Cheesy Pull-Apart Bread with Smoked Herrings
A simple Cheesy Pull-Apart Bread with Smoked Herrings that is bursting with flavors.
Bread is the ultimate go-to food for snacks, lunch, breakfast, and even dinner. There are many ways you can eat, and as it is an excellent accompaniment for soups, it also makes a fantastic Panzanella Salad. Who could have thought?
To make the Cheesy Pull-Apart Bread with Smoked Herrings you need the following
Bread: not all bread will be good for this Cheesy Pull-Apart Bread with Smoked Herrings. The bread is sourdough or dense bread. The reason is that these types of bread hold better when soaked with a sauce and then baked with cheese in the oven. Do not choose a soft loaf of bread with a thin crust because the bread will fall apart during prepping. Instead, pick a loaf of bread that is dense.
Cheese: Mozzarella cheese is best to use, but any good quick melting cheese will be good. You can buy packaged shredded mozzarella cheese that would same on time and better inserted between the slices.
Smoked Herrings: this type of fish is superb with bread. The smoked flavor and salty taste go well with warm bread. Smoked herrings are found at your local supermarket near the seafood area or the cured meat and seafood area.
Veggies: bell peppers are a great addition. You can also add mushrooms, but I recommend sautéeing the mushroom first. It is good to cut any vegetable tiny to fit inside the bread slices.
Spices and Seasoning: salt, pepper, garlic, parsley, and hot sauce if preferred.
Other flavorings: butter, infused oils, crushed peppers (optional), hot and spicy sauce (optional), lemon pepper seasoning.
How to choose the right flavorings for Cheese Bread
When using dense bread, flavoring is critical. Garlic, salt, pepper, and parsley are great ingredients to spice up the bread. Bread, in general, needs a little extra. Have you tried warm bread with butter? It literally will melt in your much. Or better yet, dipping your bread in leftover meat sauce? It is so good that you will even lick your fingers. So, bread needs something extra to make it taste sensational.
Cheese bread is one of those snacks that almost everyone loves. Who can say no to cheese and bread? It is also one of the most accessible snacks you can make with roasted chicken wings. Both dishes go well so much that it is worth serving at any gathering.
Notes and Tips for this cheesy pull-apart bread recipe
- Choose a dense bread, preferably sourdough bread, crusty ciabatta, or a loaf of crusty artisan bread.
- If you cannot find these types of bread from your local supermarket, try a bakery.
- A Caribbean bread loaf, although on the dense side, will not be good. It will quickly fall apart.
- If using olive oil, use extra-virgin olive oil or infused olive oil.
- Use a melted cheese-like mozzarella cheese – it melts much faster than other cheese. Try this recipe with fresh mozzarella cheese for a fresher flavor.
- When making the slices, be careful not to slice the bread to the bottom crust.
- Make sure you can pull the bread apart when the cheese has melted.
- Use plenty of sauce to pour in between the slices.
- Depending on the size of the bread, adjust the amount of the ingredients, especially the butter. You may want to mix the butter with extra-virgin olive oil or infused oil.
- If you don’t have smoked herrings, you can use anchovies. Mixed the anchovies with the melted butter and the seasonings and pour over the bread.
- Remember to leave about 1 – 2 tablespoons of sauce to drizzle over the bread before baking.
Cheesy Pull-Apart Bread with Smoked Herrings
Ingredients
- 1 crusty loaf preferably sourdough
- 1 ¼ cup shredded Mozzarella cheese or other melting cheese
- 1 stick or 8 tbsp unsalted butter plus more if needed
- ½ cup of shredded smoked herrings about 2-3 fillets
- 2 large garlic cloves minced
- Salt and pepper to taste
- A few drops of fresh lemon juice
- 1 tbsp fresh parsley finely chopped
- ½ cup red bell pepper finely chopped
- ½ shallots finely chopped
Instructions
- Desalt the smoked herrings fillet by following these instructions.
- Shred the smoked herrings into small pieces, placed them into a bowl, and set them aside.
- Preheat the oven to 350F.
- Prepare the remaining ingredients.
- In a saucepan, add butter and melt. Add smoked herring and let cook for about 2 – 3 minutes while stirring. Add garlic, lemon juice, and season with salt and pepper. Let cook only for 1 – 2 minutes and remove from the heat. Stir in parsley.
- Slice the bread into vertical cuts, stopping before you hit the bottom crust, then horizontally repeating the cuts, but do not cut through the bread.
- Use your fingers or a knife to pry open each crack and drizzle equal amounts of the butter mixture. Do the same with the bell pepper and shallots. Lastly, push the shredded cheese in between the cracks. Don’t worry if you have shredded cheese all over the top of the loaf.
- Drizzle the remaining butter mixture on top of the bread.
- Wrap with foil and bake for 20 minutes until the cheese has melted.
- Unwrap the top of the bread and bake for another 5 – 7 minutes for a crustier top.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
- Choose a dense bread, preferably sourdough bread, crusty ciabatta, or a loaf of crusty artisan bread.
- If you cannot find these types of bread from your local supermarket, try a bakery.
- A Caribbean bread loaf, although on the dense side, will not be good. It will quickly fall apart.
- If using olive oil, use extra-virgin olive oil or infused olive oil.
- Use a melted cheese-like mozzarella cheese – it melts much faster than other cheese. Try this recipe with fresh mozzarella cheese for a fresher flavor.
- When making the slices, be careful not to slice the bread to the bottom crust.
- Make sure you can pull the bread apart when the cheese has melted.
- Use plenty of sauce to pour in between the slices.
- Depending on the size of the bread, adjust the amount of the ingredients, especially the butter. You may want to mix the butter with extra-virgin olive oil or infused oil.
- If you don’t have smoked herrings, you can use anchovies. Mixed the anchovies with the melted butter and the seasonings and pour over the bread.
- Remember to leave about 1 – 2 tablespoons of sauce to drizzle over the bread before baking.
Nutrition
Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on the products used.
Nutrition info is automatically generated and provided as a courtesy and as an estimate only.
