You might have created a monster. I went back and forth, again and again, before sharing the recipe for potato chip cookies. My presumption was that most sane people would find them revolting; that the comment section would be a string of “eww”s. Silly me! It turns out that a whole lot of you are closet potato chip sandwich lovers, and worse. You put Doritos on your pizza! You put Cheetos on your tuna! I am clearly among my brethren. This will only lead to trouble, as the next time I have a weird, funky combination of flavors I want to try out, who will stop me? Clearly, not you.
Like this. For a while, I’ve been enamored with this idea of pull-apart bread, such as Flo Braker’s from her latest book. Yet as lovely as buttery lemon sugar is, or cinnamon sugar for that matter, is, I wanted to give it a savory spin. My first inclination was to go with the universally adored (but kinda overused these days, don’t you think?) cheddar, chives and bacon — i.e. baked potato toppings — but what I’ve really been dreaming about lately is Welsh rarebit, which I understand to be pub food in places I haven’t been lucky enough to travel to yet. It’s a thick, punchy, rich sauce made with cheddar and mustard and beer and butter and cream and spices and it is often ladled over a piece of toast, such as rye or another brown bread. And I want it.
In my kitchen, with nobody there to stop me, I mashed the two up. I made a rich bread dough, tender enough to “pull apart” with butter and eggs, but then beer where the milk or water would be. I threw in a slip of rye flour for flavor and muscle, but you can totally skip that if you don’t have rye flour around. I made a sauce of melted butter, mustard, a little steak sauce and a dash of hot sauce and brushed it over the dough and then I sprinkled the whole thing thickly with shredded cheddar that had been spiced with paprika, mustard powder, salt and pepper. And then I cut the whole thing into stacked squares and baked it and shortly after that, pulled from the oven a floppy, Slinky or card catalog of a loaf of bread that made me immediately want to finish that cold beer in the fridge.
Alas, it was time for preschool pick-up and so, as usual these days, I behaved like an adult. I promise not make the same mistake on Sunday.
More big game favorites from the archives: Meatball Subs with Gruyere and Caramelized Onions, Meatball Sliders, Beef Chili with Cheddar Biscuits and Sour Cream, Cheese Straws, Onion Tart with Mustard and Fennel, Soft Pretzels, Bretzel Rolls, Feta Salsa, Salted Brown Butter Rice Crispy Treats, Potato Chip Cookies , Chocolate Caramel Crack (with Saltines!) and Coffee Toffee Cookies
One year ago: Mushroom and Farro Soup
Two years ago: Best Cocoa Brownies
Three years ago: Warm Butternut Squash and Chickpea Salad
Four years ago: Rigatoni with Eggplant Puree
Five years ago: Paula Wolfert’s Hummus and Icebox Cake
Cheddar, Beer and Mustard Pull-Apart Rye Bread
This was inspired in structure by Flo Braker’s Lemon Bread; in flavor by Welsh Rarebit.
Bread
4 tablespoons (55 grams) unsalted butter
1/4 cup plus 1/3 cup beer (140 ml), preferably dark but really, use whatever you like to drink
2 1/2 cups (315 grams) all-purpose flour, divided
1/3 cup (40 grams) rye flour (use additional a-p flour if you don’t have this)
2 tablespoons (25 grams) granulated sugar
2 1/4 teaspoons (1 envelope, 1/4 ounce or 7 grams) instant yeast
1 teaspoon (6 grams) table salt
2 large eggs, at room temperature
Filling
3 tablespoon (42 grams) unsalted butter
1 tablespoon (15 grams) Dijon or a mustard of your choice
1 1/2 teaspoons (8 ml) Worcestershire sauce
Dash of hot sauce
1 teaspoon (3 grams) mustard powder
1 teaspoon (2 grams) paprika
1/2 teaspoon (3 grams) table salt
Several grinds black pepper
1 1/2 cups (170 grams) shredded cheddar
Make dough: In a small saucepan, heat the 4 tablespoons butter and 1/4 cup of beer, just until the butter has melted. Remove from heat and add the remaining 1/3 cup beer. Set aside to cool down slightly. You want the mixture warm (110 to 116 degrees), but not steaming hot.
Meanwhile, in the bowl of a stand mixer, stir together 2 cups of the all-purpose flour, sugar, yeast and table salt. With the mixer on low, pour in the butter-beer mixture, mixing only until the flour is moistened. Add eggs, one at a time, and mix until combined. The batter will look lumpy, but will become smooth in a moment. Add the remaining 1/2 cup all-purpose flour and all of the rye flour, mixing until just combined. Replace paddle with a dough hook and let the machine knead the dough for 3 to 4 minutes on low.
Oil a medium/large bowl and transfer dough to it. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and set aside for 50 to 60 minutes, until doubled. Meanwhile, prepare fillings.
[Do ahead: You can also rest the dough in the fridge overnight — wrapped tightly with plastic. The next day, let it rest at room temperature for an hour before rolling out.]
Make fillings: Back in the same small saucepan you used for the butter and beer, melt the 3 tablespoons butter. Remove from heat and whisk in mustard, Worcestershire and hot sauce until smooth. Set aside.
In the bottom of a medium bowl, stir together mustard powder, paprika, table salt and several grinds of black pepper. Add shredded cheddar and toss until grated strands are evenly coated with spices. I like to keep this in the fridge until needed so it doesn’t get soft and clumpy, making it harder to sprinkle over the dough in a bit.
Assemble bread: Either coat a 9-by-5 loaf pan lightly with butter or a nonstick spray and set aside.
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 by lifting sections and re-flouring the counter as needed. Brush the butter-mustard-Worcestershire mixture evenly over the whole surface, right up to the edges. Cut the dough crosswise into 5 strips; each should be 12-by-4 inches. Sprinkle the first one evenly with a heaping 1/4 cup of the grated cheese (which is now fine to leave out at room temperature). Gently place another strip on top of it, coat it with another heaping 1/4 cup of cheese, and repeat with remaining strips until they are stacked 5-high and all of the cheese is used.
With your very sharpest serrated knife, gently — so gently! The lightest sawing motions the weight of the blade will allow! — cut your stack into 6 to 7 2-inch segments (each stacked segment should be 4-by-2 inches). I say 6 to 7 range because while your 12-inch length should clearly yield only 6 2-inch segments, I find that the soft dough stretches so much when you lift and stack it that I end up with 7. Either amount will fit; this is totally not something to fret over.
Arrange stacks of dough down the length of your prepared loaf pan as if filling a card catalog drawer. I make this easier by standing my loaf pan up on its short end to make the next part easier. If, when you finish filing all of your dough stacks, you ended up with less than needed for the dough “cards” to reach the end of the pan, when you return the pan to rest flat on the counter again, just shimmy it a little so the dough centers. It will all even out in the final rise/oven. If you ended up with too many dough cards, before you add the last stack, simply press gently on the dough already filed to make room for it.
Loosely cover the pan with more plastic wrap and set it aside to rise again for 30 to 45 more minutes. Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Bake loaf for 25 to 35 minutes, until puffed and brown. Transfer it to a wire rack and let it cool for 5 minutes before flipping it out onto a serving plate/cutting board. Serve warm with cold beer.
Loaf “pulls” apart the easiest when it is hot or warm. If it has cooled beyond the point that the layers wish to easily separate, simply serve it in thin slices. Wrap leftovers in plastic and keep at room temperature for a day. I bet the leftovers would be fantastic reheated with scrambled eggs.
I can’t think of a better combination! Beautiful!
Holy man that looks good! I don’t have much of a sweet tooth, so this really dings my chimes. If you’re crazy, I’m there, too.
I think the beer/cheese/mustard combination should be its own food group. I made a roasted cauliflower soup with that trifecta recently. Heaven.
Oh Deb, if only there were words enough…
This is criminal! Beer, mustard and cheddar. Love it. I like that you went with Modelo. Why’d you choose that one? How does a darker (or lighter) beer change the bread?
I chose the Negro Modelo because I had one of those and one Abita Turbodog in the fridge and I kind of wanted to hoard the Turbodog for myself. :) Use any beer you like; if you like all types of beer, go for a dark one with more flavor.
Oh. My. Word. This looks ridiculously delicious. I just made a sweet/lemon version the other day. I’m going to have to try this savory one, too. Thanks!
I could definitely go for some warm cheesey bread right about now:)
I LOVE the pull apart idea, everything is better when it can be grabbed in little pieces. yum!
That looks amazing, beer + cheese + mustard, could anything be better?
Gosh, that sounds soo good! What an awesome combo of flavors!
My favorite dinner roll of all time is a fan-tan. It’s layered much like your bread but only 4-5 layers stacked upright in a muffin tin. Now that you’ve found what appears to me to be the perfect filling between those layers..I’m gonna be in heaven! Thanks, Deb!
Susan — Love those too! I think Gourmet had a buttermilk fantails recipe a few years ago that was very good. I need to recreate a version I had at Blue Hill at Stone Barns many years ago. I don’t think they do it anymore but I thought I’d died and gone to heaven.
That looks amazing! Like others have said, beer + cheese + mustard = manna from heaven. And when in bread is over the top.
Oh Sweet Jesus.
Oh, my! What a wicked, wicked girl! ! ! I have no yeast and I am not going to head out into the night to search for some. I’m not, I’m not, I’m not . . .
I don’t think . . .
but, darn, . . . can I really wait until daylight? This sounds absolutely delish!
That looks incredibly decadent, but delicious! It made me hungry just reading about it.
I LOVE this. I made a sweet version of this during the fall–pumpkin, cinnamon, nutmeg and the like. While perfectly lovely, this version sounds so perfect for a cold, dark day. (Nevermind that it is in the 70s and sunny here…)
This recipe sounds over the top perfect beer food. Great combo. The idea of this in a buttermilk muffin stack has my wheels turning!
Wow! I’ve seen the sugary cinnamon version of this but THIS one looks even more addictive. Yum!!! Have a great weekend, Deb!
No, I am not going to stop you. Go ahead, yes, carry on providing us with recipes that we didn’t know we were dying for. This is going to take soup-and-bread night to a whole new level.
Good lord, sign me up. By the way, I love your method for putting the dough slices in the pan. Clever!
This looks incredible!
My baker Papa Bear will be making this immediately, but only because he has a day off first. And all we need is the beer! It does not last long in this house, but we have everything else. I kinda want to put some parsley in there for a little freshness. It really brightens up this giant braided bread thing I make with kalamata olives, greek feta and sun-dried tomatoes.
You are addictive. Thanks for making my jaw hit the keyboard.
Whoa there, that is some serious game day bread. Nice going, Deb!
