Bake
Garlic & Herb Skillet Pull Apart Bread
- Prep time 3 hours
- Cook time 30 minutes
- makes 1 (10-inch) skillet
Author Notes
This pull apart bread is grown up. Bold, herby, and gorgeously green (even after it browns a bit while baking)—it deserves a spot at your next party. The shaping method is simple, and meant to be easy to toss together in an oven-safe skillet. Garlic-herb compound butter is spread evenly over a slab of soft, fluffy yeast-raised dough. Then, the dough is cut into bite size pieces and piled into the buttered pan. Inside the skillet, it bakes to be crisp and crunchy on the outside, while staying gloriously soft and fluffy inside. All those beautiful dough textures are speckled and swirled all over with that gorgeous herb butter.
The loaf smells incredible while it bakes, and then the smell wafts and carries all over again when it sits out on the counter waiting to be devoured. A cast iron skillet retains heat well, and will keep the bread warm longer while you’re serving it—or you can unmold it onto a serving platter or cutting board, if you prefer. Don’t be surprised if the bread expands beyond the rim of the skillet while baking—it’s all part of the rustic loaf game plan.
These are the perfect, crisp starting points to start pulling apart the bread. You can warm leftover pieces by wrapping them in foil and placing them in a 350°F oven for about 10 minutes. —Erin Jeanne McDowell
Ingredients
- For the dough:
-
1/3 cup
(75 grams) water (about 85°F/30°C)
-
2 1/4 teaspoons
(7 grams) instant dry yeast
-
3/4 cup
(175 grams) whole milk
-
3 3/4 cups
(450 grams) bread flour
-
1/4 cup
(28 grams) dry milk powder
-
2 tablespoons
(25 grams) granulated sugar
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1 1/2 teaspoons
(6 grams) fine sea salt
-
1
(56 grams) large egg
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2 tablespoons
(28 grams) unsalted butter, melted
-
2 tablespoons
(30 grams) sour cream, plain yogurt, or crème fraîche
- For finishing:
-
1
large (or two small) head(s) garlic
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1 tablespoon
(15 grams) extra-virgin olive oil
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1/2 cup
(40 grams) parsley leaves and stems, coarsely chopped
-
1/2 cup
(40 grams) chives, coarsely chopped
-
2 tablespoons
(10 grams) fresh oregano leaves
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2 tablespoons
(10 grams) fresh thyme leaves
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1 tablespoon
(5 grams) fresh rosemary leaves
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10 tablespoons
(140 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus 1 tablespoon (14 grams) for greasing the pan
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1 teaspoon
(5 grams) kosher salt
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1 teaspoon
(5 grams) garlic powder
-
1/2 teaspoon
(2 grams) freshly ground black pepper
-
Flaky salt, as needed, for finishing
Directions
- Pour the water into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook. Sprinkle the yeast over the water and mix with a small spatula to combine. Let sit for 5 minutes.
- In a small saucepan, heat the milk to about 110°F/45°C over medium-low heat (you can also do this in a liquid measuring cup in the microwave, if you prefer).
- Add the flour, dry milk, sugar, and salt to the mixer bowl, then add the warm milk, egg, butter, and sour cream (or yogurt/crème fraîche), and mix on low speed for 4 minutes, or until a soft dough comes together around the dough hook. Scrape the bowl well, then mix on medium speed for about 3 minutes more, until the dough is very smooth.
- Transfer the dough to a medium bowl lightly greased with neutral oil or nonstick spray. Use both hands to gently turn the dough around so it’s coated on all sides, then gently tuck the dough under itself a few times to slightly round it. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel, and a let the dough rise for 45 minutes to1 hour, until visibly puffy and almost double in size.
- While the dough rises, prepare the finishing ingredients. Heat the oven to 400°F/200°C with an oven rack in the center. Cut the top third off of the head of garlic, and place the head on a piece of aluminum foil large enough to fully wrap it in. Drizzle the olive oil over the surface of the garlic, then wrap it in the foil. Transfer the foil packet to the oven and roast until the garlic is golden and tender, 40 to 45 minutes. Cool to room temperature.
- In the bowl of a small food processor or blender, pulse the herbs until finely chopped. Squeeze the roasted garlic cloves into the food processor, and add the butter, salt, garlic powder, and pepper, and blend until smoothly combined.
- Grease a 10 inch (25 cm) oven-safe skillet with the remaining 1 tablespoon (14 grams) butter. When the dough has risen, roll it out on a lightly floured surface into a rectangle about 9x12 inches (23x30 cm).
- Dollop the garlic-herb butter evenly over the surface of the dough, and use a small offset spatula to spread it into an even layer over the surface of the dough. Use a pastry wheel, bench knife/dough scraper, or knife to cut the dough into approximately 1 inch (2.5 cm) cubes. First, cut the dough across into 1 inch-thick strips, then cut across the strips in 1 inch increments to create the cubes of butter-topped dough.
- Transfer the cubes to the prepared skillet, spread in a haphazard, but fairly even, layer. Cover the skillet with greased plastic wrap and let rise until visibly puffy, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Towards the end of rise time, heat the oven to 350°F/175°C with an oven rack in the center. Garnish the surface of the bread with flaky salt, and transfer the bread to the oven. Bake until the surface is evenly golden brown and the bread has an internal temperature in the thickest portion of the center reaches 220°F/95°C, 35 to 40 minutes.
- Serve immediately, warm, directly from the skillet or unmolded onto a serving platter.
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