You won’t even know when the pizza pull-apart bread disappears! You pull one and the rest follow suit, faster than you can say "yum,” leaving no trace of cheesy goodness. Once you have the pizza pull-apart recipe dough ready, assembly and baking are quick. The only trouble? It’s hard to resist the cheesy, garlicky, herby aroma!
This pizza pull-apart rolls recipe is a riff on my pull-apart cheese garlic bread. Call them rolls, call them pull-apart buns, or call them pull-apart pizza bread. Once you taste this super yummy, deliciousness, you won’t even care!
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
Perfect appetizer: easy to serve, easy to eat, and guaranteed to disappear in minutes.
Ideal for any occasion: Whether it's game day, a casual gathering with friends, or just a cozy Friday night dinner, this recipe fits the bill.
Comfort food at its finest: Imagine sinking your teeth into a buttery, tender bread stuffed with pizza flavors.
Recipe Ingredients
Flour: I used all-purpose flour, but you can certainly use whole wheat flour too.
Yeast: I used active dry yeast. Instant yeast will work too.
Oil: This recipe uses olive oil for a lovely fruity flavor. You can use any vegetable oil if you wish.
Sugar: This helps activate the yeast and balances the flavors.
Milk: I used regular cow's milk. But you can use plant-based milk like almond milk, as I did for my classic cinnamon rolls.
Mozzarella Cheese: Use packaged block mozzarella cheese. Fresh mozzarella will be too wet for this recipe.
Add-ons: You can stuff the roll with sautéed mushrooms or make pepperoni pull-apart bread by adding pepperoni. You can also add pizza sauce to the filling!
Please see the recipe card for full information about the ingredients and quantities.
How To Make Pizza Pull-Apart Rolls
Step 1: Heat milk until lukewarm. Stir in sugar and oil, followed by yeast. Set aside for 5–10 minutes, until frothy and bubbly.
Step 2: Whisk in 2 1/3 cups of flour and Italian seasoning. Cover and place in a draft-free place until the dough doubles in size (about 1 to 2 hours).
Step 3: Add the rest of the flour along with baking powder, baking soda, and a teaspoon of sea salt.
Step 4: Mix well and let it rest in the fridge overnight.
Step 5: Gently deflate the dough the next morning and knead for barely 10 to 15 seconds.
Step 6: Divide the pull-apart pizza buns dough into 15 equal pieces. You can eyeball it or weigh them. My pieces were 40 to 42 grams each.
Step 7: Take one piece. Flatten it a bit. Place a 1-inch mozzarella cheese cube in the center. Press the dough ends together. Pinch the seam to seal. Roll into a proper ball and then place on a 9-inch pie dish, seam side down.
Step 8: Repeat for all the other 14 pieces to make pizza roll buns.
Step 9: Cover the rolls and let them rest until puffy.
Step 10: Meanwhile, set your oven to preheat and make garlic herb butter. Melt butter. Add garlic powder and a tablespoon of Italian seasoning. Mix well.
Step 11: Brush the puffed-up pizza pull-apart rolls with half of the garlic herb butter.
Step 12: Pop them in the oven and bake for 20 minutes at 190°C.
Step 13: Slide the pie dish out. Add grated mozzarella on top and pop it back in the oven for 10 more minutes until the rolls are golden.
Step 14: Gently slather the saved garlic herb butter on hot rolls. Garnish with fresh basil.
Final step: Serve and savor!
Pro Tips
- I use this no-knead dough for practically everything, from cinnamon rolls to coffee buns to pesto bread. It’s just fantastic. And yes, it is soft dough, so please don't add too much flour. The softer the dough, the fluffier your rolls. Trust me, you’ll be able to handle it very easily after refrigerating it. It’s a pliable one.
- Since this is a recipe for pizza pull-apart bread, I didn’t leave a lot of gaps between the rolls, making it a tight fit.
- My pull-apart pizza bread took 20 minutes for 2nd rise because it’s already warm here. It may take you 30 to 45 minutes, depending on how cold your kitchen is.
- Don’t grate the cheese on top of the pizza pull-apart bread at the start. Add it after the bread is almost baked. I picked up this tip from Sally’s Baking Addiction, and let me tell you, it’s going to be a standard practice for me now.