I am so glad you decided to go with a savoury version of pull-apart bread. As much as I love sweets, I adore something warm and flaky and savoury this time of year. What an awesome combo of flavours; you’ve used many things that are staples at our house!
Yeah, you’re not dealing with sane people. ;-)
Loving this bread!
Oh yum! It’s sort of like a savory version of monkey bread. Perfect for super bowl sandwiches…
You are a recipe-creating genius :D
Looks delicious! I haven’t yet made a savory pull-apart, so far I concentrate on a sweet pull-apart challah that shocks most people, but that my kids adore! I’ll have to try this one. It must be the Superbowl that is making us all crave beer, cheese, and salty flavors.
Seriously Doritos on Pizza?I have never heard of that..but sounds interesting. Looking at this bread so late in the evening is making me hungry! What a great combination..and how can you go wrong with anything involving cheese and bread right.
Deb, I you are so ahead of the GAME! I am having a Superbowl party and can not WAIT to make this!! I had no ideas past crock pot turkey chili. THANK YOU!!!! :))))
You had me sold on the first picture. Totally making this one… thanks for the recipe! :)
oh. my. LORD. sadly, i’ve had to go gluten-free, so i’m going to have to see if i can make a gf version of this, because MY MIND IS BLOWN.
and to the commenter who mentioned the beer+cheese+roasted cauliflower soup – i think i might be in love. will you marry me?
OMG you’re killin me! i will be making this for sundays game! :)
Oh my… This sounds amazing! I’ll definitely have to try my hand at making a vegan version of this. It sounds too good to pass up! :)
If you do get over to the UK there was a lovely little teahouse/coffeeshop? in Chester where I had the most delicious welsh rarebit with kippers! I know it sounds a bit insane to be eating cheesy preserved fish but if you have the chance it was really lovely. I still think about it two years after sort of lovely.
This sounds great, you know what would go on it perfect, maybe over the top…bacon jam…I heard about it on pinterest, and have to admit I am almost curious enough to do this whole thing all at once!
Deb, Please! You must do the Blue Hill @ Stone Barnes that you liked so much and feature it. Did they roll those layers really, really thin so it’s almost like a cross view of a whispy, laminated dough? I love the really thin layers that some bakeries make.
One of my favorite snacks to eat is cheddar Sun-Chips dipped in mustard.. Anyone I am around at the time looks at me like I am a nutcase. I make them try it and (most of the time) they like it too. I will definitely have to try this recipe.
XX Hilary
I will NEVER get tired of your stories and recipes. You are a rock star. :)
Oh my! Keep them coming!!
Oh man, what are you trying to do to us over here?! This looks amazing, and I cannot wait to make this for my husband (and me). It’s like all our favorite little worlds (mustard, beer, cheese, hot sauce) collided in a bread. Great idea, Deb!!
You have definitely outdone yourself this time. I have never wanted to break my diet so badly.
Oh my, this looks so amazing!
“1/4 cup plus 1/3 beer” is that supposed to be plus 1/3 cup beer or a third of a beer?
oh my word…this looks utterly fantastic!! must. try. this. soon.!!
This is such a good idea. I’ve been thinking about baking some kind of beer cheese bread this week, and this may be the winner. Well done!
The bread looks fabulous and I want it. I don’t even like beer but I love beer bread.
And Doritos on pizza, sounds great to me. I loved your potato chip cookies and had seen a recipe floating around Pinterest for some and then I saw yours..seren-chip-dipity :)
Be still my heart! This sounds divine! All of the things I love, meant to be pulled apart. Perfect!
My bg game favorite combo is a massge and a facial – divine togther!
Wow what an incredible bread! I am sure the cheese in this pull apart delicacy is heavenly…
Wow! This is quite a production! Awesome! Someday, when I’m brave enough.
If you need help, just call. I don’t eat cheetos on anything. :)
This bread though, I’d need help to keep from eating the whole thing all by myself in a dark closet so I wouldn’t have to share.
Mmm good…I’m definitely bringing this to my granddaughter’s 1st birthday brunch. The adults will love it! I HIGHLY recommend the Stone-ground Express Mustard made by Local Folks, localfolksfood.com. I love good mustard, and this is the best! It’ll be perfect with the cheddar and beer.
You know, I’ve been coming to your site often, and since I hadn’t seen a post in a while, I just knew you were up to something incredible. This is genius!
Wow! Those photos are stunning. Love them and the bread though it looks a bit fiddly – good for a lazy sunday.
How intriguing! I am craving anything with mustard these days so, even though cinnamon pull-apart bread has also been on my agenda forever, I think I will have to start by making this savory one. I don’t have rye flour & I’ve cut APF out of my diet for the time being, so I’m going ahead with whole wheat flour. Let’s see how well it works!
I would love to comment but I am running out to buy cheese and beer. There WILL be bread tonight! Deb, you have done it again.
Quick non-yeasted beer bread was the first bread I ever baked, when I had just started blogging! I loved the flavour of the beer in the bread and this looks & sounds YUMM-O! Somehow I thought that beer acted in place of the yeast..
Absolutely amazing. Welsh rarebit is one of my favourite foods, but this looks even yummier. Love the addition of beer and mustard as well. It’s making me hungry just looking at it.
preschool! I am sorry, but I will get to the recipe in good time, but PRESCHOOL?? surely this baby is not old enough for preschool.
I think if Jacob is ready for preschool he is ready for a sibling. That’s my 2 cents ;) you make some seriously beautiful babies…
Great! I have just copied the receipe. I will try it!
Spery of “babà che bontà”
This looks like a great savory cheesy combination that I could really sink my teeth into.
Wondering if, once stacked in the pan, the second rise could be in the fridge…to be baked just before guests are due to arrive…so the pull-apart version can be served before the bread cools down to the thinly sliced version ??
OMG, I love it!
Oh seriously wow…
Holy moly, this looks glorious! I’ve got to bring a plate to a work party soon … I think this is what I’m making!!
Would it be bad if I made this just for my husband and me?
wow! I am definitely saving this recipe! Looks INCREDIBLE!!!
The link to onion tart with mustard and fennel links to the recipe for cheddar beer and mustard pull apart bread. Not that I mind, because it looks incredible, but now I definitely have to search for the other one as well…
This looks so good :) So so so good.
I don’t like beer or mustard (weird, I know!), but this bread is so pretty, I think I’ll go for it anyway!
Is there such a thing as beer that is too dark for this recipe? My brother loves Guinness, but is there a chance the flavor won’t work for any reason? I’m not very beer-savvy.
Renee — I used a dark ale too; any beer you like is fine, dark will provide more flavor.
Dorothee — Thanks, will fix.
Semisponge — 1/4 plus 1/3 cup. You add the 1/4 cup, then the 1/3 cup after.
Susan — It wasn’t a fantail roll, but I hadn’t understood how they made it until I learned about fantails. It was a tidy rectangular roll (cut sides) that when you bit into it, revealed layers, perhaps five or six. I’m sure they just layered the dough with butter then cut away. Needless to say, it was delicious. And warm. And steamy. And vaguely sour-ish. I keep thinking about doing Parker House Rolls but they’re everywhere these days. Perhaps I’ll do a laminated riff.
Re, Cauliflower/beer/cheddar soup — I agree, it sounds phenomenal. Do share!
Noooooo Deb you’re killing me! And I don’t have enough butter in the house! Or Worcestershire sauce! And it’s sooo cold…You really might have pushed me past my resolution to stay inside with the central heating on…
This is pushing all my salty beery flavor buttons..
About the only thing that could make that better…? Bacon. Whew. Oh. How about a turkey club with this as the center slice!
And I just made dark fruitcake the other day. Can’t touch it for two weeks. But this could be had right out of the oven.
My hubby would love that combo served alongside a cheese sauce dip for Super Bowl Sunday!!!
Gosh darn it! I have a terrible time making anything that involves yeast and after last weekends debacle(s) with pizza dough, I swore it off! Now you are going to make me back track that statement!!!
wow. that’s all I can say. This bread would make the perfect hot dog vehicle, dontcha think? I’m going to make it just to serve it with crunchy-skin organic hot dogs (the kind Applegate Farms makes…) and some sauerkraut. Happy SuperBowl!
I found your blog through my girlfriend at sentimental suitcase. I love it! I love the creative delicious food ideas. I will have to look for those cookies too.
WOW! Now that’s something I would like to see at a Superbowl spread! I have a feeling it surely wouldn’t last long!
What a clever idea! I could eat this right now (for breakfast) quite happily!
Wow….. what a treat!
Deb, I have always been a fan but now I’m pretty sure you are a genius! I love Susan’s idea of mini fantail versions. Pretty soon I’m going to have to create a Pinterest board just for your recipes!
Totally brilliant…
Ohhhhh man. I want that right now. Like, RIGHT NOW!!!
You blew my Superbowl appetizer plans right out of the water!
Welsh Rarebit Soup. The recipe alludes me. Defies me. Mocks me. I’ve tried a few imagined variations with inedible results. If you have this one tucked away for a future posting, please put me out of my misery soon. If not … and if any of the good folks who follow this excellent blog could share it I’ll forever be in your delicious debt. Thanks … as to this bread … died and gone to heaven I am. Would it be considered overkill to serve with the soup? ;)
Deb. You naughty, naughty girl.
Nope, no eww here! Just a lot of yummy! LOL! Amazing pictures as well…then again, you had me at “bread”! LOL!
It looks like you have a duplicated phrase in the second paragraph of making the bread.
Thanks! It was so, so late when I typed this up. I’m surprised that’s all people have found. :)
BTW, I’ll be making this directly. That is, within the next 10 minutes.
you are a genius! yummy!
Oh my this sounds incredible! You mentioned that you could do the first rise in the fridge over night – do you think you could do the second rise in the fridge, instead? I want to surprise my boyfriend with this on his birthday! I think this is the most “man-friendly” baked good I’ve ever seen :)
Any rise can be slowed down in the fridge. However, the second rise goes more quickly so I’d keep an eye on it.
Wait wait wait – you didn’t finish the half beer while you were preparing this? I’m confused . . . Also, this looks awesome. Way better than the bran muffins I was going to make today!
This bread looks legit. Love the step-by-step pictures.
PS. I totally made your Potato Chip Cookies recently and they were sooo tasty. Like Pecan Sandies with a salty bite. So I’m sure this funky combination will be delicious as well :)
At first, I was looking at this recipe and super confused! Like wait, mustard in bread?! But then I saw the photos (and heard the description of the Welsh sauce), and was completely, utterly sold.
hi, any thoughts on using bread flour vs. all purpose flour?
first time commenting on your site which is AMAZING.
made the apple sharlotka, white bean red pepper dip, dijon brased brussel sprouts and riffs on your various other recipes! thank you! thank you! thank you!
can’t wait to buy your book!
