Garlic Lover's Garlic Bread

Anyone know of a good garlic bread recipe? No, not the stuff you spread on it, but garlic as an ingredient in the dough.

I found some really wonderful garlic and cheese bread at the local farmer's market. It is a sourdough with chunks of fresh garlic bits and a very distinctive garlic taste. Almost tastes like they used a garlic extract or oil to intensify the truly strong and pungent garlic taste.

I'm looking for a recipe to find out if they used garlic powder, dried minced garlic or fresh garlic and if they used fresh garlic, was it pre-roasted or raw?

I've looked in all my bread baking books such as James Beard, Laura's Kitchen, Alice Waters', but don't find what I'm looking for. Have tried a search on the internet but I mostly get garlic spread recipes. When I eliminate the word "spread" from the search, it still doesn't produce a garlic bread dough recipe.

Hmm, never mind. Just did a search for garlic bread dough recipe after writing the above, and that worked. I think I found a pretty close match. The only additional thing is the baker at the farmer's market must also coat the loaves in that garlic puree and butter mixture before baking, and then grates sharp cheddar cheese over the top. I think they use a lot more than just two cloves though. There are chunks of garlic visible all throughout the loaf. The outside of the loaves have a distinctly strong garlic flavor also with chunks. The cheese topping must protect it from scorching and becoming a bitter garlic taste. She also forms the bread in round loaves not a flat focaccia shape.

MRS GEE's PARMESAN-GARLIC SANDWICH BREAD

1 heaping Tbsp dry yeast
1 1/2 cups warm water
2 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup olive oil
3 1/2 cups bread flour
a little more bread flour
2 large cloves garlic, crushed
1/3 cup finely grated fresh parmesan cheese

Add yeast and sugar to warm water; stir to dissolve. Add salt, olive oil, and 2 cups bread flour; mix with electric mixer until very smooth batter. Add in 1 1/2 cups bread flour; using electric mixer - mix and knead until smooth and elastic. Add in enough of the extra flour while kneading with the mixer, just until the dough is non-sticky.

Sprinkle the countertop with grated parmesan cheese. Turn out dough onto the countertop. Sprinkle crushed garlic over dough. Now knead in the garlic and grated cheese by hand just until well incorporated. Place in a greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise until doubled in size. Punch down and let rise again.

Punch down the dough and let stand for 5-10 minutes. Lightly grease a cookie sheet with olive oil. Place dough on the cookie sheet and press out evenly with your hands until the pan is covered. Let rise for about 25 minutes. "Dimple" the top with your fingertips (as you would for a focaccia loaf). Bake in a preheated oven at 375 degrees F. for 20-25 minutes or until a nice golden brown. Cool on a rack. Cut in half the long way and then into sandwich-sized pieces. Split open and add sandwich fillings.

This sandwich bread recipe is especially nice because we like a lot of crust on our bread. By baking it on the cookie sheet, you get a beautiful crust on the whole top and bottom of each sandwich with a small amount of nice soft insides.

Also fabulous served hot, cut into wedges. Reheats well, wrapped with a paper towel in the microwave for a few secs. And finally, IF you have any left, makes super breadcrumbs for your next batch of meatballs, meatloaf, or breaded cutlets.

http://breadnet.net/par.html



Found another recipe that calls for 2 heads of garlic!! It's roasted, pureed and blended with butter that is then spread on the dough and rolled up like a cinnamon roll dough. I'll share the recipe here. I can't decide which to try first!


True Garlic Bread

1 each Garlic Puree(2 Roasted Head)
1/4 lb Unsalted Butter, Softened
2 tbsp (2 pk) Dry yeast
1/2 cup Warm Water (115-120 degrees)
2 1/2 cup Warm Water
2 tbsp Kosher Salt
3 1/4 cup Whole Wheat Flour
3 1/4 cup Unbleached All Purpose Flour
1 each Cornmeal


Cream together the garlic puree and butter. (This may be done days in
advance and refrigerated. Bring to room temperature before using).

Combine the yeast with 1/2 cup warm water in large bowl. Stir with a
fork or small whisk. Add an additional 2 1/2 cups water. Add salt. Stir in the flour, 1 c at a time, beginning with the whole wheat. Use
a whisk until the dough becomes stiff, then switch to a wooden spoon.

Turn the dough onto a well floured work surface. Knead rhythmically
for 10 to 15 minutes, until the dough is smooth, springy, nonsticky,
and elastic. Add more flour as you knead if necessary. The dough is
ready if you can poke to fingers into it and the resulting
indentations spring back.

Cover the dough with a cloth and let rest while you wash, dry and generously butter the bowl. Knead the dough a few more turns, then form it into a ball and place it in the bowl. Turn it to coat with butter. Cover the bowl and put it in a warm, draft-free place until the dough has doubled in bulk, about 1 1/2 hours. It has risen sufficiently when you can gently poke a finger into the dough and the hole reamins. (Don't poke too
enthusiastically or the dough will collapse.) When doubled, flour your fist and punch the dough down. Knead it a few times and then let it rest.

Sprinkle 1 large or 2 small baking sheets with a liberal amount of cornmeal. Divide the dough into 3 equal parts. While you work with 1 piece, keep the other 2 covered. Flour your work surface.

With a rolling pin, roll each piece of dough into a rectangle
approximately 14-inches long X 7-inches wide. Spread it with softened
garlic butter. Roll the long edge toward the opposite long edge, as
if you were rolling up a rug. Pinch ends closed.

Place loves on the baking sheets. With a sharp knife or razor blade, slash the loves lightly at 2-inch intervals. Cover with a cloth and place in a warm draft-free place to rise until doubled, about 1/2 hour.

Meanwhile preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes with a pan of boiling water on the oven floor. Spray loaves with water several
times during the baking process. (This helps the bread form a thick
crusty shell.) To test for doneness, rap the loaf with your knuckles.
The loaf should sound hollow. Cool on wire racks, but the loaves are
delicious eaten warm right out of the oven.

http://www.recipes.eu.com/recipe721699.html