Need an appetizer or a party dish to impress your guests? Look no further than this recipe for French Onion Pull Apart Bread! Think equal parts French onion soup and buttery brioche bread that you can tear into with your hands. It's just as delicious as it is fun to eat!
Soft and fluffy brioche bread is layered with a homemade caramelized onion and Gruyere compound butter to create the ultimate flavor bomb of an appetizer.
French Onion Pull Apart Bread Ingredients
Brioche Bread
The base bread for this recipe is largely inspired by my recipe for Fluffy Brioche Buns, with a few tweaks to make this recipe work in a loaf. The basic ingredients are:
- Whole Milk
- Active Dry Yeast
- Granulated Sugar
- Bread Flour (All Purpose Flour can be substituted)
- Fine Sea Salt
- Egg
- Unsalted Butter
Caramelized Onion and Gruyere Compound Butter
The most important part of this whole recipe is undoubtedly the caramelized onion and Gruyere compound butter. This is the filling that you put in between each layer of bread. The most difficult part of this portion of the recipe is the time it takes to properly caramelize the onions.
Caramelized Onion Ingredients:
- Yellow or Sweet Onions
- Unsalted Butter
- Kosher Salt
- Splash of Worcestershire Sauce
Caramelizing onions is a "low-and-slow" process that takes some time to get the right amount of caramelization without burning them. The key is to keep the heat fairly low and to stir often until you reach a rich, mahogany color. One important factor to consider is the size of your onion slices. The more even they are, the easier they are to caramelize since they cook at the same rate. I prefer to use a mandolin slicer to make sure my onions are all the same thickness so they cook and caramelize evenly.
Begin by peeling and slicing the onions in half from pole to pole (top to bottom). Then, using a mandolin slicer, slice your onions about ⅛th of an inch thick. Add the unsalted butter to a skillet over medium heat. Add in the onions and a few pinches of kosher salt. Keep the heat between medium-low and low and stir every few minutes for the next 30 to 45 minutes to ensure that the onions don't burn. Once they reach a deep brown color, remove them from the heat and season to taste with a small splash of Worcestershire sauce and more salt if needed.
Pro Tip: It takes about 30 to 45 minutes to properly caramelize the onions for this recipe. You can either caramelize them ahead of time or do it during the first proofing stage of the dough outlined in the assembly steps below.
Compound Butter Ingredients
Once the caramelized onions have cooled enough, this compound butter as simple as mixing the following ingredients together in a small bowl:
- Grated Gruyere Cheese
- Caramelized Onions
- Unsalted Butter
- Kosher Salt
If the onions are still too warm and the butter begins to melt, throw the compound butter in the fridge or freezer for a few minutes until it sets back up. If making this ahead of time, cover and refrigerate until you're ready to assemble the bread.
French Onion Pull Apart Bread Assembly
As with most yeasted breads, this loaf will go through two rises, or proofing stages. The first rise happens after the dough is combined, and then another rise happens in the loaf pan after the bread is layered and shaped. Both of these rises take an hour to do. The first rise is the perfect time to caramelize the onions (since that takes about 30 to 45 minutes) and make the compound butter. Once you have your dough and compound butter ready, it is time to start assembling, as shown below:
1. Dough after the first proof. -
2. Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface, and shape it into a large rectangle. -
3. Use a bench scraper or sharp knife to divide the dough into 12 equal pieces. -
4. Roll the individual dough balls into an oval shape until the dough is about ¼-inch thick. -
5. Spread 1 tablespoon of the caramelized onion and Gruyere compound butter onto the dough round. -
6. Fold the filled dough round in half. -
7. Stack the folded and filled dough round into a greased loaf pan. Add 1 more tablespoon of compound butter on the exposed side of the dough. 
8. Repeat the process with the remaining dough and compound butter. -
9. Cover and proof for an additional hour. -
10. Coat the top of the loaf with egg wash, followed by a sprinkle of flaky sea salt.
Bake the bread in an oven preheated to 350°F for 30 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for about 10 minutes before transferring to a wire cooling rack to cool completely. Once cool enough to handle, sprinkle with some thinly sliced chives, and allow your guests to dig in!
Serving and Reheating Suggestions
Serving Suggestions
As mentioned above, this is pretty much the ultimate party food or appetizer, so don't hesitate to make this for your next gathering! In fact, this is so good that you might find yourself hosting more parties just so you can make this recipe.
Storing and Reheating
If you make this recipe a day or more ahead of time, cover it and keep it in the refrigerator to ensure it stays as fresh as possible. To reheat the whole loaf, do the following:
- Remove the bread from the refrigerator and allow it to warm up on the counter for an hour or more.
- Wrap the loaf in tin foil so the top doesn't burn. (You don't want to cook this any more; you're just looking to warm it through.)
- Heat in a 325°F oven for 15 to 20 minutes until totally warmed through.
If you just have some pieces or just part of the loaf leftover (you'll be lucky to have any!) instead of the entire loaf, do the following:
- Separate the remaining pieces (if needed)
- Place uncovered on a foil-lined baking sheet and reheat at 350°F for 5 to 8 minutes.
More Entertaining Recipes
Need some more inspiration for entertaining recipes? Check out all of my other entertaining recipes here, or take a look at the recipes below!
