Cheesy Bacon & Jalapeno Pull-Apart Bread
One wouldn’t exactly be inclined to refer to John and I as avid fans of sports. However, we both really do love getting together with our friends to watch a thrilling game and spend time with one another. Whether it’s witnessing the UEFA finals unfold at an Irish pub in Strasbourg with our brother-in-law like we did this summer or just watching the Seahawks while relaxing with our friends, we always have a great time.
With that said, the Super Bowl is just a couple weeks away and so I’ve been developing a special recipe for the occasion. Football game hangouts are replete with enough chicken wings, onion dips, and sliders—I wanted to make something inviting but unexpected. That’s when I decided that this pull-apart bread would be ideal. And boy is it scrumptious! Cheddar and mozzarella both creamy and tangy reside within the melted butter-saturated crevices of a warm round of baked bread. Chunks of applewood-smoked bacon channel the salt, smoke, and char for which it is rightfully loved while slices of jalapeno cut through the richness of it all for some pleasant relief. Guys, this pull-apart bread is serious.
Now the one thing you cannot forget when making this recipe is to start with high-quality bread. For this I turned to La Brea Bakery’s Italian Round Loaf, whose flavorful and fluffy texture really makes this recipe shine. Though I now live in Seattle, I grew up in Los Angeles and remember going to La Brea Bakery for a treat of an artisan baking experience. Even now, when John and I visit Southern California we often make time to stroll into their cafe on La Brea avenue. Their commitment to avoid all artificial flavors, colors and preservatives and to use only non-GMO ingredients has established a firm foundation for their quality.
The Super Bowl is a time to indulge and enjoy one another, and I hope this recipe will make it that much better.
This post was sponsored by La Brea Bakery. All opinions are my own. As always, thank you for supporting the brands that support The Broken Bread.
Cheesy Bacon & Jalapeño Pull-Apart Bread
1 Italian Round from La Brea bakery
¾ cup (3 oz) shredded mozzarella cheese
¾ cup (3 oz) shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup chopped cooked bacon, about 1, 12 oz pack uncooked
⅓ cup sliced pickled jalapenos, chopped
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
3-4 tablespoons chopped parsley, for garnish
Equipment: Serrated bread knife, Cutting board, Aluminum foil (extra wide if available), baking sheet, pastry brush if available.
Method
Heat the oven to 350°. Place both cheeses in a medium bowl along with the bacon and chopped jalapeños. Toss to combine; set aside.
Place the bread on a cutting board and slice the bread into 1 inch slices, making sure not to cut all the way through the bread. Rotate the bread 90°and slice the bread again creating a cross hatch appearance.
Carefully stuff all the newly created crevasse of the bread with the cheese mixture. It may seem like too much filling at first, but have faith and stuff every nook and cranny of that sliced bread.
Drizzle the melted butter over the entire loaf. Use a pastry brush to brush the top of the bread with a residual butter left in the dish, or with any butter that happened to overflow while pouring.
Wrap the load tightly with tin foil that’s been sprayed with a little non-stick spray. The non stick spray isn’t super necessary, you might end up with a little cheese stuck to the tin foil. Place the loaf on a baking sheet and put into the oven and bake for 20 minutes. Increase the heat to 400°F, remove from oven, and carefully unwrap the bread. Place back into the oven and bake for an additional 8-10 until crisp and lightly browned.
Removed from oven, remove foil, and devour immediately.