Bacon Cheddar Pull Apart Bread
Looking for a fun homemade bread? Try adding crispy bacon and melty cheese! This Bacon Cheddar Pull Apart Bread not only smells great, but it tastes even better!
COVID-19 has been tough. There’s no denying that. The medical implications of a worldwide pandemic have been devastating. We don’t know anyone who has had the coronavirus, but I know lots and lots of families have been affected. For us, the day-to-day managing of our household has been a challenge. In the grand scheme of things, the quarantining difficulties have been just a nuisance compared to the loss of lives that so many others have experienced.
However, we’ve tried to make the best out of our summer together. Laura and I have had the chance to drink a cup of coffee together on the porch each morning. That never happened before. And I bought a chainsaw. (!) We have a lot of trees and green space around our property, but it was sorely in need of cleaning up. We cleaned up a bunch of smaller trees along with a number of dead trees. The backyard looks amazing now! We built a permanent fire pit, too. Note that the fire pit and the removal of dead trees are closely connected. Oh, and we adopted two puppies.
That’s right. Two puppies. Laura and I have always been “dog people,” and our previous two dogs both crossed the Rainbow Bridge in recent years. It was always our plan to adopt a new puppy in the spring. (After all, house-training a puppy in the winter in upstate New York sounds pretty terrible.) In a way, the quarantining actually worked out well for us since we’ve been at home to help train our pups.
Edith and Millie are both chihuahua mixes that we adopted through Southern Paws, a non-profit dog rescue organization based in New Jersey. They have relationships with a number of shelters throughout the South, and they transport dogs up to the northeastern states. Apparently there is a surplus of dogs in the South who need to find their forever homes. I can’t say enough good things about the folks who run Southern Paws. If you know anyone within a couple of hours of northern New Jersey who is looking for a dog, then check out this organization!
Edith and Millie both came to us from Mississippi, although they came from different shelters about 45 minutes apart. They met for the first time in my arms when we drove down and picked them up. The past several months have been wild. It’s been great having dogs in the house again, although I do miss my sleep. Robbie is at the perfect age, and I’ve always said that a boy needs a dog…or in our case, two dogs.
Bacon Cheddar Pull Apart Bread
Bacon Cheddar Pull Apart BreadI know you didn’t come here in read about our puppies, though. I baited you with photos of this Bacon Cheddar Pull Apart Bread, so let’s get to it! Pull-apart breads are always a party pleaser no matter what fillings you use. However, when that pull-apart bread is loaded with crispy bacon, melty cheese and green onions? Well, let’s just say that you won’t have to worry about leftovers of this one!
This Bacon Cheddar Pull Apart Bread does involve making your own bread. I know bread baking has been a favorite quarantine activity for many folks, so perhaps you’ve already discovered the wonders of baking of your own bread. If you haven’t jumped into the world of homemade breads, then this Bacon Cheddar Pull Apart Bread is a pretty darned good excuse to start!
Aside from making the bread dough (which really isn’t hard), this recipe is fairly straightforward. You essentially roll the dough out into a large rectangle, then cut it into a bunch of smaller rectangles. Spread the bacon, cheese and green onions evenly on top and then stack the pieces of dough up. Those stacks get turned on their side into a bread pan and that’s it. Let it rise for 45 minutes, then bake it up. The hardest part will be waiting for the bread to cool off enough to peel off slices. (A slice or two might’ve disappeared while I was taking these photos. It happens.)
I do hope you get a chance to bake a loaf of this Bacon Cheddar Pull Apart Bread. And if you have a dog? Be prepared to have the dog(s) circling around your feet when this one comes out of the oven – apparently dogs love the smell of homemade bread just as much as humans do!
Did you bake a loaf of this Bacon Cheddar Pull Apart Bread at home? Leave a comment. Or better yet snap a photo and tag me on Instagram (@Spicedblog). I’d love to see your version!
Bacon Cheddar Pull Apart Bread
Ingredients
For Bread Dough
- 8 oz. thick-cut bacon
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- ⅔ cup whole milk warm but not hot
- 2 tsp sugar
- 2¼ tsp active dry yeast i.e. 1 ¼-oz. packet
- 1 tsp dried parsley
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- ¾ tsp garlic powder
- 4 Tbsp unsalted butter melted
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tsp kosher salt
For Cheesy Filling
- 4 Tbsp unsalted butter melted
- 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- ¼ cup chopped green onions
Instructions
For Bread Dough
- Using a large skillet, cook bacon over medium heat. Once cooked, pat dry and crumble into smaller pieces; set bacon aside.
- Using a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, add flour, milk, sugar, yeast, parsley, oregano and garlic powder; mix until well combined.
- Add melted butter, eggs and salt; mix until well combined.
- Turn dough out into an oiled bowl, turning once to coat dough with oil. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place (~75°F) for 60 minutes.
- Working on a well-floured surface, roll dough into a 15”x18” rectangle. Using a pizza wheel, cut dough lengthwise into (4) equal strips. Cut each strip widthwise into 5 pieces. (Note: At this point, you should have (20) smaller rectangles.)
- Spread pieces out onto floured surface.
