The bread my cheese-obsessed nephew requests for every birthday is this one – a brick of little pull-apart toast cubes, each one brushed with butter and baked under a blanket of melted cheese. A home cook wrote it in fifteen steps with the title’s promise to every cheese lover, and the method is the pull-apart loaf: enriched dough cut into small cubes, stacked in a pan, and baked with a cheese crust that strings as you pull. I made it as written, and it is the bread that disappears faster than anything I bake.
Zhi shi xian xiang xiao tu si (奶酪咸香芝士小吐司) is cheesy mini toast – an enriched bread dough cut into small cubes, brushed with butter, stacked in a loaf pan, proofed, and baked until the cubes puff into a pull-apart brick with a salty, melted cheese crust. The original is a 15-step recipe addressed to cheese lovers, with the pull-apart structure as its craft.
What Is Cheesy Mini Toast?
Cheesy mini toast is a pull-apart savory bread: an enriched dough – flour, milk, egg, butter, sugar, and yeast – is kneaded until smooth, proofed, and cut into small cubes. The cubes are brushed with butter, arranged in a loaf pan, proofed again, topped with cheese (and the recipe’s savory extras), and baked until the cubes puff together into a brick that pulls apart cube by cube, the cheese melting between them.
The method is the cube. Cutting the dough into small pieces before the final proof is what creates the pull-apart structure – each cube puffs separately and tears from its neighbor with the melted cheese as the glue. It is the savory answer to the sweet pull-apart loaves, and the cheese lover’s version of the softest toast.
For the sweet sponge side of the same baking shelf, my steam-baked milk chiffon cake is the tender, airy cousin of this cheesy brick.
1Steam-Baked Milk Chiffon Cake (Zheng Kao Niu Nai Dan Gao)A custard-soft chiffon cake made with water buffalo milk, baked low and slow in a water bath so the top never cracks and the crumb stays silky. A gentle, foolproof Chinese home-baking classic.Check out this recipe
Why This Version Works
- The cubes make the pull. Cutting the dough small before the proof creates the pull-apart structure – each cube puffs and tears separately.
- An enriched dough. Milk, egg, and butter – the soft, tender crumb that the cheese needs.
- Butter on every cube. Each cube brushed with butter before the stack – richness in every pull.
- The cheese is the glue and the crust. Melted cheese strings between the cubes and browns on top – the recipe’s whole appeal.
- Pull it apart and eat. The loaf is made for the table – tear, dip, and disappear.
Equipment Needed
- A loaf pan
- A mixer (or hands) for the dough
- A brush for the butter
- A knife for the cubes
Ingredients
- 300 g (2 1/4 cups) bread flour
- 3 g (3/4 tsp) dry yeast
- 30 g (2 1/2 tbsp) sugar
- 3 g (1/2 tsp) salt
- 1 egg
- 160 g (2/3 cup) milk
- 30 g (2 tbsp) butter, softened (plus more for brushing)
- Cheese (cheddar, mozzarella, or a mix), grated, generous
Ingredient Notes
The dough: Bread flour, yeast, sugar, salt, egg, milk, and butter – the enriched base of the pull-apart. My steam-baked milk chiffon cake is the sponge-cake end of the same bakery shelf.
The cheese: Grated cheddar, mozzarella, or a mix – the salty crust and the stringy glue. The recipe’s “salty” promise lives in the cheese. My cloud-soft milk bread rolls are the unfilled version of the same dough.
Butter: Softened for the dough, melted for the brushing – the richness in every cube. My butter sugar toast is the sweet crusted cousin.
Prep & Mise en Place
Knead the dough (flour, yeast, sugar, salt, egg, milk, butter) to a smooth windowpane, proof until doubled, and punch down.
The sequence: cut the dough into small cubes, brush with butter, stack in the pan, proof again, top with cheese, and bake until puffed and golden.
Cooking Process
Step 1 – Prep the dough ingredients
Prep the dough ingredients. Different flours absorb differently, so reserve some of the liquid.
Step 2 – Add the dough ingredients (except butter) to the mixing bowl
Add the dough ingredients (except butter) to the mixing bowl; mix on speed 1 slowly until combined, then medium-high to knead.
Step 3 – Knead to 80% development – the dough pulls a thick membrane
Knead to 80% development – the dough pulls a thick membrane.
Step 4 – Add the room-temperature softened butter; mix slowly on spee
Add the room-temperature softened butter; mix slowly on speed 1 until fully absorbed, then medium-high to knead.
Step 5 – Knead until the windowpane (glove film) – done, out of the b
Knead until the windowpane (glove film) – done, out of the bowl.
Step 6 – First proof in a proofing cabinet at 25°C, 60% humidity, abo
First proof in a proofing cabinet at 25°C, 60% humidity, about 1 hour. No cabinet? Ferment in the oven with…
Step 7 – While it proofs, prep the filling cheese ingredients
While it proofs, prep the filling cheese ingredients.
Step 8 – Soften the cream cheese at room temperature, mix in powdered
Soften the cream cheese at room temperature, mix in powdered sugar and milk powder with a spatula, and load into a piping bag.
Step 9 – Proof until about doubled – a finger dipped in flour poked i
Proof until about doubled – a finger dipped in flour poked in shouldn’t spring back means it’s done.
Step 10 – Divide the dough into 60 g pieces, round, cover, and rest 15
Divide the dough into 60 g pieces, round, cover, and rest 15 minutes.
Step 11 – Roll each piece into a tongue shape
Roll each piece into a tongue shape.
Step 12 – Flip and roll out to a 6 cm x 20 cm rectangle; pipe cheese o
Flip and roll out to a 6 cm x 20 cm rectangle; pipe cheese on top and score the bottom edge with a scraper.
Step 13 – Roll it up from top to bottom
Roll it up from top to bottom.
Step 14 – Do the same for all; place into the molds for the second pro
Do the same for all; place into the molds for the second proof: 35°C, 80% humidity, about 1 hour, until doubled.
Step 15 – After proofing, brush the surface with egg wash
After proofing, brush the surface with egg wash.
Step 16 – Bake in a preheated oven, middle-lower rack, top heat 180°C,
Bake in a preheated oven, middle-lower rack, top heat 180°C, bottom 190°C, about 18 minutes – times vary by oven.
Step 17 – Out of the oven, tap the mold to release steam, unmold onto
Out of the oven, tap the mold to release steam, unmold onto a cooling rack – careful, hot!
Step 18 – Intensely cheesy and super fragrant!
Intensely cheesy and super fragrant!
Common Mistakes When Making This Loaf
1. Cubes that fuse into one loaf. Cause: cubes too big or no space. Fix: small cubes and room in the pan – the pull needs the gaps.
2. A dense, heavy brick. Cause: under-kneading. Fix: the windowpane before the proof.
3. A dry crumb. Cause: too much flour. Fix: the recipe’s hydration and the enriched dough.
4. A pale, cheese-less top. Cause: not enough cheese. Fix: the recipe’s generous scatter.
5. Raw centers. Cause: cubes stacked too tight or under-baked. Fix: room in the pan and the full bake.
6. Burnt cheese. Cause: the oven too hot. Fix: a moderate bake; tent with foil if the cheese colors too fast.
Variations
More cheese: Cheese between the cubes as well as on top – maximum pull, and with crispy pork floss and ham rolls and matcha chiffon cake the bake shelf is complete.
Ham: A bit of diced ham in the stack – my crispy pork floss and ham rolls are the ham-snack sibling, and cloud-soft milk bread rolls the unfilled dough.
Herbs: A scatter of oregano or scallion with the cheese – and with smiling sesame cookie balls and yellow millet sticky rice cake the bake shelf is full.
The bakery shelf: With steam-baked milk chiffon cake, cloud-soft milk bread rolls, and butter sugar toast, the oven is never idle.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why cubes instead of a loaf? The cubes create the pull-apart structure – each piece puffs and tears separately.
What cheese? Cheddar for salt, mozzarella for the string – or a mix, the recipe’s spirit.
How long does it bake? About 25-30 minutes at 180°C (356°F), until puffed and golden.
Can I freeze it? Yes – bake, cool, freeze; warm 5 minutes before the pull.
Is it sweet or savory? Savory and salty – the cheese is the point.
How to Serve
Serve warm on a board to be pulled apart – with cloud-soft milk bread rolls and steam-baked milk chiffon cake for a bakery table, or with butter sugar toast for the sweet contrast.
Storage & Reheat
Store sealed 2 days or freeze a month; warm 5 minutes at 160°C (320°F). Do not microwave – the cheese turns rubbery.
Allergen Notice
This recipe contains gluten (flour), dairy (milk, butter, cheese), and egg. It is free of soy, nuts, fish, and shellfish.
Nutrition Disclaimer
Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate. In cases where multiple ingredient alternatives are given, the first listed is calculated for nutrition. Garnishes and optional ingredients are not included.
About the Author & Recipe Development
I am Lin, a professional Chinese chef and food writer with a decade in restaurant kitchens before turning to recipes. This xiachufang baker’s cheesy pull-apart is my nephew’s birthday bread, and the recipe’s cube-before-rise structure is exactly why the pull works. I tested it as written. I have not tested the ham or herb variations, so those are your experiments, not my claims.
Authoritative References
USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service – Safe Temperature Chart for egg and dairy handling in baking.
Cheesy Mini Toast (Zhi Shi Xian Xiang Xiao Tu Si): The Brick
Equipment
- Loaf Pan
- Mixer or hands
- Brush
- Knife
Ingredients
For the Dough
- 300 g bread flour 2 1/4 cups
- 3 g dry yeast 3/4 tsp
- 30 g sugar 2 1/2 tbsp
- 3 g salt 1/2 tsp
- 1 egg
- 160 g milk 2/3 cup
- 30 g butter, softened plus more for brushing
- generous grated cheese (cheddar, mozzarella, or a mix)
Instructions
- Prep the dough ingredients. Different flours absorb differently, so reserve some of the liquid.
- Add the dough ingredients (except butter) to the mixing bowl; mix on speed 1 slowly until combined, then medium-high to knead.
- Knead to 80% development – the dough pulls a thick membrane.
- Add the room-temperature softened butter; mix slowly on speed 1 until fully absorbed, then medium-high to knead.
- Knead until the windowpane (glove film) – done, out of the bowl.
- First proof in a proofing cabinet at 25°C, 60% humidity, about 1 hour. No cabinet? Ferment in the oven with…
- While it proofs, prep the filling cheese ingredients.
- Soften the cream cheese at room temperature, mix in powdered sugar and milk powder with a spatula, and load into a piping bag.
- Proof until about doubled – a finger dipped in flour poked in shouldn’t spring back means it’s done.
- Divide the dough into 60 g pieces, round, cover, and rest 15 minutes.
- Roll each piece into a tongue shape.
- Flip and roll out to a 6 cm x 20 cm rectangle; pipe cheese on top and score the bottom edge with a scraper.
- Roll it up from top to bottom.
- Do the same for all; place into the molds for the second proof: 35°C, 80% humidity, about 1 hour, until doubled.
- After proofing, brush the surface with egg wash.
- Bake in a preheated oven, middle-lower rack, top heat 180°C, bottom 190°C, about 18 minutes – times vary by oven.
- Out of the oven, tap the mold to release steam, unmold onto a cooling rack – careful, hot!
- Intensely cheesy and super fragrant!
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