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    Home » Ingredients » Bread

    November 17, 2016 Appetizers

    Provolone Pull-Apart Bread

    Jump to Recipe - Print Recipe

    Provolone Pull-Apart Bread-A yeast based Italian bread that is so filled with cheese and mortadella. This bread is so much fun to make and even more fun to eat!

    What are you making for Thanksgiving next week? I'm going to be making a Provolone Pull-Apart Bread! I wanted to give you guys a different homemade bread idea for your Thanksgiving feast. This bread is AMAZING! It doesn't just have two different provolone cheeses in it; it also has mortadella!

    Yes, I know! Not very light for a Thanksgiving feast, but since when was Thanksgiving light? And If you are like me who is an Italian and usually celebrates this holiday with a houseful of Italians, it's fun to make something with an Italian twist for them. Trust me, I will also be making some pull-apart rolls and maybe some fluffy biscuits.

    How do you call a pull-apart bread in Italian?

    In Italian this bread is called Pane al Fisarmonica: Accordian Bread. You fill the bread strips with your cheese of choice (I used two different provolone cheeses from Italy and also mortadella).

    When I was taking photos of it after it came out of the oven, I was trying to find the right angles to show you the crazy delicious cheese oozing out the sides of the soft bread sections.

    It is so hard to wait for it to cool a little before you rip off a piece to bite into. These are the mini loaves (barley malt pull-apart loaves)I made last year during the holidays.

    They are wonderful! And these no-knead dinner rolls are so simple and FABULOUS!!
    I will be back soon with more holiday ideas. I think it's time to share some tarts and pies...it's been way too long!!

    Once you roll out the dough into the large rectangle, you just have to slice it into two long sections. You begin by adding your filling in the first section.

    Be sure to leave  space in between each portion of the filling, because you are folding the dough over, slicing and making pockets of cheesy goodness!

    If you have it all bunched up without space, you will have a mess when it bakes. I pinched as well as I could the pieces of dough around the borders of each pocket section I cut out. It's ok if some cheese oozes out while baking (oozing cheese...who's complaining?!?)

    Even if you are a novice bread baker, this bread is not that as difficult as it may look when you first see it. The method to get the pretty layers is really pretty simple. 

    Can I make a sweet pull-apart bread?

    Yes, look at these sweet versions. 

    I also made a cinnamon pull-apart bread using a different method and it was a bit more complicated but so good! You could also check out this ginger pull-apart bread for another sweet version.

    The strips get sliced into they savory and cheesy pockets that you then file into your loaf pan sort of like a filing cabinet. A nice brush of an egg wash makes it so pretty! It's sort of a show-stopper bread that seems really hard to make and will really impress your guests on Thanksgiving or at any special get together.

    Some other bread recipes to enjoy:

    Sourdough Discard Challah Bread

    Crescia al Formaggio

    Anadama Bread

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    PROVOLONE PULL-APART BREAD

    A yeast based Italian bread that is so filled with cheese and mortadella. This bread is so much fun to make and even more fun to eat!
    Prep Time1 hr 30 mins
    Cook Time40 mins
    Total Time2 hrs 10 mins
    Course: Bread
    Cuisine: Italian
    Keyword: pull-apart, yeast
    Servings: 1 loaf
    Author: Lora

    Ingredients

    • 1 cup warm water about 110 degrees
    • 2 1/2 teaspoons 1 envelope active dry yeast
    • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
    • 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
    • 1 egg
    • 3 teaspoons salt
    • 1 cup provolone cut in chunks Gouda or Fontina also are great
    • 1 cup) sliced mortadella omit if you’d like it meat-free or even sub with salami or ham