Give this recipe for French Onion Pull Apart Bread a try, and let me know in the comments below how it came out. If you enjoyed this or any of my other recipes, don't forget to leave a rating as well!
Did you make this recipe for French Onion Pull Apart Bread?
Let me know in the comments below how yours turned out, and don't forget to leave a rating!
Recipe
French Onion Pull Apart Bread
Equipment
- Mandolin Slicer Optional, but Recommended
- Rolling Pin
- 4 ½ x 9-inch Loaf Pan
- Instant Read Digital Thermometer Optional, but Recommended
- Wire Cooling Rack
Ingredients
Brioche Bread
- ¾ Cup Whole Milk Warmed to 90°F to 100°F
- 2 Teaspoons Active Dry Yeast
- 1 Tablespoon Granulated Sugar
- 2 ¼ Cups Bread Flour Scoop into a measuring cup, and scrape the excess off if measuring by volume.
- 1 ½ Teaspoons Fine Sea Salt
- 1 Large Egg Beaten
- 3 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter Softened
- 1 Egg White For Egg Wash
- 1 Tablespoon Water For Egg Wash
Caramelized Onions
- 5 Small or 4 Medium Sweet Onions Sliced ⅛ to ¼-Inch Thick
- 4 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter
- 1 Tablespoon Neutral Cooking Oil
- ½ Teaspoon Kosher Salt Plus More to Taste
- Black Pepper To Taste
- ½ Teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce
Teaspoon and Gruyere Compound Butter Filling
- 2 Cups Gruyere Cheese Grated - (One 8 oz. Package), Substitute Swiss Cheese
- 8 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter Softened - 1 Stick
- ¾ Cup Caramelized Onions From Above
- ¼ Teaspoon Kosher Salt
Garnishes
- Chopped Chives
- Flaky Salt
Instructions
Brioche Dough - Mixing and First Proof
- Add milk to a small sauce pan and heat over medium-high heat until warmed to 90°F to 100°F, and remove from heat.
- Add active dry yeast and sugar, stirring to combine. Allow to bloom 5 to 10-minutes until active and frothy.
- While yeast mixture rests, add the fine sea salt and bread flour in the bowl of a stand mixer and whisk to combine.
- Add the yeast mixture and beaten egg to the dry ingredients and knead on low speed until combined, approximately 5 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Once you have a rough dough, increase the speed to medium-low and add the softened unsalted butter one tablespoon at a time until thoroughly combined, about 5 to 7 minutes.
- Turn the dough onto an unfloured work surface and shape into a smooth ball.
- Place dough into a large mixing bowl, cover and rest for 1-hour until doubled in size. Prepare the Caramelized Onion and Gruyere Compound butter while the dough is rising.
Caramelized Onion and Gruyere Compound Butter
- While the dough is rising, peel and halve the onions from pole to pole (top to bottom). Use a mandolin slicer set to ⅛ to ¼-inch thick and slice the onions into half rounds.
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and melt 4 tablespoons of butter. Once melted, add the sliced onions and several pinches of kosher salt.
- Reduce the heat to medium and cook for 30 to 45 minutes until browned and caramelized. Be sure to stir every several minutes to make sure the onions don't burn and they caramelize evenly.
- Remove the onions from the heat and allow to cool. Add the Worcestershire sauce and taste for seasoning.
- In a medium bowl, combine the grated gruyere, caramelized onions, 1 stick of butter, and a pinch of kosher salt until evenly incorporated. (If the onions are too warm still and the butter melts, cover and refrigerate or freeze for several minutes until the butter sets back up.)
Bread Assembly and Second Proof
- Towards the end of the first rise, lightly grease a 4 ½ x 9-inch loaf pan and set aside.
- Once the dough has risen, turn it out onto a floured work surface and punch it down. Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces.
- Working one piece of dough at a time, roll it into a ball. Use a rolling pin to flatten to ¼-inch thick, and about 4 to 5-inches wide.
- Place 1 tablespoon of the prepared compound butter on the dough round, and fold the dough in half.
- Add the folded dough to your greased loaf pan with the seam side facing up. Add another tablespoon of the prepared compound butter onto the exposed edge of the dough. (It's ok if some of the compound butter squeezes out the top when folding).
- Repeat with the remaining dough and compound butter until the loaf pan is full.
- Cover and allow to rise for an additional hour.
Baking
- Towards the end of the second rise, preheat the oven to 350°F.
- After the dough has risen the second time, whisk together the egg white and water in a small bowl and gently brush over the top of the loaf. Sprinkle flaky sea salt over the top.
- Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until golden brown and the internal temperature reaches at least 195°F on an instant read thermometer.
- Remove and allow to cool for about 10 minutes in the pan.
Garnish
- Transfer the bread to a wire cooling rack to cool completely, and sprinkle with thinly sliced chives and more flaky salt if needed.
Notes
- Remove the bread from the refrigerator and allow it to warm up on the counter for an hour or more.
- Wrap the loaf in tin foil so the top doesn't burn. (You don't want to cook this any more; you're just looking to warm it through.)
- Heat in a 325°F oven for 15 to 20 minutes until totally warmed through.
-
- Separate the remaining pieces (if needed)
- Place uncovered on a foil-lined baking sheet and reheat at 350°F for 5 to 8 minutes.
Stacy says
This bread was hard to stop eating! Soft and savory!