Oh, what a divine delicacy! What an angelic treat! Heavenly Bread parts the clouds and blesses everyone with this beloved flavor! The tender, golden bread serves up each piece stuffed with a buttery, herbaceous, cheesy filling. This Heavenly Bread is a pull-apart bread, so you’re encouraged to share. After all, what could be more heavenly than coming together as a community to share in life’s goodness… which this bread definitely is!
Ingredients
For the dough:
- 2 teaspoons instant baker’s yeast with dough improver
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup whole milk
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 large egg
- 2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled, plus more, to taste, for dusting a work surface and your hands
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, finely chopped, or 2 teaspoons dried rosemary
For the filling:
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, extra soft
- 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, finely chopped, or 2 teaspoons dried rosemary
- 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, finely chopped, or 2 teaspoons dried parsley
- 2 cloves garlic, minced, or 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup parmesan, mozzarella, or white cheddar cheese, shredded
Optional toppings:
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
- flaky or coarse sea salt, to taste, for sprinkling
Directions
Step 1 –In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook or a paddle attachment, add the yeast and the sugar.
Step 2 –On the stovetop or in the microwave, heat the milk until it is warm to the touch, about 110 degrees F.
Step 3 –Add the warm milk to the yeast and the sugar and whisk gently to combine.
Step 4 –Cover the bowl loosely with a clean kitchen towel and let the yeast rise until frothy, about 5-10 minutes.
Step 5 –Add 3 tablespoons of the room temperature butter, the egg, 2 1/3 cups of the flour, 1 teaspoon of the salt, 1 teaspoon of the garlic powder, and 1 tablespoon of the rosemary to the yeast mixture and beat on low speed until a soft dough forms, about 3 minutes.
Step 6 –Using the extra flour, lightly dust a work surface.
Step 7 –Turn the dough out onto the prepared work surface.
Step 8 –Using more of the extra flour, lightly dust your hands.
Step 9 –Knead the dough for 1 minute. The dough should be very soft but not too sticky. If it feels too sticky, add more of the extra flour.
Step 10 –Shape the dough into a ball.
Step 11 –Coat a bowl with nonstick spray.
Step 12 –Place the dough into the greased bowl and cover it with plastic wrap or aluminum foil.
Step 13 –Place the covered bowl in a slightly warm environment and let it rise until it doubles in size, about 1 hour-1 hour 30 minutes.
Step 14 –Grease a 9×5-inch loaf pan.
Step 15 –In a medium bowl, add 5 tablespoons of the extra soft butter, the remaining rosemary, the parsley, the remaining garlic, and the remaining salt and mix to combine.
Step 16 –Cover the filling mixture tightly until ready to use, but do not refrigerate it.
Step 17 –Punch down the dough to release the air.
Step 18 –Turn the dough out onto the floured work surface, adding more of the extra flour if needed.
Step 19 –Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces, about 1/4 cup each. They should be a little larger than a golf ball.
Step 20 –Using the extra flour, lightly dust your hands.
Step 21 –By hand, lightly flatten each dough ball into a circle about 4 inches in diameter.
Step 22 –Spread 1-2 teaspoons of the filling mixture onto each dough circle.
Step 23 –Sprinkle each dough circle with 1 tablespoon of the cheese.
Step 24 –Fold the circles in half.
Step 25 –Place the folded dough into the prepared loaf pan, round-side up.
Step 26 –Cover the loaf pan with plastic wrap or aluminum foil and let it rise in a slightly warm environment until puffy, about 45 minutes.
Step 27 –Adjust an oven rack to the lower third position.
Step 28 –Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Step 29 –Bake until golden-brown, about 50 minutes. Tent the loaf with aluminum foil if the top of the loaf is browning too quickly.
Step 30 –Place the loaf pan on a wire rack.
Step 31 –Brush the loaf with the remaining melted butter and sprinkle it with the flaky sea salt.
Step 32 –Allow the bread to cool for 10 minutes.
Step 33 –Transfer the bread from the pan and serve warm.