For Cheesy Filling
- Spray a 9”x5” bread pan with nonstick baking spray; set pan aside.
- Brush tops of dough pieces with melted butter. Sprinkle both cheeses and green onions evenly on top of pieces.
- Stack pieces on top of each other. Pick entire stack up and turn it onto its side to fit into prepared loaf pan. (Note: I found it easier to make 3-4 smaller stacks and put them in individually rather than 1 large stack.)
- Cover pan lightly with plastic wrap; set in a warm place for 45 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until top is golden but not browned.
- Let bread cool in pan for 20 minutes before removing and transferring to serving plate.
Notes
Looking for more pull-apart bread recipes? Check out these other favorites, too:
This has certainly been an interesting year, but we still have to eat! Glad your lives have improved in some ways. My husband and I are retired, so nothing is too different for us now, except for basically never leaving the house! This bread is fabulous. I’ve never made any kind of pull apart breading. Your recipe is very appealing. We’ve only ever adopted rescues, and they’re the best. At my age, I don’t think I could do a puppy ever again, but boy are they sweet! this was a perfect time to be home with them and stay on top of potty training!
You’ve got that right, Mimi. 2020 has been anything but normal. But there have been some silver linings out there. Baking with Robbie has been a favorite for me. And of course the new puppies has been awesome – challenging but awesome. Circle back and check with me in about 2 months when we’re confined indoors thanks to the upstate NY winters, though! 🙂
Yup the pandemic brought us a lot of bad things but also good, like you mentioned even though it wreaked havoc on our lives we do had gained a lot like more time to the family, getting connected to far away friends plus a lot of baking
You’re right about connecting with friends, Raymund. I’m terrible about keeping in touch with friends from other cities, but I actually had a great conversation with a long-lost high school friend the other day. It was pretty fun!
Congrats on the 2 new additions! This bacon and cheese pull-apart bread is such a fun idea! I’m sure my boys would devour it!
Bacon + cheese is a great combo for sure – but put it inside of freshly baked bread? Yum! Dogs and boys both would devour it. Haha!
maybe it’s the bacon the dogs love?:) how wonderful to have two new furbabies! i miss dogs but i think it’s probably too much work for us at our advanced age… love the look of your bread. bacon and cheese?? winner!
I think you’re onto something with the bacon, Sherry. I mean dogs and Dads both love bacon! 🙂 But I will say that the dogs circle my feet even without bacon – I think there’s something in the smell of bread dough. Also, I do understand your comment about dogs being a lot of work. The 2 new puppies have been great, but they’ve been quite a lot of work for sure.
Quarantining was a little bit strange thing (However, luckily, here in Nova Scotia it was not as strict as in some countries, so at least we could easily enjoy a lot of unlimited outside activities), but it was cool at the same time. Working from home (along with closed down gym lol) meant so much less time for commute, more time for sleep, and generally more extra time for some cooking and photographing. Honestly, when it just started I thought we would be playing board games often, but it happened just for a couple of times – and we weren’t bored at all. On a negative note, it also meant a couple of unwanted extra pounds, but I think many people can relate 🙂
Next, congrats on your new addition to your family; they look cute! In fact, we got both our cat and dog exactly during the quarantine, too – the dog had been “taken” weeks before and just stayed with his mom for a while, but Daisy was found just a week after the whole thing started (It is so challenging to find a kitten through adoption centers here in Canada, so we were just monitoring the adds from people.) I now realized we should have named her Quarantine, after all 🙂 I am a cat person myself, and it was a great opportunity to watch her grow during this months – otherwise, I would have seen her just for a couple of hours a day!
Anyway, back to the recipe. You know that I love desserts, especially ice cream and dulce de leche. But you should probably know that I love baked savoury things even more than a dessert, at least for the last couple of years. It is probably aging 🙂 So if given a choice between a sweet bread (Like Monkey bread) and this fantastic situation with the cheeses, bacon, and herbs, there’s no doubt I would choose this recipe. (I would still grab a slice of that sweet bread you’re kindly offering, in an hour or so.) Delicious!
Haha – I can totally relate to the changes there, Ben. We still have to be careful here about the extra pounds – we’ve found ourselves snacking more than we used to. Fortunately, we have workout equipment here at home, so that keeps us in line.
You’re totally right about seeing puppies and kittens grow – that’s been a silver lining to this pandemic for sure. I don’t know about kittens, but I know it was really difficult to adopt puppies during this thing. Everyone else seemed to have the same idea! But we ended up with 2 awesome pups, and it’s been great spending time with them.
And finally, the recipe. I missed your note, so I didn’t get a chance to offer that sweet bread. And then I went and ate all of the savory bread. Oops. 🙂
We are all doing well here, although our lives have certainly changed! As you mentioned, there are some positive benefits from quarantining too! Extra baking time is one of them! If I had this bacon cheddar bread recipe a few months ago, I think I would have been making it daily! I have some real bacon lovers in my house. I’m back to just baking on the weekends, but my house is going to be filled with wonderful bacon, cheese and bread smells on Saturday!
