Buttery-soft and flaky, this is brimming with fresh flavor. Stuff homemade herbed dough with mozzarella cheese and homemade pesto, then arrange it all in a loaf pan. When it’s warm out of the oven, add a dose of garlic butter and watch as the bread disappears piece by torn-apart piece.

“Oooh this was such a good recipe! I am always scared of baking with yeast, but these instructions were so easy to follow, along with all of Sally’s helpful guides on How to Knead Dough, Baking with Yeast, etc. This was so delicious. ★★★★★“

When it comes to flavored and shaped yeast bread, pull-apart bread is my favorite variety. It usually consists of pieces of dough stuffed or smothered with cheese, butter, herbs, or something sweet like cinnamon and sugar. When it bakes, the filled dough forms one big loaf that you can tear apart for serving, revealing the flavors tucked inside. This rosemary garlic pull apart bread is a popular variety and starts with a simple homemade dough that I also use for this everything bagel pull-apart bread.

---

Today I’m sharing a basil pesto variation with mozzarella cheese and garlic butter. The pesto and cheese infuse into the dough and the garlic butter seeps down into every crevice, altogether making a snackable bread you truly will not be able to leave alone. (Or be left alone with… good luck.)

There are many pull-apart recipes that call for a loaf of store-bought bread that you cut up and stuff with fillings, and who could ever resist something like that? But I really like making this type of bread from scratch, and especially with today’s particular dough.

yeast, sugar, milk, butter, salt, egg, flour, garlic powder, and dried basil. Sugar feeds the yeast, while milk hydrates it and gives the bread a softer texture (as opposed to water). Butter, salt, garlic powder, and basil add flavor. Egg contributes to the rising and provides more texture and structure.

And together they make one fabulously flaky bread, ready for oodles of garlicky pesto.

Have you ever made homemade pesto before? It’s extremely easy and tastes infinitely better than any shelf-stable options at the store. Fresh basil and pine nuts are the main ingredients and you need a food processor or blender to make it. It’s:

My homemade recipe is the exact version I use when I make pesto pizza and this creamy pesto shrimp dish.

Pine nuts can be pricey and sometimes difficult to find, so if you’re having trouble picking up a bag, use walnuts, almonds, or pistachios instead. For a nut-free version, readers have tried sunflower seeds, pepitas, and cooked/cooled edamame.

Let’s bring everything together to make our pesto pull-apart bread. Don’t get nervous to assemble this; it’s really hard to mess it up!

---

Make and knead the dough, referencing my How to Knead Dough tutorial if needed. This dough requires 2 rises. For the 1st rise, let the dough rise until doubled in size.

Punch down the risen dough and divide into 12 pieces. They don’t have to be exact, but if you’d like to be precise, each piece of dough is about 1/4 cup or 50g.

Flatten the dough rounds and spread each with pesto.

Sprinkle with cheese and fold in half to resemble a taco.

Line folded circles in a greased loaf pan.

Allow to rise for just 45 minutes or until slightly puffy. Do not extend this 2nd rise, as the shaped bread will puff up too much and the fillings could spill over the sides of the pan.

Before & after the 2nd rise:

Bake until golden brown, then brush with melted butter mixed with garlic powder:

Before serving, sprinkle with parmesan cheese, and you can even drop a couple small spoonfuls of pesto on top, too. You can dig into the bread while it’s still warm, slicing or tearing off pieces. I love it with spaghetti or baked ziti, minestrone soup, or this lemon herb salmon.

However you serve the bread, I’m confident you’ll immediately want to print and laminate this recipe after your 1st taste. Pesto perfection.

---

If you’re craving sugar, this homemade monkey bread is another pull-apart style of bread… and equally mouthwatering.

Print