Laura — You can use bread flour. However, the dough is a riff on brioche, and I wanted it to be tender/easy to pull apart so my choice to use a flour with less gluten was intentional.
Oh.My. . .I don’t even like beer and this looks good!!!!
This is crazy in a totally awesome way. I haven’t made any kind of pull apart bread yet but oh I must soon! This would be so yummy to snack on.
PERFECT timing! Every year my friends host a local beer party, with everyone bringing brews from their holiday destinations, and all are sampled to choose best and worst etc. This happens to be taking place tonight, so imagine my delight upon finding a new delicious-looking beer-food recipe here just now! Last year your chocolate stout cake was a HUGE hit. Thanks again and always for your genius!
I’ve seen recipes for pull-apart bread all over the Internet, made with every flavor combination possible…but I think this may be the best variation I’ve seen. Cheddar, beer, and mustard? This sounds ridiculously good.
You are the queen of pull-apart bread, Deb. Incredible!
oh my, this will have to be made immediately if not sooner, it looks divine!!!
This looks fantastic! The combination is pure genius. Another of my game-day favorites from your site is your Jalapeño-Cheddar Scones. Arguably a perfect bite of cheese and heat. And a delicious accompaniment to chili, or wings, or . . .
You’ve amazed me once again. What an awesome combination of flavours! Between this bread, and Elise’s (from Simply Recipes) Cheesy Jalapeno Pull Apart bread, it’s like I’ve died and gone to cheesy bread heaven!
I like the shout-out to Joy (from Joy the Baker) – she’s a new favorite of mine.
So proud to see a Welsh reference on your website!! And this recipe is so old in our country, really goes back in history, and is a bit of a culinary-cultural icon for us, so I’m really happy it’s made its way all the way over to you in NYC :-)
WOW! I’ll admit to having turned a nose up at the potato chip cookies (though I obviously shouldn’t have), but this sounds cardinally sinful! I know what I’ll be making for our Super Bowl visit tomorrow! At least TWO of these, and preferably with my husband’s home-brewed oatmeal stout or bock. Oooops.. better wipe the corners of my mouth right now.
Lovely!
I’ve made the buttery cinnamon sugar version and it was beautiful so love of the look of this savoury spin on it.
My first thought was “fondue bread!” My second was “I have to make this to dip in fondue.” Looks beautiful.
Yowza! And — whee! This sounds fabulous.
Cauliflower beer cheese soup recipe PLEASE! oh please. delish mouthwatering recipe, thanks for posting!
Awesome! Reminds me of these cheddar brioche pull apart rolls Tom Cat makes here in NYC, but way better!
I am in aww of your recipes and photography. Ever since you posted about the potato chip cookies, I’ve been resisting the urge to run to the store, buy some chips and get in the kitchen. Once I have a party to go to, those will be what I’ll bring. I hope you’re having a good weekend!
This is insane!!! I am going to make this word to word…and hope it would look as good as yours. I can just eat those pictures!!
I MEAN… this is the craziest and most ridiculous thing I have ever heard. And I mean that in the best way possible. I’m a huge fan of beer batter bread to begin with (to which I often add cheddar), but this takes things to the next level. Will be trying this out ASAP. Bravo, lady. Bravo!
Oh my gosh…INSTANT hunger. Welsh rabbit is a favorite of mine. I might have to make your recipe this weekend…
Most excellent timing! I’m all churned up to bake this weekend AND have everything I need to make this AND I just made bacon jam (America’s Test Kitchen)! A match made in heaven. I’m gonna go make this right now!
The second rise is happening… My kitchen smells great!
Uhhhhh….. that looks too good!!! And great idea. Love the way it looks
DEB! This looks so amazing! This is so gonna be made tomorrow with a large crock of chili. :) Thanks again!
This looks amazing…as usual. I keep hoping that one day you’ll do another kitchen failures post so I can feel better about mine, but it hasn’t happened yet. Less kitchen failures for you means more recipes for me, so I’m not complaining.
Delish! I’m in the south of england and i quite often do Welsh rarebit bites for canapes – easy peasy and always a hit. Just small squares of bread toasted on one side, flipped and topped with rarebit mix and then grilled.
This recipe will be perfect for a starter for some family coming for dinner next week, with cauli soup n you always have such inspiring recipes. I’m making your carrot, miso and sesame soup with sweetcorn spring rolls – perfect comfort food when we’re expecting 6″ of snow tonight!
Thank you for posting!
good god. yes.
Dude, I’m going to go ahead and say it: *ewww*
Know that my “ewww” is delivered with the utmost respect, given that your blog has transformed by kitchen and things like brussel sprouts which I wouldn’t touch before now rank among my favorite vegetables. I’m super excited about your forthcoming cookbook.
It’s out of the oven and I’m eating it. “Excellent!”, she said, making Mr. Burns hand rubbing motions…
What is suggested for those of us do not have stand mixers (paddle, dougj hook)??
Hi Lisa — Just mix everything with a spoon in a bowl. Once it’s thick enough, dump it out onto a well-floured counter and knead away until it is smooth and a little elastic.
Oh yum, although I may want to try with the chives and not the mustard…yum.
Oh man… Everything I’ve ever wanted in one bite!
I love the way it looks and I’m sure I will love the way it tastes :D. Thanks!
i love all these different combos! thanks for the great recipe.
It’s in the oven now. I’ll let you know how it turns out!
WOW! This looks so amazing my mouth is watering just looking at the photo. I see it’s been pinned already too. I hope to find time in the very near future to make this – I’m willing to bet my hubby will love it!
be still my heart. cannot WAIT to try this out.
Wow! Amazing. And the presentation is beyond cool!
Just out of the oven. Mmmmmmmmmmm. Oh this is yummy. Thank you for this recipe!
I don’t like beer, does this have a strong beer flavor?
Beer — If you want to skip it, replace it with a mixture (same volume) of half water and half milk.
Holy diet blowers, Batman! Lady, you are pure evil and I totally <3 you! I love the idea of the dijon but then the coarse cracked mustard seed type deli mustard… and bacon. That was my first thought looking at the pictures; "Where's the meat candy?!" Though Welsh rarebit is delightful.
I first saw the cinnamon variety on the cover of one of my cooking mags (either Taste of Home or Cooking Club) and thought I'd died and gone to heaven, but this? This is going to add a pants size if I'm not careful. lol
Keep the crazy going! Like calls to like, you know. :D
This is just awesome. Love the thought of ripping into this plain or dipping the ends into chili for the game, or….
Um, I’m not even a beer drinker and this sounds amazing. Awesome idea :D Pull apart bread is amazing and the Welsh rarebit type flavors sound delicious!
Oh wow…that looks super yummy.
I want to try this and let you know how it goes! It looks amazingly delicious.
I can’t think of anything I would rather eat right now. Cheddar, beer, mustard, bread. It doesn’t get much better than that!
Looks deliciously dangerous. Can’t wait to try.
This looks awesome! Having a really hard time going through with my original plan for appetizers for Super Bowl. I want this bread!
Combined with beer and cheddar soup – my favorite food groups!
OMGoodness! You are totally killing me here with your awesome recipes! First those chips and now THIS! You are a genius! Pure. Genius. AND Negra Modelo is my favorite beer to cook with! NM + potato soup = win. I am SOOOO making this tonight for a little get together we’re having. Thanks so much for this awesome recipe!
I read this recipe this morning and already have the dough rising! I couldn’t wait to try it. The Fantail pull aparts recipe is quite good but in my opinion more labor intensive than this recipe and doesn’t involve beer or cheese.
Thanks for posting this!
I love the idea of pull apart bread. This flavor combination sounds excellent!
yup, yup. this right here. this is the last recipe i’ll ever have to make, because from this day i will make only this. end of story.
oh my god…I almost had a heart attack. that looks amazing…
Good Lord Woman! Just when I think you couldn’t do any better. You took like 3 of out 5 of my favorite things and put them into one bite.
Deb:
I love the way that you cook because you are indeed fearless!
I do enjoy to cook for or share recipes with the kind of people who dare to try…
Since you genuinely seem to be from that “species” – me too :) , please visit me at http://www.frombraziltoyou.org. It will be good to a cheese lover like you!I promise :):):)
My food blog will debut this coming Tuesday, the 7th. My first recipe will sound quite odd – just like your potato chips cookies- but tastewise may change any preconceived notions one might have.
Have a blessed week and keep doing what you’ve been doing!
Oh how I wish I had seen this recipe sooner. This looks and sound delicious. I might not be doing this for super bowl seeing that I am elbow deep into making filling for my chicken empanadas, but I will certainly be trying this out soon. Thank you for sharing.
I can’t find Jacob and I looked and I looked for the link!
Mind = Blown
I just made this dough and it is doing the first rise. I found i had to use ALOT more flour to get a dough that came together. I did not measure it, but probably more than 1/2 cup. A lot of bread recipes have this type of lee way. Did you find that the flour measurements in the recipe were sufficient for the dough to come together? thanks for wonderful recipes and stories
if I make this and offer to my cheese addict kids…man oh man heaven right here.;) Wicked and good! xo
I want to make this happen monkey bread style.
Any recipe that includes allusions to the card catalog must be added to my queue!
I’m not a beer person but I’m going to use water instead and make this. It is such a very cute and awesome idea! It almost seems like a huge stack of grilled cheese sandwiches. Thanks you for sharing this and all of your other creative ideas! I love them!
This sounds amazing.
~Brenda
Looking forward to making this tomorrow!
This pretty much sounds prefect for the Superbowl!
I’ve been lurking on your website for over 5 hours now (and its way past my bedtime) and, even though the ribs are ready for morning smoking and the homebrew is well-tested NOW I have to bake TOMORROW or else all will NOT be well with the universe. How could you? ;)
This week end, I have already made your Apple & Honey Challah (without the apples though) and your Russian Black Bread (favourite of mine) and now you tempt me with this?! You had me at Welsh Rarebit (another favourite of mine). I guess tomorrow I’m baking more bread… what else are long week ends for anyhow! Thank you for your seemingly never ending inspiration… Can’t wait to see what you tempt us with next.
Thank you for making our SuperBowl night something I know am anticipating with glee! (Also- your cheese straws were a huge hit at our school-potluck on Friday). Thanks again!
Oh my gosh! I wonder if I could pull this off for superbowl tonight. What a great idea, and a yummy yet artisan way to add some flavor to the junk food feast this evening.
This is a masterpiece. Wow!
This looks so good! Such a good thing it isn’t bikini season yet.
I’ve now cooked many items from your site – doing both this bread and the pear tart today to use up some extra pears. This recipe is a hassle but it looks so good I can’t say no to it.
