Christmas Tree Pull Apart Bread

Christmas is right around the corner you guys! I know by this time everyone is thinking about what they’ll be making for the festivities so I’m here to help you with that!

A beautiful and simple appetizer, this Cheesy, garlicky and herby Christmas Tree Pull-Apart Bread is exactly what you need, it preps in minutes (IF you use a store bought dough) and bakes up with a golden, flavorful finish. What’s not to love about this bread? You got your carbs, the cheese, lots of herbs and garlic and the BEST part is that doesn’t take much effort to pull off. So if you’re in need of something delicious that’s also absolutely beautiful, let’s get to work!

Here Are the Step by Step Details:

For this recipe, I used a fresh store bought pizza dough. You can make your own but if you want to cut time and focus on other meals, buying store bought is the way to go!

MAKE THE FILLING:

The filling consist of the following

• Smoked Gouda or Smoked Beechers

• Smoked Mozarella

• Fontina

• Fresh Thyme

• Fresh Rosemary

• Fresh Sage

• Prosciutto

• Garlic

• Smoked Paprika

• Red Pepper Flakes

• S + P

• Butter

The filling is very simple, I chopped the herbs and the garlic, grated all the cheese and finally added the prosciutto, mix them all together and that’s it. I do want ti mention that you can add cream cheese to the mix to make it more gooey and cheesy, I chose not to add it but you can certainly add it to yours.

Roll Out the Dough and Create Two Triangles

Roll the dough into a large rectangle (about 14" x 9"). You may need to use your hands to stretch the dough in the corners. 

Now you're going to make two cuts to form a triangle using a sharp knife or a pizza cutter

The two triangles you cut off the sides of the main one will then be smoothed together to form a second big triangle. This second big triangle will become your bottom layer of the Christmas tree (just because it's not as pretty). Place both of the triangles on a parchment lined baking sheet sprinkled with flour.

After you’ve rolled out the bottom part of the bread (like above picture), it’s time to add your filling.

MAKE CUTS AND TWIST

Add the top triangle to line up with the bottom triangle. Use fingers to stretch the dough where you need it to go. Gently pinch the bottom and top layers together.

Refrigerate the dough for about 15-20 min if it’s too soft to work with. Once the dough is chilled, make your branches by cutting horizontal lines about 1 ½" apart. Twist each branch 1-2 times, keeping filling in tact as much as possible (again, it's fine if some spills out!). Check out my photo above, a lot spilled out because I used all the filling but that's how I like it!

Give the Christmas tree a good brush with butter (or an egg wash), and transfer it to the oven. Bake it for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Once the bread comes out, let it cool for a couple of minutes sprinkle some flaky sea salt and more herbs on top and that’s IT! Congratulations you make a Christmas tree pull apart bread!