How To Serve Pizza Pull-Apart Bread
There is no shame in eating pizza pull-apart bread as-is. Dig in and enjoy. But dipping the warm rolls in marinara sauce is just a must. Chunky or completely puréed. Spicy or mildly flavored. Homemade or store-bought. It doesn’t matter. These pizza rolls go beautifully with tomato sauce!
Recipe FAQS
As I said, I’ve used this bread dough countless times. I simply made it extra savory for this pizza pull-apart bread. You can use any of your favorite dough recipes, or go for store-bought biscuit dough, or pizza dough. Adjust the baking time accordingly.
Instead of using a one-inch cheese cube, increase the amount you stuff in the pull-apart pizza buns. Then top it with as much mozzarella as you want.
Yes, you can use a bundt pan for this garlic butter pizza pull-apart bread. You can turn it into a pizza pull-apart monkey bread. You can even make it in a 10-inch pie dish or cast-iron skillet. That said, I used a 9” pan, and it worked just fine.
Switch to plant-based milk and cheese. For the garlic herb butter, swap the butter with olive oil.
Warp any pull-apart pizza rolls that are left over tightly and refrigerate them. They’ll stay well for 3 to 4 days. Reheat in the microwave, oven or an air-fryer.
📖 Recipe
Easy Pizza Pull-Apart Bread
Ingredients
- 1 cup Milk
- 1/4 cup Olive oil
- 2 tbsp Sugar
- 1.5 tsp Yeast I used dried active yeast. Instant yeast will also work here.
- 2 1/3 cups All-purpose flour
- 1.5 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1/4 tsp Baking powder
- 1/4 tsp Baking soda
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1/4 cup All-purpose flour
- 3.5 oz Mozzarella cheese Cut into 1 -1.5" cubes
- 2.6 oz Mozzarella cheese Shredded
Garlic Herb Butter
- 1/4 cup Butter
- 1 tsp Garlic powder
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
Instructions
- Heat the milk until lukewarm. Stir in sugar, oil, and yeast.
- Set aside for 5-10 minutes until the mixture is bubbly.
- Whisk in the 2 and 1/3 cups of flour and 1.5 tsp of Italian seasoning. Cover and place in a draft-free place for 1 hour or until the dough is doubled in size.
- Mix in the extra 1/4 cup flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix well and let it rest in the fridge overnight.
- Gently deflate the dough the next day and knead for barely 10 to 15 seconds.
- Divide the pull-apart pizza buns dough into 15 equal pieces. You can eyeball it or weigh them.My pieces were 40 to 42 grams each.
- Take one piece. Flatten it a bit. Place a 1-inch mozzarella cheese cube in the center. Press the dough ends together. Pinch the seam to seal. Roll into a proper ball and then place on a 9-inch pie dish, seam side down.
- Repeat for all the remaining dough pieces.
- Cover the rolls with a kitchen towel or cling wrap and let them rest until puffy.
- Meanwhile, set your oven to preheat and make garlic herb butter. Melt butter. Add garlic powder and 1 tsp of Italian seasoning. Mix well.
- Brush the puffed-up pizza pull-apart rolls with half the garlic herb butter.
- Pop them in the oven and bake for 20 minutes at 190°C or 375F.
- Slide the pie dish out. Add grated mozzarella on top and pop it back in the oven for 10 more minutes until the rolls are golden and the cheese is all melty.
- Gently slather the saved garlic herb butter on hot rolls. Garnish with fresh basil.
- Serve with marinara sauce and enjoy!
Video
Notes
- I use this no-knead dough for practically everything, from cinnamon rolls to coffee buns to pesto bread. It’s just fantastic. And yes, it is soft dough, so please don't add too much flour. The softer the dough, the fluffier your rolls. Trust me, you’ll be able to handle it very easily after refrigerating it. It’s a pliable one.
- Since this is a recipe for pizza pull-apart bread, I didn’t leave a lot of gaps between the rolls, making it a tight fit.
- My pull-apart pizza bread took 20 minutes for 2nd rise because it’s already warm here. It may take you 30 to 45 minutes, depending on how cold your kitchen is.
- Don’t grate the cheese on top of the pizza pull-apart bread at the start. Add it after the bread is almost baked. I picked up this tip from Sally’s Baking Addiction, and let me tell you, it’s going to be a standard practice for me now.
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