French Onion Pull-Apart Bread

French Onion Pull-Apart Bread is rated 4.0 out of 5 by 3.
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Prep Time: 160 minutes
Cook Time: 65 minutes
Servings: 10

Served warm out of the oven, pull-apart bread is an irresistible side dish that all of your dinner guests will be reaching for until it’s gone. In this recipe, the dough is mixed with sweet caramelized onions and nutty Gruyère cheese for maximum flavor.

Ingredients:

  • 4 Tbs. cup (2 fl. oz./60 ml) olive oil, plus more for the bowl
  • 1 yellow onion, diced
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
  • 1 tsp. sugar
  • 2 1/4 tsp. (1 package) active dry yeast
  • 1 3/4 cups (19 oz./590 g) unbleached bread flour
  • 1 cup (5 oz./155 g) all-purpose flour, plus more as needed
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 1/2 tsp. chopped fresh thyme, plus more for garnish
  • 1 1/2 cups (6 oz./180 g) grated Gruyère cheese
  • Melted butter for brushing

Directions:

In a sauté pan over medium-low heat, warm the olive oil. Add the onion and a large pinch of salt and cook, stirring frequently, until the onions are very soft and caramelized, about 30 minutes, adding a splash of water if necessary to keep the onions from sticking to the pan. Transfer the onions to a bowl and let cool to room temperature.

In a small bowl, stir together 3/4 cup (6 fl. oz./180 ml) warm water (105° to 115°F/43° to 46°C) and the sugar and sprinkle with the yeast. Let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. Add the cooled onions and stir to combine.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, combine the bread and all-purpose flours, 2 1/2 tsp. salt and 1/2 tsp. pepper. Add the yeast and onion mixture and mix on very low speed until thoroughly combined. If the dough is wet and sticky, add more all-purpose flour 1 Tbs. at a time, beating after each addition.

When the mixture forms a ball and pulls away from the sides of the bowl, add the garlic, 2 tsp. of the thyme and half of the cheese. Increase the mixer speed to medium-low and continue to knead until the dough is smooth and elastic, 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer the dough to a floured work surface and knead by hand for 1 to 2 minutes.

Form the dough into a ball, brush it with a little olive oil and return it to the bowl. Cover with a towel and let rest in a warm place until doubled in bulk, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

Position a rack in the lower third of an oven and preheat to 425°F (220°C). Brush a 2 3/4-quart Dutch oven or a pot of similar size with melted butter.

Punch down the dough. Return it to the floured work surface and knead a few times. Divide the dough into 10 pieces of equal size, and roll each piece into a ball. Arrange the dough balls evenly in the pot, overlapping them as necessary, and sprinkle with the remaining cheese and the remaining 1/2 tsp. thyme.  Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise again in a warm place until doubled in bulk, 30 to 40 minutes.

Bake the bread for 10 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 375°F (190°C) and continue baking until the bread is brown and crusty, 20 to 25 minutes more. Transfer the pot to a wire rack, brush the tops of bread with the remaining 2 Tbs. olive oil and let cool for a few minutes before serving. Serve the bread warm, allowing diners to break off the rolls at the table. Makes 10 rolls.

Williams-Sonoma Test Kitchen

Rated 4 out of 5 by from Yum, but… I agree that the recipe needs tweaking. I used flour as stated but added a bit of water bc the dough was SO stiff and somewhat dry. I used a 9”spring form Pam, 11c capacity, which was ok, one layer of balls. 6 oz of cheese seems too much; I had a small pice of Gruyère that ended up weighing 3 oz when shredded and was WAY more than 1.5 cups. The cheese ended up melting into the spaces and becoming hard, crusty (my husband liked it!) next time I will use less cheese and remove a bit sooner from oven. Delicious, though!
Date published: 2022-01-17
Rated 3 out of 5 by from Good, but recipe has errors As an experienced bread baker, I normally use weight measurements. I noticed 1 cup of AP flour (weighing 5 oz) might be normal, but listing the bread flour at 1 3/4 cups with a 19 oz weight seemed drastically wrong. Wanting to rely on the weights, I thought perhaps the bread flour had a typo and should have been 2 3/4 cups, but that still didn't really convert mathematically. I went with 5 oz AP and 19 oz bread, thinking 2 3/4 (1AP + 1 3/4bread) cups of total flour wasn't enough for a typical bread recipe. Then, I realized the water was all off after measuring and mixing, since only 3/4 of a cup of water is in the recipe. I tried to convince myself more water/moisture was coming from the onions, but it wasn't enough. I added probably about 2 cups of water while mixing to get a dough that seemed "right". It rose well. I got ready to bake it. Having successfully baked breads in dutch ovens, it is usually done with the lid on for the benefit of steam to create crustiness. After already being frustrated by the flour mistake, I thought, well, they didn't tell me to put the lid on the dutch oven - another recipe mistake. I did put the lid on based on my previous experience. I was wrong about that one. It didn't cook completely (was obviously still raw) with the lid on, so I removed the lid and cooked longer until it was about 200 degrees F, knowing that would be done. I used dried thyme, which was my own mistake. Fresh would have been better, but it was raining outside, where I still had some fresh thyme, so I was lazy. The bread completely filled a 5 qt pot for me, but I used way more flour than was intended, I think. It is a huge amount of bread if you use 19 oz bread flour and add more water. I might make it again, because it sounds so good and I would like to taste it with the correct ratio of onion to bread. My result was good though. I hope someone in the test kitchen sees this and fixes the flour weights in the recipe. I'll happily volunteer as a recipe tester/reviewer to help avoid future mistakes like this one.
Date published: 2021-01-09
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Awesome! Perfect with prime rib. Made these to serve on Christmas with a standing rib roast and a potato dish among others. They were a bit hit! They stayed warm in the pot while everything else was finished off. Will definitely make these again - every Christmas at a minimum. Gotta splurge every now and then....
Date published: 2015-12-26
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