#1,777: Blooming Onion Cheesy Pull Apart Loaf

I cannot believe how long it's been since my last post.  Of course, as you can imagine, I have about 10 or more coming soon now.  Life is busy.  Life is crazy.  Life is wonderful...but life is busy.  :)

I made this recipe a few weeks ago when I hosted book club.  I've had this on my pinterest board for over 2 years now, and it was way past due to try it and review it.  Holy cow, this was delicious!!  Like, go back for thirds kind of good.  It was really easy to make too, but you have to cut it very carefully so it all stays together.  Super well worth the effort though!  DELICIOUS!!

The original recipe had mushrooms in it, but as much as I like mushrooms, I really did not want mushrooms in my bread, so I omitted them.  I think it was a good call too, unless you really, really love mushrooms. 

I omitted these:
For the Mushrooms

12 oz sliced mushrooms

1 Tbsp butter

1 Tbsp chopped fresh thyme

For the Bread

1 unsliced loaf sourdough bread

12 ounces Provolone cheese, thinly sliced

1/2 cup butter, melted

1/2 cup finely diced green onion

2 teaspoons poppy seeds

(I omitted this step:) For the Mushrooms

Heat a medium skillet on medium. Add the butter. Once the butter is melted, add the mushrooms. Cook 4-5 minutes until they start to sweat. Add the thyme and continue to cook another 2-3 minutes.  Set mushrooms aside and allow to cool.

For the Bread

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Cut the bread lengthwise and width-wise without cutting through the bottom crust. This can be a little tricky going the second way but the bread is very forgiving. Place loaf on a foil-lined baking sheet.

Insert cheese slices between cuts. Pour the mushrooms between the cuts. Use your fingers to push the mushrooms down into the loaf.

Combine butter, onion, and poppy seeds. Drizzle over bread. Wrap in foil; place on a baking sheet.  Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.  Unwrap the bread and bake 10 more minutes, or until cheese is melted.