Glad to hear you and the family are doing well, Kathy. It’s been a strange year for sure. However, the extra baking has been quite fun! I do highly recommend this bread – pull-apart breads are always a crowd pleaser. And then add cheese + bacon? Sold!!
Ok, first of all…your pups!! They’re adorable! Love the pics of two of them cuddled up in bed! How sweet! Secondly, this bread! Bacon and cheddar. That’s it, I’m eating the whole loaf. I bet I could give it a good go, though, if I tried 😉 Looks seriously good, David! Pinned and can’t wait to try this one out. Hope your week is going great!
That pic of them in their bed was taken on the first day or two back here at home. We’ve had them for about 5 months now, and they still enjoy curling up together. But then they also fight like sisters. Haha!
Also, bacon and cheese makes everything better, right? 🙂 Thanks, Dawn!!
Your puppies! I almost cried when I saw them curled up together. I have had my daughter’s adorable Chug (chihuahua-pug) for a full year as she has been in a residential intensive outpatient program. And now that she is doing great and has her own apartment, she very recently took him back. He looks just like that when he sleeps! Do yours get under the covers? I miss little Scrappy Doo. 🙁 (He has his own Instagram account, @scrappydoo_too.) Anyhoo, the bread is right up my alley, so I think this is getting made today! Thanks again for yet another great recipe! Oh that reminds me, I made those caramel apple cocktails. OMGeee, delicious! And potent (I burned my dinner while sipping on my second one!)
Aww, Kim…you are too sweet! That photo of them curled up together is one of my favorites. It was taken when they were tiny puppies (~3 pounds each). They’re a little bigger now (~8 pounds), but they still curl up and sleep together.
I had to laugh when you mentioned sleeping under the covers. We haven’t let them into the bed yet as we want to make 100% sure they are house trained. However, Edith (the bottom one) always crawls under a blanket or into Laura’s robe in the morning. It’s hilarious!
As far as the bread, I highly recommend it! Although make sure you set a timer on the oven if you happen to be mixing up more of those caramel apple cocktails. Haha! 🙂 Have a great weekend, my friend!
I made it that day and it was FABULOUS! Even though I over-cooked a tad because I was on a zoom conference call; and while I interrupted the call TWICE, to say “excuse me, I have to check on my bread,” the third time I did not hear my phone timer go off, and it went a bit over. But STILL good if a little too crunchy on the outside. I will definitely make again. I used sharp cheddar and fontina instead of Mozzarella because that’s what I had.
Awesome…I’m so glad you made this one, Kim! And I’m glad it worked out – even if it was a bit crunchy. 🙂 And the cheddar + fontina combination sounds awesome. I love a good cheddar cheese!
David, as for me, you can always write about your life, Robbie and now Edith and Millie. What fun! Eva and I have discussed bringing a new puppy into our lives, but I’ve discussed this with Chloe and she insists she wants to be an only child.
Is that an antique firetruck in the background of the first images of the pups?
I do miss the firepit we had in the US. It’s these fall evenings that we enjoyed it the most. I could definitely nuzzle up to your fire pit and pull a chunk of that bacon cheddar bread and chow down.
Eva always says, nothing smells better than puppy feet. I always say, it depends on where they’ve been…
Why thank you very much, Ron! I do enjoy sharing what’s going on here – I know not all readers are after that, but it’s part of life. It is what it is, right? And these pups are life right now. They have been a fun and welcome addition to the family this past summer!
And, yes, that is indeed an antique firetruck in that first image. It was parked in the back of the lot of the rescue facility where we picked up Edith and Millie. Pretty cool! Also, our fire pit is always lit and waiting for you, my friend! How fun would it be to share a loaf of this bread and chat around the firepit…perhaps with a nice glass of bourbon in hand? 🙂
Oh my goodness those puppies!!! Love them. The photo of them cuddling up together is priceless. Such a delightful addition to your family. We have two dogs and they have loved every minute of quarantine since everyone is home. All the time. 😉
Now for the bread. Delicious! Seriously, such a tasty combination of flavors. One of my sons will flip for it, as bacon is his favorite food ever. 🙂 ~Valentina
Thankso so much, Valentina! While the addition of the two puppies has been chaotic at times, it’s sure made for more fun in the house. 🙂 And the bread? That was fun, too – while it lasted. Haha!
As I love the smell of home made bread as its baking I can only imagine it smelling and tasting even better with the bacon and cheddar added! As with everyone we too have had our challenges this year. We just try to take each day as it somes dealing with each days challenges. All our travel plans went out of the window but we do have our health which is the most important thing. Love your new doggies David. Give them both a hug from Lynne and I! 🙂
The smell of homemade bread truly is one of the best things ever in the kitchen! No wonder why dogs love it so much – I do, too! 🙂 I’ll give the dogs a hug for you guys – actually, I’ll do one better and give them each a chew bone for you. Haha!
I think it has been a hard year for everyone. Puppies I am sure made your summer better. They are so cute. Cheddar, bacon and bread that combination can’t get any better.
Puppies have definitely made the summer better! Of course, they’ve also meant less sleep…but that’s ok. Thanks, Dawn!!