    Instructions

    • In a small bowl, add the water and sprinkle the yeast on top of the water. Add 3 tablespoons of the oil and whisk together. Set aside.
    • In large mixing bowl, add the flour and 3 teaspoons of salt; whisk together or mix together on low speed in your mixer. Whisk the egg into the yeast mixture.
    • Pour the yeast mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer. Add about half of the flour mixture. Stir with a rubber spatula until it is combined. Attach the dough hook to your mixer and add the remaining flour.
    • Form the dough into a ball and place into an oiled bowl (when I put the dough in the bowl I swish the dough around the bottom of the bowl and then flip it over so all of the dough is covered in a light film of oil). Cover with plastic wrap and let it rise at room temperature until doubled in size (about 1-1 1/2 hours).
    • Turn dough out onto a well-floured counter and roll the dough into a 20-by-12-inch rectangle, making sure it doesn’t stick to the counter. Divide it into two strips. Brush one side of the first strip with olive oil.
    • Brush the top portion of the first strip with olive oil.
    • Add your filling with about 2 inches space between each portion along the strip. Fold over the bottom half onto the top oiled half and press down gently.
    • Fold over the bottom half onto the top oiled half and press down gently.
    • Brush the folded dough with a little olive oil. With a pizza cutter or knife slice your individual filled pockets squares.Take care to not slice the filling. You can sort of feel the cheese and slice a bit away from it.
    • Stack your pockets in a parchment lined loaf pan. (I ended up with some extra cheese pockets and baked them individually while baking the loaf on a cookie sheet. They were like mini calzones. You may end up with not enough sections. You could sort of shake the pan you could wiggle the pan a little so that the dough parts fill the pan. Don’t worry too much about that as they will fill up more as it rises again and then bakes). Loosely cover the pan with plastic wrap and set it aside to rise again for 30 to 45 more minutes.
    • Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
    • Brush on an egg wash and bake at 350 for about 40 minutes. Transfer the loaf to a wire rack and let it cool for a few minutes before pulling out the bread with the parchment paper. Best enjoyed as we did-hot out of the oven! Who had the patience to wait for this delicious bread?;)
    Tried this recipe?Mention @savoringitaly or tag #savoringitaly!
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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Catherine says

      November 17, 2016 at 7:45 pm

      Looks absolutely delicious!

      Reply
    2. Erin Dee says

      November 17, 2016 at 9:32 pm

      OMG OMG OMG. I kind of hate you for posting this. 😉 You're going to make me start dreaming about COOP's store-brand Provolone dulce! 😀 This looks soooo good!

      Reply
      • Savoring Italy says

        November 17, 2016 at 9:59 pm

        hahaha, Erin! This was actually a smoked and a regular provolone a friend from Italy gave us...so good!!

    3. Amy Stafford says

      November 18, 2016 at 12:08 am

      What a great recipe. I need to add this to my Thanksgiving menu. You give great instructions so it should be a breeze to make.

      Reply
    4. Erin @ The Speckled Palate says

      November 18, 2016 at 3:36 am

      What a delicious bread to add to the Thanksgiving table! I love making this instead of traditional yeast rolls for the feast. 🙂 That cheese...

      Reply
    5. Crunchy Creamy Sweet says

      November 18, 2016 at 3:41 am

      This pull-apart bread is calling my name! I need to make this soon!

      Reply
    6. jovina says

      November 18, 2016 at 3:46 pm

      Your bread looks delicious.

      Reply
    7. Alyssa (EverydayMaven) says

      November 18, 2016 at 6:41 pm

      I live for provolone cheese - this looks AMAZING!

      Reply
    8. Melanie | Melanie Makes says

      November 18, 2016 at 9:14 pm

      Total comfort food - I'd make a meal of this delicious bread!

      Reply
    9. Ashley @ Wishes and Dishes says

      November 18, 2016 at 9:51 pm

      Thanksgiving is not supposed to be light! LOL Love this!

      Reply
    10. Savory Simple says

      November 19, 2016 at 6:31 pm

      This is all I want to eat all the time. Oh man!

      Reply
    11. Anonymous says

      November 19, 2016 at 7:53 pm

      This bread looks so soft and delicious! I gotta have to try this!

      Reply
    12. Kimberly Killebrew says

      November 21, 2016 at 3:35 am

      Oh my...a thousand time YES!! I want that entire loaf all to myself!!!

      Reply
    13. Kirsten from http://ComfortablyDomestic.com says

      November 21, 2016 at 6:20 pm

      It's like flat cheesy rolls. Love it!

      Reply

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    lora and gabby

    Welcome to our Italian kitchen! We are Lora and Gabriella, the mother-daughter team behind Savoring Italy. With more than 30+ years of experience in the kitchen, Lora has had a great advantage – receiving guidance from both her husband who is an executive chef/restaurant owner and her mother who is a renowned private chef. 

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