Photography: John Paul Urizar. Styling: Michele Cranston.
This indulgently cheesy pull apart bread is perfect for parties and entertaining. It is simple to make, using a store-bought sourdough loaf that you slice then load up with sliced ham and grated cheese, plus a butter flavoured with smoked paprika, chives and Dijon mustard. At the Test Kitchen, we love adding this to a post-Christmas Boxing Day menu to help use up any leftover Christmas ham. If you’re not a fan of GruyeÌ€re cheese, or you don’t have any on hand, you’ll find tips below for ingredient swaps.
Ingredients
Method
Preheat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan-forced).
Combine the soft butter, mustard, chives and ¾ of the Gruyère cheese in a medium bowl. Season to taste.
Using a serrated knife cut the loaf into 12 slices without cutting all the way through to the bottom.
Spread the cheese mixture in between the cuts and insert the ham. Sprinkle top with remaining cheese and wrap in foil. Bake for 20 minutes or until the cheese has melted and the bread is crisp.
Can I freeze the pull apart bread?
The unbaked loaf is suitable to freeze. You may need to add a little extra baking time if baking the bread from frozen.
Can I use a different cheese?
Of course! If you’re not keen on Gruyère cheese, a combination of cheddar and mozzarella would be also delicious.
Do you have other pull apart bread recipes?
The Test Kitchen has plenty of pull apart bread recipes that range from savoury to sweet. If you’re after a similar recipe to use up that leftover Christmas ham, try our ham and pineapple pull apart bread. For something sweet, give our pecan and spiced apple pull apart a go! Or try this spinach and cheese pull apart bread, made in a loaf pan.
See our collection of afternoon tea pull apart recipes for even more inspiration.
