Best Fresh Herb Bread Recipe

Loaded with fresh parsley, chives, cheese, garlic and olive oil, this fresh herb bread with yeast dough is one of the simplest and most delicious breads you’ll ever make.

Made with ingredients you probably have on hand. Enjoy the herbed cheese bread for breakfast, brunch, as a snack or side dish.

At our house no barbecue or family gathering is complete without this parsley garlic bread with chives and cheese. The parsley bread is made with yeast dough that rises twice.

The dough is cut into rolls after the first rise. Then rolled into a cheesy herbed olive oil mixture, before the second rise. 

The beauty of this recipe is that you can use any fresh herb of your choice and bake it in any cake tin/ bread pan/ baking dish of your choice.

You can have fresh bread for breakfast, brunch, as a snack or to compliment your main course. Some of my favorite combinations include: meatballs in tomato sauce  and eggplant in tomato sauce and feta cheese.

So if you’re looking for a bread recipe which is perfect for a grill party or just want to make your house smell delicious, then you should give this easy peasy herb bread recipe a try.

What you’ll need to make fresh herb bread

For the yeast dough:

• 430 g (15.2 oz/ about 3 2/3 cups) plain flour/ all purpose flour plus extra for dusting
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons olive oil plus extra for greasing
• 250 ml (8.5 fl.oz/ 1 cup) lukewarm water
• 2 1/2 teaspoons dry yeast (1 package of dry yeast (7 g/ 0.25 oz))

What you’ll need for the parsley chives garlic cheese filling

• 60 ml (2 fl.oz/ 1/4 cup) olive oil
• 110 g (3.9 oz/1 cup) mild grated cheese
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 3 garlic cloves
• 4 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh chives

You’ll also need:

– 2 bowls
– a parchment paper
– spring-form cake tin/ bread pan or any cake tin of your choice
– a cutting board
– a hand mixer, optional
– silicone pastry mat/ cutting board
– 2 spoons
– clean kitchen towel

How to make cheesy parsley bread with chives

Grease the cake tin with oil, including the sides and line the bottom with parchment paper. If you’re using a Bundt pan or bread pan, line the pan with parchment paper.

Make the yeast dough

Add 2 tablespoons flour (from 430 g (15.2 oz)), yeast, sugar to lukewarm water. Using a spoon stir well and let the mixture stand for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile mix the remaining flour, salt and olive oil in a bowl until well combined. After 10 minutes, pour the yeast mixture to the flour – salt mixture.

Then knead the dough very well. I normally knead my dough like this:

With hand mixer: If I’m kneading it with the hand mixer with dough hooks, I knead the dough for about 8 minutes at low speed and then for 5 minutes on medium high speed.

With stand mixer (kitchen machine): I knead the dough for 7 minutes at low speed (speed 1, on Bosch kitchen machine) and for 3 more minutes at medium high speed (speed 3).

By hand: With the hands, I knead the dough for about 10 to 12 minutes. If the dough is too sticky when kneading with your hands, just oil your hands.

Heavy duty kitchen machine: If you’re using a heavy-duty kitchen machine, please knead your dough for maximum 7 minutes in total. Otherwise, you will be overworking the dough.

Remove the dough from the bowl, grease the bowl and put it back. Cover the bowl with cling film and then with kitchen towel. Let the dough rise for about 45 minutes at room temperature or until it has doubled in size.

Make the parsley chives garlic cheese filling for bread

In the meantime rinse and finely chop fresh parsley and chives. Peel and finely chop garlic cloves as well. Grate the cheese if you’re using ungrated cheese.

In a second bowl combine chopped herbs, garlic, cheese and olive oil. Mix well using a spoon and season with salt.

Cut rolls and bake:

Lightly flour the silicone pastry mat or cutting board. Tip the dough out of the bowl onto a floured surface and carefully shape it into a long baguette form.

You want to retain the air bubbles in the dough intact so that you’ll have a nicely fluffy bread.

Cut baguette (long) loaf into approximately 10 equal rolls – cut it in the middle first. This makes it easier to cut equal rolls.

Roll each dough roll in the cheese mixture and arrange it in the prepared cake tin or bread pan. If you have some herb – cheese mixture remaining, just sprinkle this on top.

Cover with kitchen towel and let rise for another 30 minutes. In the meantime preheat the oven to 200 ° C (392 °F), with both top and bottom heat.

After the second rise bake for 30 minutes or until nicely golden brown. If you’re using a smaller bread dish, just be sure to increase the baking time.

Because the smaller the baking dish, the longer the baking time. Also try to use a toothpick or a fork to check the bread for doneness

Remove the bread from the cake tin by going around the edges with a knife to release it from the ring.

Fresh herb bread FAQ

What can I use instead of  parsley and chives to make this garlic herb bread

Instead of using fresh chives and parsley, you can use:

• fresh basil and Mozzarella cheese or
• Mediterranean herbs (oregano, rosemary, thyme etc.), Parmesan/ feta cheese and sun dried tomatoes or
• ham or pork belly & sauteed onions/ leek. The list goes on! Let your fantasy be the limit!

What to serve with parsley bread

• Meatballs in tomato sauce  
• Eggplant in tomato sauce and feta cheese
• Red pepper and feta dip
• Cheese and leek soup
• Sudanese eggplant salad

How long will this parsley bread keep?

This herbed cheesy bread can stay fresh up to 3 days. Just wrap it in a plastic or cover it with a clean kitchen towel, so that it will stay moist.

Love this parsley bread? Try my Turkish flatbread and Italian flatbread recipes, too.

Did you make this parsley bread with chives and cheese recipe? I’d love to hear from you! Simply write a review and add rating to it.