Garlic Butter Bread Pull-Apart (Printable)

Soft, golden rolls coated in aromatic garlic butter and baked together for a shareable, pull-apart treat.

# What you need:

→ Bread Dough

01 - 3 cups all-purpose flour
02 - 2¼ tsp instant yeast (1 packet)
03 - 1 tsp sugar
04 - 1 tsp salt
05 - 1 cup warm milk (110°F)
06 - 2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted

→ Garlic Butter

07 - 6 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
08 - 4 cloves garlic, finely minced
09 - 2 tbsp fresh parsley, finely chopped
10 - ¼ tsp salt
11 - ¼ tsp ground black pepper

→ For Topping

12 - 2 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

# Directions:

01 - In a large bowl, combine flour, instant yeast, sugar, and salt. Pour in warm milk and melted butter. Mix until a rough dough forms.
02 - Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface for 7-8 minutes until smooth and elastic. (Or use a stand mixer with a dough hook for 5 minutes.)
03 - Place the dough in a greased bowl, cover, and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
04 - Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix melted butter, minced garlic, parsley, salt, and pepper.
05 - Once the dough has risen, punch it down and divide into 12 equal pieces. Shape each piece into a ball.
06 - Dip each dough ball in the garlic butter, coating well, and arrange them in a greased 9-inch round cake pan or skillet. Drizzle any remaining garlic butter over the top.
07 - Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise for 20-30 minutes until slightly puffy.
08 - Preheat the oven to 350°F.
09 - Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese if using.
10 - Bake for 22-25 minutes, or until the rolls are golden brown and cooked through.
11 - Let cool for 5 minutes before serving. Serve warm, pull-apart style.

# Expert tips:

01 -
  • They look fancy enough to impress, but honestly, anyone can make them even if you've never worked with yeast before.
  • The magic happens when you pull them apart—each person gets their own roll, but they're meant to be shared, and that's somehow more fun than a single loaf.
  • Your kitchen will smell like a bakery for hours, and guests will think you spent all day cooking.
02 -
  • Water temperature is genuinely crucial; I learned this the hard way when I used milk straight from the fridge and my dough barely rose at all, teaching me that cold ingredients don't activate yeast properly.
  • Don't skip the second rise even though you're tempted to after waiting an hour already; those extra 20 to 30 minutes make the difference between dense rolls and pillowy ones.
03 -
  • The key to perfect garlic butter is using truly fresh garlic and mincing it fine so it's evenly distributed; pre-minced garlic from a jar works in a pinch but tastes noticeably different.
  • If your kitchen is cold, place the dough in an oven preheated to 200°F for a minute, then turn it off before putting the bowl inside—this creates a cozy environment where yeast thrives.
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