When I say "Cheesy Pull Apart Garlic Bread", what I actually mean is SUPER GARLICKY bread because this tear and share loaf is ALL about the garlic. The glorious cheese pulls and pillowy soft bread are merely happy bonuses.
Add 90ml of fairly warm (not hot) Water to a small bowl and add 14g Fast-Acting Dried Yeast and 50g Caster Sugar. Whisk to combine a little (it won't combine properly) and set aside.
Measure 500g Strong White Flour and 1 tbsp Sea Salt Flakes into a large mixing bowl and stir to combine.
Add 40g Salted Butter, 2 Eggs, the by now frothy yeast and water mix and 140ml Milk to the flour and stir until a dough is formed.
Knead the dough until is it smooth and super stretchy - a good 10 minutes if kneading by hand, if not a bit longer. About 5 to 7 minutes if using an electric mixer.
Leave the dough in a large covered bowl somewhere warm for about 1 hour to rise.
The dough should roughly double in size.
Meanwhile make the Garlic/Cheese Butter:
Take 250g Salted Butter which is room temperature or a little softer and mix in 3 tbsp Garlic Paste and 1 tbsp Sea Salt Flakes.
Reserve about a 5th of the mixture and set aside.
Stir 150g Grated Mozzarella into the remaining bulk of the garlic butter.
Construct the Loaf
Once the dough has doubled, take off the covering and give the dough a good punch. You don't actually need to be aggressive but these opportunities are rare so go for it.
Tip the dough out onto a floured surface and give it a quick light knead. No need for electric power here.
Cut the dough into 4 equal size pieces and place 3 back under a covering for the time being.
Roll the fourth piece into a rectangle about 1/2 cm thick. It will fight back, keep going, it will roll out and stay eventually.
Take 1/4 of the garlic and cheese mix and spread over the rectangle of dough. Try and make it a fairly evenly spread and go right to the edges.
Using the sharpest knife you have, cut the square into 12 smaller squares (3 x 4). Stack the 12 squares one on top of the other.
Take a 2lb loaf tin with greaseproof liner and rest it upright on one end if you can.
Take the stack of dough and place it into the loaf tin.
Repeat the process with the other 3 sections of dough.
The loaf tin should now be full to the top and can be put the right way up. Make the last square you put in the wrong way round so the cheese mix is facing inwards and not the outside edge of the tin.
Lightly cover the tin and leave to rise, exactly the same as before for 1 hour. The dough should puff out and fit snugly in the tin.
After 50 minutes, preheat the oven to 200c or equivalent.
Pop the loaf tin in a larger roasting tin to catch any buttery drips
Bake the loaf in the preheated oven for 20-30 minutes until light golden brown.
Smear the top of the dough with the reserved garlic butter and pop back in the oven for a minute or two until the butter has melted.
Eat warm. Try not to eat it all. Sod it, eat it all. Have no fear of vampires for circa a week.