Cheesy Pull-Apart Bread

Ever since I made our first loaf of pull bread my hubby has been requesting it again. This is an extremely decadent treat that disappears REALLY fast around here!! There are so many variations of pull bread, I decided to find a new recipe to test out - so this time we tried a garlicky cheesy variation and it was also fantastic (I mean really, how could it not be!? Cheese, butter, and carbs!!) The original recipe calls for a clove of garlic, but I opted for garlic powder. If you use powder, make sure to spoon the butter mixture evenly into the loaf, as the seasonings like to settle at the bottom of the melted butter.

This went really well with our chicken dinner and a salad - but it would probably go well with whatever you want to serve it with. It goes really well all by itself, when no one else is around too... :D

Cheesy Pull-Apart Bread adapted from Brown Eyed Baker

Ingredients
1 12-oz loaf Italian, Sourdough, or French bread
½ cup butter (unsalted or salted), melted
1/2 TBS garlic powder (or 1 clove garlic, finely diced)
1/2 TBS dried Parsley
1 cup sharp Cheddar cheese, shredded
1 cup Monterrey Jack cheese, shredded

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lay a large sheet of foil (enough to be able to wrap around the whole loaf) on a cookie sheet and set aside.
2. Cut a cross-hatch pattern into the top of the bread by slicing ½-inch grid lines into the bread, stopping about ¼-inch from the bottom of the bread so that it stays together. Place the bread on the piece of foil.
3. Blend together the melted butter, garlic powder, and parsley.
4. Gently separate the bread with your fingers, then spoon the butter mixture in all of the seams, making sure it is evenly distributed among the whole loaf. Wrap the loaf up in the foil and place in the oven and bake for 10 minutes.
5. Remove from the oven and increase the oven temperature to 425 degrees.
6. Open the foil and sprinkle the cheese over the bread, pushing it gently down between all of the crevices until evenly distributed (try to get as much as possible in between all the cuts in the bread). Leave the foil open and return to the oven. Bake until the cheese is completely melted, bubbling and starting to brown on top, about 10 minutes. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving and then dig in (try to share)!