I will definitely buy your cookbook come fall and will promote it to anyone I know.
This, and all your other bread recipes, look wonderful. However, I do not have a standing mixer. Can you still make bread dough using a handheld mixer with two beaters?
margot — See my comment #133 for tips.
1/4 cup plus 1/3 beer, preferably dark but really, use whatever you like to drink
I don’t know what this means?
So good I had to make two!
wait! I get it. I usually see the words “divided” when a recipe calls for an ingredient to be handled like this.
i can’t stop drooling…
Holy moly that looks awesome!
I think this bread is asking for caraway seeds! And I’m gonna replace part of the cheddar with muenster. Maybe I should keep true to the recipe the first time though, but it looks like it could handle some diversions. I’m intrigued by the bacon jam mentioned by a couple previous commenters.
I want leftovers of this toasted for poached eggs…
Yes please, this looks divine! You’re making me very hungry. x
I did this today, my only disappointment was that it didn’t rise nearly enough in the allotted time, so I ended up letting it rise almost 2 hours before rolling and assembling, then another hour after assembling. I blame that on not so great yeast. One other issue I had, I had to use at least 1/2 cup more flour. Otherwise, awesome doesn’t even cover it. It’s almost gone, and the Superbowl is still hours off!
Oh my….is it weird that I want to eat this with bacon? Craving…craving…major pull apart bread and bacon craving right now.
I take a bread-baking course, and I’ve tried all kinds of bread shapes, but I haven’t tried pull-apart. Definitely next on my list. By the way, your pictures are really vibrant.
This was so fun to make…2nd rise is taking place right now. Your instructions and photos made something that could have been kind of finicky seem easy and exciting to try. And buying rye flour for this has me thinking about trying out some traditional rye bread with caraway. I don’t suppose you have any you love…or are in the queue to publish soon?
This is in my oven at this very minute! I can’t wait to try it.
I’m a cheater. Therefore I will use up can of premade crescent dough to make a version of this. That said, is there any way to prevent it from not cooking thoroughly? It seems like this might be problem with either kind of dough… Often things I make have the hard exterior with the kinda-doughy-grossness from not being cooked the proper way which is….? thanks!
I made this yesterday, and it was everything I dreamed it would be and more. I didn’t have any rye flour, but happened to have a bottle of Rye Stout homebrew on hand, so I still managed to get a bit of rye flavor involved. And to kick it up just an extra notch, I topped a slice with pulled pork for an excellent open-faced pulled pork pull apart bread sandwich. Thanks for the recipe, it’s made my day.
Oh, YUM!
Periodically I am reminded how far behind I am on innovative/COOL recipes, and your pull-apart bread was definitely an eye opener! Not only have I never in my life heard of pull apart bread, but I am so mystified by it that as soon as my Super Bowl leftovers have been demolished, I will be attempting this recipe! :)
First you started with the potato chips and now the beer…what can I say but I love both! There is something so good about pull apart bread as you rip your share off and devour it. This is one version I must try so am bookmarking it now!
I made this at my uncle’s Super Bowl party just now and it’s a hit! I used jalapeño mustard and four dashes of Tabasco and it’s got some nice heat to it.
If I pulled open a delicious crispy-top and tender center pull apart bread and did NOT see gooey cinnamon sugar staring back at me, I would probably drop my jaw in shock then shed a tear for all misfortunes in the world then search furiously for someone to blame and then….wait a minute, as I look down to see my sweetness replaced with the shining gold of gooey cheddar cheese I would regain my composure and devour my new treasure with delighted gratitude. Thank you for bringing this bundle of yeast-y pub ingredients into the world.
Oh, man! Why didn’t I stop buy before today? This is, like, PERFECT for a super bowl party!
I made it tonight. The ends were perfect but the center was underdone and doughy. It was really fun to make, though. I think next time I’d tuck the stacks of “cards” into a muffin pan. Seems like that would allow them to cook through a bit better.
they have a DELICIOUS welsh rarebit (rabbit) sandwich at lillie’s victorian in union square!
Hi Deb, can’t thank you enough for this awesome recipe! I followed it exactly and it was every bit as amazing as it looked, and not nearly as difficult as I feared. Soooo good with chile and beer. Yay giants! Yay Deb!
This. Is. Genious! My love of beer and cheese will live on. Up to now it’s just been beer and fondue. Or, if I’m particularly lazy, beer and cheddar goldfish. Judge if you must! And now, without ever seeing it before, I really want Welsh Rarebit. Oh dear.
Didn’t have the paprika so I subbed with cayenne. It gets better the more you eat…that is supported by my gfriend! Not too shabby, I must say!
I made this tonight and it was soooooooo good! I have been thinking of variations: caramelized onions and gruyere, jalapeno and cheddar (and bacon?), feta and olive, manchego and some kind of jam, blue cheese and walnuts. I have to have more parties so I can try all these!
I have to be stuffed with food in order to read this wonderful blog. Just sayin’.
Made this yesterday! Pretty good, but next time I think I’ll up the amount of cheese, and throw in some more spice. It’s a very rich bread, and the mustard and hot sauce didn’t add quite enough bite for my tastes. (though from your pictures I see you used horseradish mustard, so maybe that was my problem!)
Hi there! Saw this recipe up on Flipboard and I decided to give it a try. Changed a few things — flour to wholewheat flour and 1tbsp of vital wheat gluten,, no mustard powder so upped the dijon mustard contents, then since I happened to have a bottle of Hoppy, used that instead of beer. The result is unbelievable! Thanks so much for the recipe. Next time I might experiment with adding a little bit of garlic powder, or garlic and parsley sauteed in olive oil. Very smart idea, thanks once again for the recipe.
I’ve made this before with cinnamon and cocoa, but this is a whole ‘nother level of greatness. Since I don’t think it would work to have you overnight mail one to Africa, I’ll have to make one myself. Mmm, my family will flip!
WoW, What a lovely thing ? i can’t wait to taste it. I think the toughest thing in the recipe is making of dough. It should be soft enough and with good proposition.
You can get welsh rarebit in Minneapolis St. Paul. We’re very exotic.
My husband brews beer at home. I’d be incredibly curious how his would taste in a bread. I have to be careful I’d imagine because his tends to have a very high alcohol content. I’m definitely trying this at some point this week. Also… chocolate + salt = yum, even if it is potato chips. Glad we are all “abnormal.” :)
The bread sits in the fridge, fully assembled, and waits for tonight. I’m going to bake it up just in time for dinner.
The dough is awesome, by the way. I needed a tiny bit more flour (about a tablespoon) for it to come together, but it was so easy to roll out, I almost didn’t need a rolling pin. It was like the dough WANTED to be spread.
Assembly tip: Push and scoop the dough strip together into folds before picking it up with both hands. The dough doesn’t stick together easily and this way it’s less likely to stretch. Start layering from the middle, bringing the hands apart and letting the strip slip gently on our stack.
I made this last night and it’s not nearly as complicated/scary as it looks. It was the first thing I made with my kitchen aid mixer so it will always hold a special spot in my memory. I also found that the inside was a bit doughy and had to bake it a bit longer but in the end it was SO yummy. Thanks, Deb!
This reminds me of Nigella Lawson’s Welsh rarebit muffins. I’m going to try making those with beer next time.
For some reason, the very smell of mustard turns my stomach. Recipes like this make me feel like I’m missing something. However, this has triggered a cascade of ideas. Caramelized onions and olives, tomato and fresh mozzarella with herbed olive oil, playing up the beer aspect by using some barley flour…
I made an Onion/Gruyere pull apart bread just like that at Thanskgiving last year, but it never fully cooked in the center … but I didn’t let the loaf rise before it went in the oven and I’m wondering if that might have been the problem. It is definitely worth trying again! Thank you for your expert tips!
Looks delicious! Can’t wait to try this recipe!
What a great treat for last nights gathering!
Made both the sweet version and this savory delight
and it was divine. Great with a beam dip or
Salsa on the side. Would like to try with scallions and
and white chess perhaps. Two thumbs and any opposable
more ups!
Love the savory idea of this bread – a little more cheese in bread never hurt anyone! This dough you can totally make in advance I am sure and then adapt the recipe to the crowd!
I already had plans for Welsh Rarebit tonight for dinner as hubby is out of town and this is one of my guilty pleasures that I don’t admit in public. That being said -this bread looks heavenly. As for the Welsh Rarebit Soup recipe, I do make a Wisconsin Beer Cheese Soup and try as I might with the ingredients that make Welsh Rarebit a standout, it doesn’t replicate in the soup.
Oh you are a saint! Just in time for me to make for our Blue Water Cruising fleet meeting where we each have to bring something that we would/might make if we were on one of our ocean voyages… and this scrummy bread is perfect! Making bread on board is one of my favourite pastimes! Thank you, thank you, thank you!
I had literally just finished reading this on Saturday afternoon when my cousin flung open my front door and, holding up grocery bags, said, “DIDYOUSEETHENEWSMITTENKITCHENPOSTIBOUGHTTHINGSTOMAKEIT!!”
She’s my favorite.
Natalie — Your cousin is awesome!
Holy crap, this is going on my “I MUST MAKE THIS” list!
AMAZINGNESS. I wish I had a cousin like Natalie’s (above) so I could make this bread right now!! and eat it with some tomato souppp!
You cease to amaze me! What great work you do! I love this bread.
made the chedder bread, clementine cake and apple sharlotka (second time) yesterday. awsome! thank you!
Aww, Negra Modelo was my favorite beer to drink in Mexico!
My sweet and salty childhood obession was red Jello topped with crushed Triscuits. Can still taste it!
Yum! Made this yesterday and it was a huge hit! Used Guinness.
I’m stuffed from dinner and I still want to try that bread. It looks amazing!
Pull apart bread? Yes please!
Thank you SO MUCH for posting this!!
I made it yesterday and it tasted EXACTLY like Welsh rarebit that I’d made before, but somehow I felt like this was “healthier” (I know it’s not, but shhh). I am also really glad to see this recipe because I saw the cinnamon sweet version before but the recipe looked so complicated that I have never worked up the courage to make it. Thanks for totally demystifying this recipe for me! I’m going to make the sweet version next weekend!
this recipe was STUNNING! I had never made any form of bread before this, but they way that you write and the pictures you share, made me feel like I could take this one on. I did. And it was amazing. Thank you for inspiring me to cook.
I’m half Welsh so as soon as I saw the photo with worcestershire sause, beer, mustard and cheese, I knew exactly where this was going.
I’m going to be picky but according to my grandparents it’s welsh rabbit, rarebit only came on board to sound more posh.
