potato flake starter?
Yup if it’s an active starter 🙂
What an amazing recipe and bread !!! It was a process for sure but I’m used to sour dough breads so it wasn’t anything crazy that couldn’t be done. It’s in the oven now and the scent of garlic wafting through the house is AMAZING ! I know it’s going to taste terrific . Saving this recipe for sure !! Thank you for sharing it with us 🩷
Thank you so much for making this and your lovely feedback! 🙂
Amazing! My whole family loved this! Definitely making this again!
Thank you for your lovely review!! I’m really happy to read you all enjoyed it!
I really want to make this but my husband does not like garlic. I was thinking of making it a sweet pull apart. Make it with melted butter and cinnamon and sugar.
Would the dough be sweet enough? Thanks!
Hey yup I think this dough would work very well for a sweet version 🙂
Enjoyed making this tonight..Did end up cooking it 40 minutes then noticing it was gummy so I put it back in for the other 10 minutes…I was a bit disappointed about the filling. The unsalted butter and only 2 garlic cloves left me wanting more. I used a bit of tex mex cheese but couldn’t taste it I think next time I’ll consider using either a saltier cheese or salted butter
About to make this for the first time! Sounds amazing. Any recommendations for doubling and freezing to bake later? Or should I bake and then freeze/reheat?
Yay, I hope you love it! 😊 I’ve only ever frozen it after baking, just let it cool completely, wrap it well, and freeze. Then thaw and reheat in the oven until warmed through. You could try freezing the shaped dough before the final rise, then thawing and letting it fully proof before baking, but I haven’t tested that myself yet. Let me know if you give it a go!