Sheet Pan Garlic-Mozzarella Puzzle Bread

Puffed up, golden brown dinner rolls, shimmering with garlic-butter and blanketed with stretchy mozzarella cheese. You are four ingredients away from one of the most amazing, fun-to-eat recipes ever. And the perfect finger-food for entertaining!

Truth? This was a total experiment, and now it's one of my favorite concoctions ever. Puzzle bread (also called monkey bread or pull-apart bread) is typically made in a Bundt or loaf pan. It involves dunking uncooked bread dough balls in butter and nestling them together in the pan (for sweet variations, cinnamon and sugar are added; for savory recipes, copious amounts of cheese come into play). Since the bread balls bake IN a pan, the result is a "loaf" with balls that are easy to pull away from each other (thanks to the butter bath). But you know me... I can't do things the traditional way.

Since I adore puzzle bread, I thought to myself, "Why use a loaf pan when a sheet pan would show-off the rolls in all their splendor?" So that's what I did. I dunked two bags of Rhodes Yeast Dinner Rolls in dreamy garlic-butter, snuggled them together on a sheet pan and baked them until golden brown. Then I covered the rolls with mozzarella and let them bake a little more. The result was insane. The rolls were golden brown on the outside, doughy on the inside, glistening with garlic-butter, and that cheese... It was everything. And the presentation? Oohs and aahs were heard for miles.

I was serving a big crowd, so I used two bags of Rhodes Yeast Dinner Rolls (36 rolls per bag, for a total of 72 rolls) and my large sheet pan (18x13 inches). The rolls are also sold in bags of 12 and 72. You can certainly cut the recipe in half and use 36 rolls and a smaller sheet pan or roasting pan. Some of the rolls around the edge of the pan puff up and over the sides, so make sure you use a sheet pan with a little lip around the edge! Or, use a roasting pan.

Note: This recipe requires thawing and rising time, so give yourself plenty of time. The rolls take about 3 to 5 hours to thaw (depending on the temperature of your kitchen).

Sheet Pan Garlic-Mozzarella Puzzle Bread

1 stick butter (1/2 cup)
1 teaspoon granulated garlic or garlic powder
2 bags (36 rolls each) Rhodes Yeast Dinner Rolls, keep frozen until ready to use
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Line a large baking sheet with foil.
Melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Whisk in the garlic until blended and smooth. Remove the pan from the heat and let the garlic-butter cool for 5 minutes.
Dunk the frozen dinner rolls in the garlic-butter and arrange them on the prepared pan. The rolls will be touching each other and squished together; and that's OK. If you run out of room, arrange any leftover balls on top of the first layer.
Cover the rolls loosely with plastic wrap and let them rise, at room temperature, until doubled in size, about 3 to 5 hours, depending on the temperature of your kitchen.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Bake the rolls for 15 to 20 minutes, until puffed up and golden brown. Top the rolls with the cheese and return the pan to the oven, at 375 degrees. Bake for 3 to 5 more minutes, until the cheese melts.
Serve hot.
Serves 20-24