I plead with everyone, learn how to make welsh rabbit and make yourself a steak sammich (with this bread) with pickles, shreaded iceberg and welsh rabbit and you . will . die! It’s the shiz.
Awesome idea . thats great but i think its really hard to do i cant make it on time coz im busy. anyway great great great post :)
Wow! Just wow!
wow!Just look like yummy and delicious!actually I like bread and most especially those healthy diet balance food. It would be better to eat healthy foods to taking good care of our body. I was fat before and I tried to discipline my self just to have this kind of weight!however when I tried to see the yummy bread I can’t help to control my self!:).. pretty cool!I hope I could see other recipe to add up on my recipe book. this time i’ll try to bake breads for my friends this coming party!
I love beer bread, although I’ve never gone the mustard route. I normally use Cave Creek Chili Beer, diced jalapenos and cheddar (as a sourdough it’s to die for!). I’ll have to try this one out next!!
i want… oh how i want…
Oh, this looks completely decadent. I’m trying so hard to be good, but then I read food blogs and want to make (and eat) it all!
As a vegetarian, I’ll have to sub for the Worcestershire sauce. While I found one, once, that didn’t have anchovies in it, I cannot for the life of me remember which brand it was.
be still my heart!! I have one Stout and one pale ale. I’d pick the stout, but wonder…would it be over powering?
Ugh I’m KICKING myself for not reading this post earlier so I could have brought this to a Super Bowl party. Looks amazing – will just need to find another time to make it!
Growing up, we would very infrequently have some kind of frozen Welsh rarebit for dinner, and even the frozen ones are pretty delicious. It’s hard to mess up cheese, and as someone whose favorite food is toast, I was pretty much in heaven.
This looks too good to comment upon with mere words so I will have to stop writing right now and get the kitchen at once.
You gone n’ done it again! :)
This bread looks delicious! I’d love to try it but I’m having trouble with the page – the lines are all messed up. This isn’t happening on other sites I visit – is the server having problems? I’ve reloaded the webpage many times and it keeps happening. I can make out an occasional word but most of the lines are smeared on top of eachother.
Oh my! I am sooooo making this tonight!
This looks so damn amazing, I have to make it as soon as possible! I don’t have a stand-up mixer.. would you recommend just some additional kneading by hand (7-8 min)? Thanks!
This looks amazing and ticks every craving I’ve been having in the past week. I’ve taken a HUGE chance and attempted to make the bread. My dough has finally started to rise (it only took over 12 hours) and I’m looking forward to attempting to roll it out, adding the cheese and getting this bread into the oven.
wow beer bread witha cheese kicker, nice
Holy hell this was amazing. Only three of us working on it, didn’t last an hour. Next time I will have to double the batch.
i loved cheese . i just noticed many people reading your blog :)
well good work .
Deb, you might like this Guardian look at “perfect” Welsh Rabbit. In fact, you’ll probably enjoy the whole series. http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2011/oct/27/how-to-cook-perfect-welsh-rarebit
I have some Guinness left over from Sunday’s CarBomb Cupcakes. Perhaps this is a great reason to get the 6 pack of Guinness instead of the pint. What else should I add to the Stout menu?
Looks awesome! Can’t wait ’til I have sometime to try it. I applaud your will power to make preschool pick-up. I think my daughter might have been waiting, if it was me. just discovered this site. LOVE IT!
Can’t wait to go home and try making this! It looks devine, and I love a good excuse to fire up the stand mixer :-) First time on your blog, and I’m hooked!
This bread looks absolutely divine. I can’t wait to try making it because I can’t wait to eat it. Love your site!
I think there is a problem with the thread of questions under your red velvet cake. It looks like a virus has attacked the page- the last few comments have just been strings of “????????s” I apologize for re-posting this question but it is rather urgent
Deb, I have a question and I need a very honest answer. I have to make a red velvet cake this Saturday- I’ve never made one before. Like you, I just don’t get the craze- I’m hoping I will be converted as well. Here’s the deal, I think the reason I’m not in love with them is that they always taste dry. (If mine comes out even slightly moist, I could easily take all the business from the local bakery- talk about over-priced cardboard) Now, I have researched several recipes. I’m sitting here with my James Beard book on my lap, Buddy Valastro’s version in another tab, and a print out of Paula Dean’s (not a fan of hers but I figured with something like this she might be the authority). The two cups of oil in your recipe is freaking me out. I trust you over the over sources…but all that oil?! I do not have time to make a practice cake, I have one shot. I don’t want a dry cake- but 2 cups of oil?! Is this thing going to be greasy?
Also, there is no cake flour in london- for every cup of flour i just replace 2tbs with corn starch right?
PS- those soy ginger turkey meatballs were much better with the added bread and water- thank you for the tip!
thank you!
Welsh rarebit is a seriously underrated food. Wheeeee!
You are killing it! What a brilliant, dirty, absolutely perfect recipe!
Dear God. I just gasped out loud. That doesn’t happen very often. I’m absolutely making this. Wow.
This looks phenomenal! There are so many good things going on in this bread-How you come up with these combinations is beyond me, but please keep doing so!
Hi! I am fairly new to your site, but I love, love, love it so far! I’ve made a few things (the Dijon chicken is my absolute new fave) and everything has been AH-MAZING! I was wanting to do this for a party I’m having in a few weeks. Do you think this would be able to be adapted slightly and made in a muffin tin, for rolls? Or would that just completely throw a wrench in everything? Any advice you have would be greatly appreciated! Also, when is the book slated to print? I can’t wait to buy it!
Hi Madeline — To make them in muffin tins, I might take this approach. Or, you could make rolls a la cinnamon rolls, with strips of dough. It might be easier. The book will be out this October and I promise to let everyone know when it’s available!
I recently became obsessed with pull-apart bread, this takes it to a whole new level! Amazing!
I think I just fell in love.
Deb, I bit the bullet and searched for Smitten Kitchen on Amazon, and I see there’s a “Smitten Kitchen Cookbook” available for preorder – is that legit?!
That is brilliant!! I could eat almost all of that pull-apart bread;)—the rich spicy flavors and flaky layers from your pictures make me so hungry!!
Holy crap. I want to give birth to this bread and never let it leave my side
This looks amazing! I can’t wait to try it. One thing that may work better than trying to cut the stacks with a knife is to cut them with dental floss. My grandmother always cut cinnamon rolls with dental floss rather than a knife. The cut is much cleaner, and it doesn’t “crush” the edges. You would slide the dental floss under the stack, and cross the two ends of the floss so that they form an X and then continue pulling in floss in the same direction until the floss cuts all the way through the dough.
This looks great! I wish I had some beer right now.
Being a visual kind of gal…I’m wondering if you could include a picture of the finished dish with the printable recipe?
Wow. Amazing. Are you sure you’re not pregnant again? Haha! These posts are the stuff good cravings are made for- Thank you!
all i can say is “WoW” this is nice good photos of it and nice adding spice.
Deb, my mouth was literally watering just reading the list of ingredients! I told my boyfriend “Oh my god, you have to come look at this bread I’m going to make” and he replied, “No way. It’s 2am. I see the look on your face and I don’t want to feel that way.” Can’t wait to try this one out.
My stomach started growling before my brain could even fully process the rest. Gawk, wow!!
I have never seen “pull-apart bread” before. Looks happily messy, and totally delicious.
This looks amazing. I will defiantly be playing with this one. I have been making “bubble bread” for years, this is a whole new spin
Every time I read something about Welsh rarebit, I want it. I have yet to have it, but this bread looks so over-the-top good, that it will certainly do for now. Beer, cheddar, bread. I should have been born a man :)
I’ve seen a fair bit of the sweet pull-apart breads, but very few savory ones. I think the cheese n’ mustard combination works perfectly – even better with extra butter on top!
I probably could eat that whole loaf while watching one movie! With a beer or three, it could turn into dinner. And who would stop me? Obviously not you!!!
I’m pretty sure you could find a way to put beer in ice cream and make it taste good.
I have a completely unrelated question (although this does look awesome). So I don’t cook meat very often, but bought some spicy italian sausage at the store. I want to toss it together with some kale and pasta, but how do you cook it in those nice coins? Do you cook it first, and then slice? Or slice and then cook? Help!
I made this as a side tonight to go with my homemade ham and bean soup. I have to say it was a hearty and wonderful accompaniment. The bread was great scooping the leftover soup from the side of the bowl. A home run!
Whoa, this is such a cool idea! I will definitely be trying this recipe.
My husband thanks you in advance. :)
Hey – Did you see your shout out in In Style this month? Check out page 522. Actress Rose Byrne made your pumpkin cheesecake and loved it. Congrats!
I completely adore this! I can’t wait to try it out. Also I’ve been dreaming about your salted caramel sauce! Thanks for the inspiration!
Great, I have an ever growing sour dough start that is forcing me to make bread. Bacon sure chips maybe, bbq. Your method, stacking begs madness.
Food love. Pinning it!
Deb-missing you…
Made this last night, and it was one of the most delicious things I’ve ever had. I don’t have a standup mixer, but my bread machine has a dough-making function, and it worked perfectly. Thank you for such a scrumptuous idea! I also prefer savory to sweet most times, and even my boyfriend who isn’t a big fan of mustard gobbled it up and called it delicious. We had the buttermilk roast chicken with it – fabulous meal!
This has occupied my thoughts since you posted it and today it will occupy my afternoon! Can’t wait to east it.
I am not a baker by any means so this should be interesting!
Just had this with some chili…WOW this is a keeper for sure! Thanks DEB!
What an awesome recipe. After a pretty ridiculous weekend of baking cookies, still I couldn’t resist making this with dinner, and it’s just delicious. Looking forward to trying your scrambled eggs pairing suggestion!
Just one tip- don’t use anything overly hoppy- I’ve made breads with hopped up ales, and the hop bitterness bakes into this weird flavor that invariably accentuate the salt for some reason. The bread comes out salty. Though here it might not be so bad.
I lurk and I finally decided to try making one of your recipes. I followed it to a tee but ended up with a dry and brittle mess. what did I do wrong?
I it took me hours to make this :(
My boyfriend saw me on your website and got a glimpse of this. So made it for him as a pre-valentine treat! Amazing and surprisingly not that difficult to make :) thanks!
Haha, not weird at all! Something about this just looks downright fantastic!
can’t wait to make this this weekend. do you think i could do it without a stand mixer? i have made cinnamon pull apart bread without one so i’m guessing yes…
Mine’s on the second rise right now… I hope it turns out okay, because it didn’t rise at ALL for the first one! I have no idea what went wrong. Wrong beer, maybe? Hopefully the final product won’t be too hard/tough, because this looked like such a delicious recipe!
That looks soooo delicious, but I don’t wanna make it! Any chance I can place an order and have it delivered????
That is a fun and tasty bread. I made one once with hazelnuts and chocolate for a sweet version of pull-apart bread and it was so yummy.
I saw this recipe and all I could think to say was, “Shut up!” Making this now.
Um…yeah. I need to figure out how to make that gluten free. Like yesterday.
OMG. Wow. Where are these places to be traveled that serve such amazing flavor combinations? And what the heck is wrong with you, thinking there’s not ALL sorts of weird closet flavor combos that people love? Have you ever had Cheetos on a peanut butter and white bread sandwich? That’s only the tip of the odd food phenomenon…thank goodness for you, Deb :-)
http://shine.yahoo.com/shine-food/20-weird-food-combinations-people-eat-579073.html
I, luckily am from a part of the world where we relish the welsh rarebit and this sounds utterly divine, a must try soon!
This bread is so pretty! I didn’t have enough cheese so the filling was skimpy, but it was very good nonetheless. I ate it with some sour cream and Mexican salsa sauce or plain. I made it 2 days ago and I’m still eating it with no lack in taste.
I just made this and will definitely be making it again for a potluck dinner this week. I don’t have a stand mixer but kneading it by hand worked just fine. Delicious!
i made this for friends, and it was an instant hit. love it.
My friend brought this to a potluck last night, except he also put kalamata olives in it. It was RIDICULOUSLY good. Thank you so much for the recipe! I’ll be making this again soon.
Can you make this using sliced bread??
Oh my gosh! A big “thank you” and “Why?!” for posting this. It looks too good to be true. I can’t wait to try this recipe!! :)
oh man, you make my mouth water. I’m going to have to make this.
mmm
I have family coming over next Saturday. I needed to add something to the table to impress. I think this will defiantly do the trick. Thank you!
I will definitely be trying this recipe and the potato chip cookies on the boys! I may even drink the remaining Negra Modelo while baking!
I can’t wait to try this bread! I love pull-apart breads and this has the perfect flavors. mmmm, It must smell amazing when it bakes.
I make bread all the time and love the idea of the pull apart loaf :o) I can’t wait to give this one a try.
Hey there Deb, this is Mary From The Wedding (last year’s great wedding cake escapade (5 sheet cakes) that you helped me with – thinking by fat chance that you remember me …and all came out excellent by the way- recollection of me or not) BUT, from now on i want you to ‘know’ me as Mary Moss. What the hell! I know your name- right?
Anyway. I guess I’m the odd girl out with Krista and Sarah in that it was perfect on the outside and uneatable gooey on the inside. Rats! I can try again and bake longer, since no one else had this problem.
Good directions and i like the step by step photos- i always grasp really well when you do this for a tricky one.
Jealous of your tropical vacation- have a great time!
Hi Mary — I remember you! One of my loaves had this problem too. The next one I increased the baking time (to what I suggested) and it wasn’t but with bread especially, I think there’s a lot of variation in baking times between ovens. Hope you have more luck next time. Also, you can probably bake the unbaked center part on a pan for a bit at 350 until it is cooked through. It will be messy and oddly shaped but still delicious, I’d hope.
I’m so anxious for the opportunity to make this bread! I can’t justify making it for myself just for that feeling of complete gluttony when I realize that I ate the whole thing myself…(looking at my empty bag of Hershey Kisses)..You’re not getting me again, Temptation!!!
I made this bread this weekend – the first bread I have ever made! It was really delicious, thank you so very much for the recipe.
Two notes:
a) I messed up the proportions when rolling out (I knew I should not have guesstimated it) and ended up with too thin a rectangle. The pieces were too small, so I ended up cutting them even smaller (about 3×1″) and stacking them three abreast in the tin. This modification changed the look of the bread, but made it even easier to pull apart (which I have to say I liked – and might have to do again).
b) I also undercooked it . The two outer layers were cooked perfectly, but the inner layer was still soggy. We ate it anyway – this bread is that good.
This looks so good and so tempting, if only I was not limiting my dairy intake I’d try this recipe out in a heart beat. Thanks for the post!
I just pulled this out of the oven. TOTALLY worth the waiting for the rising..etc. We used Copper Bell beer and it turned out fantastic. Also..we are trying to limit our dairy as well, so we used Whole Foods’ almond cheese. It worked great..tastes amazing! We also topped ours with grilled vegetables and pizza sauce…delish!
It just emerged from the oven and everyone’s right–it is as amazing as it sounds. I don’t have a stand mixer (one day, one will be mine!), so I kneaded it by hand. It didn’t seem to be rising during the first rise, so I was nervous about my yeast! And I also left it in the oven about 10 extra minutes based on comments about the inside being undercooked. But despite these adjustments and four hours of uncertainty/worry– damn, it’s delicious. Bravo, smitten kitchen. I’m excited to make some variations with gruyere/jalapeno in the future and excited to get feedback on it when I bring it to a potluck this afternoon!
So I made this for an Oscar party tonight (THE Pull up-ARTIST Bread), and I’m having a very difficult time fighting the urge to eat the entire loaf myself before the party. It smells AMAZING!
…Ok, I admit, I nibbled a piece off the end. Shouldn’t have done that…
Made this today and LOVE. Where do you get the little glass jars you use for spices?!?!
This bread looks absolutely decadent! It’s definitely going on my St. Paddy’s Day menu. My husband is already bugging me to make it this weekend!
OMG. Until this very moment, I thought the “Flo Braker” that was in my mom’s recipe card for the best apple pie was a family friend or something. I grew up with “Flo Braker’s Apple Pie,” and I never thought to question who that was. Game Changer.
Made the bread for superbowl, but it wasn’t cooked all the way through, even though I left it in longer than the time in the recipe! hated to waste such a great recipe (and ingredients and it smelled/ looked fantastic), so we put it back in the pan and cooked for awhile longer, but unfortunately that was too long (got a bit distracted by friends and preschoolers) and it dried out (that didn’t prevent me from eating it anyway). I used a stone bread/ loaf pan and I’m wondering if that was it (?didn’t heat up fast enough?). It was work but fun making the mess and your pixs and steps made it less daunting….
Looking at the photos made me salivate!!!!!!
Gonna try making ’em one day! Yummy!
I’m on my way to my friend’s house to make this! We LOVE pull apart!!
Between the first photo and the title, I knew I had to make this. Yesterday I tested it on some friends. They admired how awesome it looked for a few seconds and then immediately dug in. And even though we had a full meal ahead of us, no one could stop eating it. Completely addictive. I was really pleased with how well the beer flavor carried into the finished loaf, and the sharp Vermont cheddar I used was perfect for this. Next time I will try the rye flour (used all APF this time). Thanks for the great recipe!
i find that a pizza cutter works best instead of a knife to slice the dough.
I made this over the weekend for a potluck. I made two loaves and they were gone almost immediately. Incredibly delicious, especially as a mustard-lover. Thank you so much for posting this! I live in a co-op, and we cook a lot of your recipes; the carrot-ginger-miso soup is a particular favorite in the house.
We just pulled this out of the oven an hour ago and we can’t stop eating it. It is fantastic! The proportions of cheesy and mustardy and bready bits are just right, and the flavors work together perfectly. I’m not much of a bread baker, and I’m happy with how easy the dough was to manipulate. I looked at the related recipe from Flo Braker, and while that would have scared me off, your instructions were somehow much less daunting. Having two people made assembly easier, especially since our loaf pan won’t sit on its side properly due to slanted sides. Also, we found a bench scraper helpful for lifting the 12×4″ panels, and also for lifting the 4×2″ stacks into the pan. We’d absolutely make it again, even though it was a bit of work… but, y’know, we were already making a cauliflower cheddar soup and your dijon-braised brussel sprouts… :-) Thanks for the inspiration!
i made this for a baby shower tonight and it was an instant hit. thanks so much! i will be making it again. :)
I made this bread for a bridesmaid party and it was gone before I could set it down! It went great with my famous cheddar brats.
This looks really good. I can’t wait to make this for my family!
I’ve made this bread twice in the last two weeks – its the perfect sunday afternoon accompaniment to anything! The first time i accidentally added the cheddar mixture into the melted butter-sauce-mustard mixture and ended up with soggy cheese, but it turned out pretty well when i chilled it.
I have to say that everyone who eats it loves it! They finished the loaves in under ten minutes. Thank you deb :)
OMG. I have never seen anything like this before. I’m stunned. And suddenly feeling very hungry… I can’t wait to try this.
I will have to make this for my son…..three of his favorites, cheddar, beer and mustard. It looks incredible!
I cant wait to try this I got the dough in my fridge right now so i can finish making it tomorrow for dinner. I’m going to be making your tomato soup to go along with it too. These will be the first recipes I’ll be trying from your website after looking at your recipes till the wee hours of the morning.
Thank you so much for sharing this wildly delicious recipe! We absolutely loved it. Made it a few weeks back as an accompaniment to a cheddar cheese and potato soup (no such thing as too much cheese in my book!). I shared a little with my husband and helped myself to the rest…thank you, thank you, thank you!
So, I created a wildly optimistic menu for my annual St. Patrick’s Day party this year, and (thank goodness) I had volunteer sous chef friends to help out, who took on this multi-step recipe with aplomb while surrounded by a melange of soda bread, corned beef, and veggies in various states of preparation. It was so delicious, an absolute hit. Next year hopefully I’ll be more prepared and try to make it myself ahead of time, so we can have more, because it disappeared in a snap!
Hi, I was wondering if there is something other than Worcestershire sauce that I could use? I was going to try this recipe tonight, it looks delicious!
I think there is a word missing in the ingredients:
“1/4 cup plus 1/3 beer”
Should that actually say “1/4 cup plus 1/3 cup beer” (or something else)? Wanted to check before trying the recipe. :)
Thanks!
Hi Linsday — Yes, it’s 1/4 cup plus 1/3 cup beer.
Thanks! That’s what I thought, but I wanted to make sure. :)
Mother of Pearl this stuff is AMAZING!! I have made it 2 times now. The 1st I had a similar problem with the center being doughy (not that that is actually a problem…) The 2nd time I made it I upped the ingredients a tad (just a TAD more mustard/pepper/cheese etc) & used a pastry knife to cut wads of dough into approx 1’X1′ pieces. I layered them into a Bundt pan & alternated a layer of dough wads/mustard liquid & cheese. It baked PERFECTLY in 27 min. I made a tiny extra batch of the filling liquid & brushed it over the bottom & top (once inverted) Did I mention it was AMAZING!!! Perfect bite sized pieces (I make my Monkey bread in this same style) This is now a GO TO recipe for me!!!
