Experimental reconstruction inspired by Neapolitan Danubio and Chef Enzo's Homemade Garlic Bread at Allegro, Wynn Las Vegas.
This garlic bread uses a lightly sweet, buttery Neapolitan Danubio dough rolled cinnamon-roll style around garlic butter, herbs, and a small amount of Parmesan. The large spirals are packed into a round cake pan and allowed to proof together, producing a soft, moist pull-apart loaf with distinct buttery layers and a dark, glossy crust.
Combine the bread flour, all-purpose flour, milk, eggs, sugar, salt, and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer.
Mix on low speed until the ingredients come together into a rough dough. Increase to medium-low speed and knead for 5 to 7 minutes, until the dough begins to become smooth and elastic.
Add the softened butter a tablespoon or so at a time, allowing each addition to work into the dough before adding more.
Continue kneading for another 5 to 8 minutes, until the dough is smooth, elastic, and slightly tacky. It should pull away from the sides of the bowl and stretch thinly without immediately tearing.
Shape the dough into a ball and place it in a lightly greased covered bowl. Let it rise at room temperature for 60 to 90 minutes, until noticeably puffy but not necessarily doubled.
Gently deflate the dough, cover it tightly, and refrigerate overnight. The cold fermentation develops flavor and makes the buttery dough much easier to roll and shape.
Combine the softened butter, fresh garlic, garlic powder, parsley, oregano, Parmesan or Pecorino, salt, and black pepper. Mix until evenly combined.
Keep the garlic butter at room temperature while shaping the dough. It should be very soft and spreadable but not melted.
Lightly grease a 9" or 10" round cake pan.
Turn the cold dough onto a lightly floured work surface and roll it into a large rectangle approximately 1/4" (5mm to 6mm) thick.
Spread the garlic butter evenly over the dough, leaving about 1/2" uncovered along one long edge.
Beginning with the opposite long edge, tightly but gently roll the dough into a log, as you would for cinnamon rolls.
Trim the uneven ends if necessary, then divide the log into 7 equal, thick rolls.
Place one roll cut-side up in the center of the prepared cake pan. Arrange the remaining six rolls evenly around it.
Cover the pan loosely and allow the rolls to rise for 60 to 90 minutes, until very puffy and firmly pressing against one another. They should begin to resemble a single loaf rather than seven separate rolls.
Near the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 350°F.
Whisk together the egg yolk and milk. Gently brush the exposed surfaces of the rolls with a thin layer of egg wash.
Sprinkle the top lightly with the remaining Parmesan or Pecorino. Do not completely cover the dough; scattered cheese should produce occasional deeply browned or crisp spots rather than a cheese crust.
Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until the top is glossy and deeply golden brown. A digital thermometer inserted into the center of the loaf should read approximately 190°F.
If the top browns too quickly before the center is done, loosely tent the pan with aluminum foil for the remainder of the bake.
While the bread is baking, gently melt the butter with the grated garlic over low heat. Cook for about 1 minute, just long enough to mellow the raw garlic slightly without browning it.
Immediately after removing the bread from the oven, brush the hot surface lightly with the garlic butter.
Finish with flaky sea salt.
Allow the bread to cool in the pan for about 10 minutes before serving. Serve warm and pull the individual spirals apart at their natural seams.
Danubio is a Neapolitan enriched bread traditionally made as individual filled rolls baked together in a round pan. Its combination of milk, eggs, butter, and a small amount of sugar creates a bread that is unusually soft, light, and slightly sweet without tasting like dessert.
This version uses the same general style of dough but rolls it into spirals rather than shaping it into traditional stuffed balls.
The overnight refrigeration is strongly recommended. Besides improving the flavor, chilling firms the butter in the enriched dough and makes it substantially easier to roll into a thin sheet.
If necessary, the dough can instead be refrigerated for approximately 2 to 3 hours after its first rise, until thoroughly chilled.
Using both is intentional. Fresh garlic provides aroma and complexity, while garlic powder distributes garlic flavor evenly throughout the butter and every layer of the bread.
The Parmesan or Pecorino is intended primarily as seasoning rather than as a distinct cheese filling. If the finished bread tastes noticeably cheesy, reduce the amount in the filling on the next batch.
The thin layer of garlic butter between each revolution of dough should prevent the layers from completely bonding during baking. The goal is a moist, peelable, almost flaky texture while remaining unmistakably bread rather than pastry.
For the first attempt, pay particular attention to: