Buttery Pull-Apart Bread

This bread was so good.  It's very similar to my fave savory Monkey Bread recipe I posted a few years ago.  It's a bit different though, and still very much worth including here.  Instead of forming balls, you make different shapes- kind of like slices.  Then nestle them all together and bake up into buttery goodness.  The first time I made this recipe, I used the full amount of butter.  It was good but I felt bad about all that butter.  I cut back next time and it was *almost* just as good.  Lol.  

For pics on how to form the dough into the right shape, check out Mel's Kitchen Cafe, where the original recipe came from.  

Buttery Pull-Apart Bread

adapted from Mel's Kitchen Cafe

1 cup warm water
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon instant yeast
1 large egg
1 tablespoon oil
1 teaspoon salt
3 1/4 to 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 
8 tablespoons butter, melted (I use salted)

1.  In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the dough hook (you can make this by hand, too) add the warm water, sugar, yeast, egg, oil, salt, and 2 cups of flour.

2.  Mix until combined - it's ok if it is a little lumpy. With the mixer running, continue to gradually add flour until the dough clears the sides of the bowl and forms a ball that is soft but not overly sticky. Knead for 2-3 minutes. Cover the top of the bowl, and let the dough rest for 10-15 minutes. It should puff slightly.

3.  Pour half (4 tablespoons) of the melted butter evenly in the bottom of a bundt pan (if you don't have a bundt pan, you can use loaf pans).

4.  On a lightly floured or greased countertop, press or roll the dough into a 1/2-inch thick rectangle, about 12X10 inches. Using a pizza cutter or sharp knife, cut the dough into 24 semi-equal squares.
Grab one square at a time, dip the bottom of the square in the butter in the pan and layer the squares against each other (kind of like a trail of dominoes that has fallen over on each other).All 24 squares should fit in a layer around the bottom of the pan. Lift and rearrange the squares, if needed, to fit them all in.

5.  Cover the bundt pan and let the dough rise until noticeably puffy, 45-60 minutes. After the dough has risen, pour the remaining 4 tablespoons butter over and around the top of the bread.  While the dough is rising, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.  

6.  Bake the bread for 20-25 minutes until golden brown on top and baked through. Remove the pan from the oven and let rest for 5-10 minutes before turning out onto a plate or platter (lay the plate upside down over the bundt pan and holding onto both the plate and pan at the same time, flip it over so the bread falls out onto the plate).  Serve warm or at room temperature.

**This post and photos are property of http://dishingwithdish.blogspot.com/