P.S. I added some beer to the filling liquid as well, droooooooooool!!!
You are a foodie genius, thank you for having a blog!!!!
I recently found your blog and made the Leek and Swiss Chard Tart, which I loved. But what inspired me where you lists, especially the do-able “To Cook” list. I plan to create one, and this bread will be added to mine. I am determined to get past my fear of things containing yeast. Thanks!
Hi! can you use a breadmaker for this recipe?
Thank you so much for this recipe. It was amazing, and I plan on making it again and again.
Sadly, mine didn’t look as beautiful as yours, but it sure was tasty.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/spyker3292/6953221928/
Can’t wait for your cookbook!
Fantastic idea! I’ve taken it and altered it slightly – I used garlic butter (with oregano and parsley from the garden) in place of the sauce, and ordinary mild NZ cheddar with a little bit of parmesan.
IT WAS AMAZING!
Deb, did you use dark or light rye flour? Do you typically use one over the other? Since you use rye in some of your other recipes too, I went to my store looking for it and they only had dark rye flour.
Yikes, I don’t remember at all. I think in some recipes, it definitely matters. Here, it’s the smallest amount, and using a slightly different flour won’t have any profound effect.
Tasty, but I found it stuck really badly to the bottom of the pan, and fell apart a bit when I tried to scrape it out. Oh well, pulling apart earlier rather than later isn’t a terrible thing!
Great recipe! I made it last night and now half of the loaf is already gone! I followed everything step except I did not have worcestershire suace, so I added bbq sauce. I also baked it for 45 min. and it came out done. ( I baked longer because some reviewers said they had a problem with under baking). Next time I’m going to try a sweet version of this.
I love this recipe, and it makes my husband even more happy! Have made it twice already and we have already decided it will be a tradition to make this bread for EVERY holiday…because once is not enough:)
made this a few months ago. SO good. i think next time i will make extra saucy filling for the center and to brush on top of the bread. the flavors was amazing. took longer to cook than stated above but that must be because of my old cold oven ;) thinking of making this again this weekend…. maybe with pepperjack cheese?… oooh a Southwestern pull apart sounds nummy
This was great. I’ve made it twice and shall again in the future. Mustard, cheddar and dough are a great combination of some of my favorites. Also the first time I’ve had success with yeast in a while (I mixed by hand).
Thanks for the explicit measurements (pan size, dough at various stages), they helped me rework the instructions for the narrower pans I had around.
When I saw you used Negra Modello, I immediately thought of my boyfriend (I doubled the recipe to have a loaf for myself as well) and thought this would be perfect to send as an anniversary present.
My first concern is that bread might not travel well–but this bread only gets better with age. The mustard and beer flavors become more prominent with age and the bread itself stays moist and delectable–perhaps with the aid from that delicious buttery filling.
Needless to say, it reached him today and he loved it.
Thank you so much for all these incredible recipes and pictures. As a newbie cook, I can’t think of a better, more thorough resource to make incredible food that guides you both in clear, written instruction and beautiful photography as well.
Quite literally, my family and I gobble up every new entry on Smitten Kitchen (the tzatziki potato salad is amazing! And I have a feeling that my mom will have the rhubarb snacking cake in the oven very soon/)
Best wishes,
-Joh
If I’m majorly opposed to mustard but really want to make this… is there something I could substitute for the mustard? Or could this be one of those things that makes a convert out of me.
I love this idea! can I make the dough, freeze it then make this a few days later ?
The taste was great .and wasn’t very hard.next time I’m going to try chocholet filling or maybe with fruit filling .thanks for the recipe .
Can I used root beer instead of beer?
Of all of the recipes in my recipe Pinterest board, THIS is the one that my 9-yr old niece wanted to make with me while we were visiting. We made it – it was a hit! SO delicious!! Thanks Deb!!
This looks absolutely amazing! I was hoping to bring this to a friend’s weekend lake house but I wanted to make it at my place first. Do you recommend a specific way to reheat it or would it be possible to assemble it unbaked and bake it at her place?
Holy cow, this is amazing! It’s the best bread I’ve ever baked, unbelievably delicious. I’ve already tried a few of your recipes, and they were all very very good, but this tops them all (and I usually have a ratehr sweet tooth).
I’m preparing for a long road trip for a family reunion and I think this would be the perfect date for me. What happens if I attempt to freeze it after it’s all assembled? Can I just pop it in the oven and bake it for an extra few minutes or am I messing with yeast physics?
Wow, just made this and it was absolutely delicious. Took some time but totally worth it. I made extra cheese mixture as I found I ran out topping up the 4th strip. My boyfriend thought I was mad until he tasted it. Best part was I still had leftover stout to drink with it!
After having this on my list of things to make for MONTHS, I finally took the plunge. It was well worth it! Not so hard, and very tasty. I’m in the ‘more cheese please’ camp, but that pretty much defines my whole life. Thanks for this wonderful recipe!
I just made this and now I can’t stop eating it! My husband just has to pray to have some leftovers when he gets home. Mwahaha. Thanks for the delicious recipe.
Just made this – comment 374 unlikely to change the world. Added chipotle (rehydrated in beer, obviously) to the cheese – marvelous. Thanks!
I made this and it was amazing. I added some cayenne for extra spicy and it was amazing!
I am making this today (second rise as I type!) to go with your black bean soup. And I cannot wait to see you tomorrow at the Wellesley book signing!!!!!
omg. OMG. This is beyond words! I used an Irish stout I received in a gift basket and the bread came out beautifully! I didn’t have instant yeast so I mixed regular yeast (I forget what its called!) with the beer/butter mixture for a few minutes. Perfect!
Deb, I love all of your food. It’s always so delicious! I just had to tell you that I made this for my husband’s birthday tailgate and made one loaf and one batch of pull-apart muffins that were totally divine. My loaf was a little gooey in the center, so I kept putting it back in, but the muffin version was perfect and would also be so good as dinner rolls! Thanks for all of your great recipes :)
I just had an amazing Welsh rarebit at a restaurant called Virtue Feed and Grain in Oldtown Alexandria. They served it with sauteed onions, garlic, and eggplant and it was unbelievable. The restaurant itself was super neat as well.
I also had their spiced hot chocolate and homemade marshmallows, which blew my mind.
I just made this for the big game today but must have made some mistake… the dough never appeared to rise the first or second time. Should the dough have been placed in a slightly warmer area? Or maybe I just got the measurements wrong. Is there any way you could add weights to the recipe?
I still have hope that it will be edible since it’s the PERFECT combo of all things I love and maybe, just maybe the bread gods will look favorably upon my oven. Thanks for the beautiful recipes that have kept myself, my boyfriend, friends and family properly spoiled on quality food ^_^
GillyB — Just added weights. If it hasn’t risen and you’re sure your yeast was good, just give it more time. Yeast varies. Temperatures can affect rising times, which are really just estimates. Also, you’re sure you were using Instant Yeast, right?
great googly moogly. just came out of the oven and i am having a TOUGH time waiting for hubby to come home to tear into it!
Everything went to plan until I put it in the oven. It baked at 350 for 28 minutes, and the tops and sides were puffy and golden brown, but the dough in the middle was still raw! Anyone else have this problem? Ps the raw dough with crispy sides was still delicious…
Hi! Any suggestions for a substitute for Worcestershire sauce, other than soy sauce? This looks awesome but I’m a vegetarian with a soy allergy, so that rules out Worcestershire sauce and the usual substitute I’ve seen online (soy sauce). Looks delicious! Hoping to make this tonight, as long as I can come up with something to cook with it :)
So has anybody tried doing the second rise in the fridge overnight? Like, if I made the dough through slicing and putting it into my loaf pan the night before, could I refrigerate it and then pull it out for the 35-40 minute rise the next morning? I want to surprise my hubby with this for a Sunday splurge breakfast, but the thought of getting up that early and sneaking around trying to make it without him knowing is well nigh impossible.
@Lindsey: I’d use one-to-one mix of tomato paste and red wine vinegar, plus a dash of salt and sriracha (tho I don’t know if sriracha has soy, and can’t fathom why anyone would suggest swapping soy sauce for worcestershire).
I just made this last weekend for a beer and bacon party. I added six thin strips of bacon, fried and crumbled, to the filling, omitting the salt and replacing 2T. of the butter with bacon fat. I also used bread flour (possibly this was the source of my troubles… I let it rise three times, though, so the finished product was tender and light). IT WAS DELICIOUS. It was also a PAIN to make.
I don’t have a dough hook, so I tried to do it by hand; I make bread by hand all the time, and I thought it would be fine. This dough is sticky, thick, and unworkable. A 20 minute rest was required before I could even consider anything like kneading the dough, and even then it required an additional 1/2 c. of flour.
The rest of the building process (roll, brush, layer, cut, and stack) went relatively easily, albiet with a thick layer of flour on the counter. And when it came out of the oven it was beautifully browned and smelled utterly mouthwatering. But it was stuck to — no, it was GLUED into — the pan, thanks to all that melting cheese. After some swearing and creative use of paring knife and spatula, I discovered (having neglected to break out the thermometer) that the middle section of the loaf was uncooked. I covered it with foil, popped it back into the oven for twenty minutes. The middle of the loaf was still a little undercooked when I took it out and sliced it, but perfectly fine when toasted. Totally worth it. :)
Next time, I’d get a dough hook, use AP flour, line the pan with foil or parchment, bake for an additional fifteen minutes, cover with foil about halfway through the baking time, and use an actual thermometer to decide if it’s done.
This was so good. It doesn’t look as nice as yours but I love it! Would love to see a sweet pull apart bread! Thanks for all your inspiring recipes and pictures.
I just made this for the second time today and it was delicious yet again. I didn’t have instant yeast, though, only active dry, and I’d already measured out and heated the beer and butter mixture. I’m happy to report that dissolving your active dry yeast (1 tbsp.) in butter and beer instead of water does not appear to have a deleterious effect on either the yeast or the eventual bread. No problems with rise and the bread was moist and chewy.
So I want to make this for a post-weight-loss-challenge party for my boyfriend and a coworker, but it’s been insisted that I add bacon to everything. How do you suggest I do that?
I don’t see why you can’t put crisped bits of bacon between the layers with the cheese.
This is one of my husband’s favorite things on earth – he says I must love him so much when I make it because it’s the perfect blend of the best savory items. This last time I prepared it, we were driving 21 hours straight and needed munchies. To make it easier as travel food, I rolled and cut it cinnamon-roll style. I made twice the Worchestershire filling this time too – I think maybe because I gave it too long to cool, it started to thicken and it didn’t spread as easily. Anyway, we loved the snack size! I would highly recommend it if you want to take these on the go!
I was wondering if you have any tips for increasing the “lightness” of this bread. I live in San Francisco and it’s really cold. I have a hard time creating a warm enough environment so the bread can rise properly, so its always slightly dense. Is there a way to create a warmer environment or can I adapt this for a bread machine? Thank you and I have loved every single one of your recipes!
Hi Carly — I’d just give it more time to rise, to ensure that it fully doubles before using it. Or, you can use a pinch additional yeast. However, giving bread the time it needs is the best way to get good flavor and texture, and this does take longer in cold kitchens.
Even this is about a million years old, I just wanted to report that this bread can indeed be made by hand: also, with the addition of some caramelized onions and some finely diced ham, and an egg wash on top, it makes a lovely ham-and-cheese braid/wreath, suitable for potlucks.
I also wanted to chime in and say that yeast dough rises nicely in a gas oven with just the heat of the pilot light, if your kitchen is so equipped. Also, you can heat a bowl of water in the microwave until it’s good and steamy, then pop your covered bowl of dough in there — because the microwave is so well-insulated and fairly draft-free, it makes a good substitute for a proofing cabinet (again, if your kitchen is so equipped).
Thank you for the great recipe!
This combination should be illegal. Wow. I’ve bookmarked your brioche bun recipe for next year, but I think I’m going to have to squeeze this in too, if only for Oktoberfest. Wow.
Like most people, I learned to use scissors before a sharp knife: I can get a sharp, unsquished cut in soft dough by using scissors across each layer. The same thing works on Napoleons–no squish, not as many scattered crumbs.
Try a foam ice chest as a place to raise bread doughs. A night-light bulb will give enough heat to raise the interior temperature to ~85°. Or, you might try my late mother’s trick of putting the bowl of dough in the car in a sunny driveway–which only works in the winter. Otherwise it’s much too hot in there.
Can I use cider instead of beer?
Amy — Hard cider? I don’t see why not.
Hello Deb, after loving this awesome bread for last year’s Super Bowl , I made it again this year with the only change being to follow my notes and put it in a bigger loaf pan this year (which happened to be glass instead of ceramic and still not quite big enough, had to squish it in quite a bit.) unlike last year, the middle came out raw wasting all my effort, despite being golden and crispy on the outside. I baked for 35 mins in same oven I used last year which I test with an oven thermometer periodically. Do you recommend an instant read thermometer for the bread? What should it read? Would all the oozing cheese get in the way of a good temp reading? Thanx. I don’t want to give up because last year it was wonderful!
Hi Lynn — When baking in glass pans, it’s best to always reduce the temperature by 25 degrees — otherwise (as you noticed) it browns too fast on the outside, before the inside is cooked. Re, instant-read thermometer, I invested in a ThermaPen a few years ago, not because I think every home cook needs one, but because I was writing a cookbook and wanted everything to be perfect. For home use, I’d just root around Amazon for one with good reviews (even if you don’t buy it there).
Deb, can I just say that as a long-time fan and follower my first reaction when I saw this recipe on my Pinterest feed today was anger? I mean, how did I not know this recipe existed? Where have you been hiding this in the Smitten Kitchen archives I thought I knew so well? Why was there not a very-obvious promotional link on the home page or a personal email saying, “Hey Hannah, you know that very specific bread you dream about sometimes but thought you just made up? Well I made it. It exists. There’s a recipe available to you now and forever”? I’m a little hurt and might need some time to heal from this unexpected betrayal. In the meantime, I will make this and I will not share any of it with you.
Hannah — Mean! :)
For all the folks wondering about advance prep: I did all the preparation, including assembling the layered cards in the pan, and put the unbaked, unrisen bread in the fridge. The next day, I took it out and left it on the counter in my warm kitchen to sit for around an hour and a half. The bread may not have had enough time to warm up; baking took close to an hour and i had to cover with aluminum foil to allow the center to come up to 180°F long after the ends had developed a dark crust. Nevertheless, the end result was a success, and my testers said the bread was the best thing on the table (against some considerable competition!). Even the dark ends were fine: a little crispy, but not burnt or dried out.
In sum: yes, the bread may be refrigerated overnight and baked the next day, but allow ample time to come to room temp/have a final rise, and/or extra time in the oven. Next up: freezer test
Made the recipe as listed except added a dash of ancho chile powder along with the paprika in the cheese filling. So so so delicious! I also added an extra half cup flour (or perhaps even slightly more than that) since the dough was looking extremely sticky. With the extra flour it was still a little sticky when I was done with the kneading, but after the first rise when it was time to work the dough, it was a very soft dough but not at all sticky and easily workable. My one big regret is that it looked nice and golden after 25 minutes so, silly me, I took it out — it wound up being raw in the very middle. Wish I had read the comments from folks who covered it in foil and baked a bit longer. Still, those center slices were yummy after a long stint (15-20 mins) in the toaster oven at 350. Wonderful flavors and fun to assemble! Loved the “card catalog” instructions — very clear! Deb, you’ve done it again!
This looks awesome and I’m looking forward to trying it out! I found this because I was searching your site to see if you’ve published a classic beer bread recipe (quick bread or yeasted).. and I didn’t find one. Would you consider publishing one if you have happened to perfect that?
We used to go to this brewery in Western PA that would serve a nutty, slightly sweet, medium density beer bread with honey butter baked in little flower pots that was absolutely the best and I’ve never been able to replicate it.
Here’s a photo: https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/north-country-brewing-company-slippery-rock?select=YlJSLfOV9wAvoWh_oR9_Hg
I’ve never but I think I might play with one for the fall! Thanks for the lead.
You had me at Welsh Rarebit. Growing up, my mom would veeerrrry occasionally take us to May Company (a former local department store in Cleveland) and I would always order their Welsh Rarebit. It continues to be the best I’ve ever had — crispy toast, perfect strong cheese sauce, and the kicker: toasted skinless almonds buried under the cheese.
It is perfection I’ve never found since, but now I want to make your recipe. It looks and sounds amazing. Can’t wait for an excuse!
Thank you for this delicious amazing recipe! An absolute hit that everyone kept going back for more. I served it warm and guests just pulled off chunks. I did find it needed more mustard (or at least a much stronger mustard than Dijon) and more cheese (but what can’t have more cheese?!). Next time will use English Mustard as well as Dijon and I will slice cheese rather than use grated to make it a bit easier to handle and …to increase the amount of cheese I can get in there without falling out! I’m looking forward to the tiny bit of leftovers for lunch today.
That looks amazing! I’m going to make this my next day off. How would this be with a horseradish mustard?
I love this idea. I’ve recently started homebrewing and have lots of spent grain to use. Do you think I could incorporate them in the bread? I love the thought of using them in a bread made with the beer that came from them.
Tina — I have gotten this question so many times, it’s pretty sad that I don’t have a better answer to it. This looks like a good starter recipe; however, I’m not sure if they should be used to simply replace some of the flour in a bread or as an addition to the flour here. I know so little about homebrewing; are the spent grains coarse and wet?
Deb – thanks for your quick response. The grains are coarse and wet, although they can be dried and ground into something resembling flour. I have not tried that, yet, though.
This is right up my street. The only thing that would make it better is finding a way to incorporate plenty of marmite :)
Where do you get your loaf pans? What brand?
Lissa — I don’t know where these were from but I mostly buy Williams Sonoma gold touch baking pans these days for cakes and such. I have very old ones in perfect condition, still.
Hi Deb! Made this for the fourth, and loved it. How would you suggest using the leftovers with scrambled eggs? Bread in the eggs? Or heated, and on the side?
Hi. I had a question on the yeast. Would it be possible to substitute the instant yeast for regular yeast?
Hi Lindsey — Looks like Commenter #388 did so without a problem. The main thing with active dry is that it first needs to be dissolved in a warmed unsalted liquid. It should work just fine here, but the rising times might be different. In fact, I often find active dry to work more quickly than instant, despite the name confusion.
Made this last night, it was amazing. No problem with the yeast, although it didn’t quite double in size the first time I let it sit. No problems at all though and it made a perfect loaf that is still delicious today.
I made this bread last night, and had a few of the same issues as others. Bread took longer to bake, difficult to get out of pan, which I had sprayed. The beer flavor was a hit with the college kids, I used a smokey cheddar, everyone liked it. But, I feed college age boys, they love everything.
My fiance and I were excited to make this bread–how can you go wrong with beer, cheese, and mustard? The cheese mix was very tasty, but like some others, our bread was dark (verging on burnt) on the outside and raw on the inside. We followed the instructions to bake it at 350, and we have an oven thermometer. I’m not quite sure how to fix that.
Hi there,
Can i substitute water for the beer? I know its a silly question… but I am cooking for non-alcoholics and love the flavours of this recipe!
thank you in advance!
Sheena — Absolutely.
For the do-ahead part: Do you let it rest overnight in the fridge after letting it rise or instead of the rise?
“Oil a medium/large bowl and transfer dough to it. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and set aside for 50 to 60 minutes, until doubled. Meanwhile, prepare fillings.
[Do ahead: You can also rest the dough in the fridge overnight — wrapped tightly with plastic. The next day, let it rest at room temperature for an hour before rolling out.]”
You can do either. Think of the fridge as a pause button, and use it when most convenient.
Do you think this would freeze well before baking? Thinking of making it for Thanksgiving and it would be great if I could make it ahead of time, though definitely not a deal-breaker if I can’t. Thanks in advance!
I have two queries! One, did anyone try making this with a partial or full whole wheat swap, or does Deb have any thoughts on that? I know, I know, rye flour adds flavour and density already, but I’m curious!
Two, would smoked paprika overwhelm or add to this? I feel like it’s a natural move given the flavours already present, but am fretting.
So I can now answer my own questions, hilariously.
Did a swap with both the 1/3 cup rye and the 1/2 cup AP for whole wheat flour on both quantities, and smoked paprika.
Fantastic, and the loaf was eaten in record time. Might have to find a way to double this for next time.
For anyone concerned about just how mustardy it is… honestly I found it to be quite a mild flavour all things considered! Definitely something to try even if you’re not a big fan.
Wowww that’s really awesome. Thanks for your information. But if I want to do all of that, how much it costs?
cheddar and mustard is surprisingly good.
Made this as a pandemic distraction device. I wish I had a crowd to share it with. Nonetheless the two of us enjoyed it, but not as much as I thought we would. Even with all the intense flavors, it was a bit bland on its own. Although I did find it addicting. Next time I will serve it with brats and pickles.
How would I activate the yeast if I were to use active dry yeast instead of instant yeast?
Is there any kind of store bought dough you could make this bread with? Sounds amazing but I don’t have the patience to make bread dough! I know it wouldn’t be as good as your recipe but had to ask!