Dill Pull-Apart Bread

With quarantine rocking many of our worlds, simple foods like bread, eggs, milk, and even basic necessities have become scarce and much appreciated. So many grocery stores in my area have placed ‘bans’ on buying more than one of these essential items, inspiring me to make them from home.

I may not have chickens in my yard supplying me with eggs or a family cow for fresh milk, but I do know how to make a mean loaf of bread.
Why not spice things up in honor of our current living situation and make it a pull-apart bread made especially for those who wash their hands? Grab a bite at a time with this loaf of dill bread with special ingredients inspired by the Maryland general store over at Cotton & Co. Vintage Boutique.

For this recipe, I will be relying on prepackaged herbs that are originally used for dill dip but have been repurposed for a more practical recipe during the quarantine. With that being said, don’t skip out on a good dip while enjoying these bread bites!
I found that sour cream and onion dip paired surprisingly well with the dill of the bread.

Get a pack of the dill herbs I used in this recipe by clicking the button below!

Instructions

1. Start by combining the yeast with water and stir until dissolved. Set aside.
2. Combine flour, sugar, salt, cottage cheese, and butter. Add yeast water and begin stirring. Alternatively, add all ingredients to a Stan mixer with hook and save your forearms from the next steps!
3. Add more flour to the mixture if it appears wet, waiting until all of the ingredients have been incorporated before doing so.
4. When the mixture begins to resemble dough, continue mixing until it cleans the sides of the bowl.
5. Remove the dough from the bowl and stretch on a floured surface. Fold the dough to create air bubbles and begin sprinkling the dill mix over the dough. Continue to fold and stretch the dough, allowing for the herbs to get evenly spread through the dough.
6. If using a Stan mixer, you may want to add the dough back to the bowl and mix on low speed to ensure all ingredients are combined well.
7. Remove the dough from the bowl and lightly flour the top. Place in a large, clean bowl and place a slightly damp towel (not dripping wet) atop the bowl, not touching the dough. Set aside for about an hour or until the dough has doubled in size.
8. Preheat your oven to 350F and prepare to divide the dough. On a lightly floured surface, divide the dough into 2 pieces. Shape each into a “snake” shape by rolling across the surface. When the ropes are both about 3/4″ wide, move to the next step.
9. Start with one coil on the bottom and make a circle with the dough, similar to how one would shape icecream coming out of a machine onto a cone. Do the same for the second ‘snake’ as the dough will not cook through in this amount of time if combined in one loaf.
10. Combine ingredients for the egg wash and gently brush over the dough to create a crust. If you apply the egg wash after cutting the dough (next step) the individual pieces will resemble the photos provided, as the insides of the cut also gain a crust.
11. Cut the dough coils at 1″ intervals, moving inward and upward.
12. Cook on the bottom rack of the oven and bake for 15 minutes. Move to the top rack after this time and bake for another 8-10 minutes.
13. Allow the bread loafs to cool completely before eating as it will continue to cook while the center is still hot. Grab a bite and go with the pull-apart design and enjoy!