Photo by Sonia Mendez Garcia Cheesy chile relleno pull-apart bread. The hardest part of this cheesy bread is waiting for it to be cool enough to dig in! The popular Mexican dish of a cheese stuffed chile relleno, all carefully stuffed into this fresh loaf of sourdough bread. What is pull-apart bread? It is simply a loaf of crusty bread that is sliced 3/4 of the way down and stuffed with cheese and various other fillings. Cheese being the most important ingredient for this recipe, but don't forget those smoky roasted poblanos that are unique in flavor. And when is it ever a bad idea to add bacon? Never!
Ingredients
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 3 cloves of garlic minced
- 1/2 teaspoon Mexican oregano crushed
- Juice of 1 lime
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 loaf sourdough bread round or oval in shape
- 2 cups monterey or pepper jack cheese shredded
- 2 large poblano peppers previously roasted, peeled and diced
- 1/2 cup finely chopped bacon previously cooked
- 2 pickled jalapeños seeded and minced
- 3 green onions sliced thin
- Foil paper
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line a baking sheet with foil paper and set aside.
- In a small sauce pan, add the butter, garlic and oregano. Heat to medium/low. Cook for 5-7 minutes. Remove from heat. Add the lime juice. Season with salt and pepper, to taste, set aside.
- Score the sourdough bread. Make 6 slices, ¾ of the way down, across the loaf. Turn the other way and make another 4-5 slices, ¾ of the way down. The loaf should fan open fairly easy when you pull it apart.
- Transfer the loaf to a baking sheet lined with foil paper. Open up some of the scored sections and pour the butter mixture down into the loaf the best you can.
- Add the cheese, working it into every section possible. Then do the same with the poblanos, bacon, jalapeño and green onions.
- Cover the loaf with foil paper and bake for 20-25 minutes. Uncover and bake for 10 more minutes. Serve with your favorite roasted tomato salsa for dipping.
Chef Notes
For best results when preparing pull-apart bread, always choose ingredients with the least amount of moisture. For example, don't choose meat fillings with a lot of broth. Cheese that is shredded or sliced extra thin works the best.
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