Garlic Bread Flower

Click Here for the video!

This bread is my family's favorite bake. Beautiful on the outside and soft and garlicky on the inside. The easy to pull apart petals make it great for gatherings and the taste makes it just plain great.

I will say 2 things that I have no doubt people will ask.

1. No, you cannot use all purpose flour. Bread flour has higher protein than all purpose thus allowing for more gluten development. Gluten is what gives bread its structure and that becomes especially important when you are shaping the loaf. 
2.  Yes, you can do it with 300g of white bread flour instead of using both white and whole wheat. The the whole wheat is optional, however, I find that I like it a lot better with the whole wheat. It adds and flavor and (surprisingly) sweetness to the bread.

Aside from that this  recipe is shockingly easy to follow. If you have any questions, leave them in the comments, check out the video to see if your question is answered there, or email us peppersandpurls@gmail.com

Garlic Bread Flower

Ingredients:

Dough:

• 200 g white bread flour
• 100 g whole wheat bread flour
• 200 mL water
• 2 tablespoons oil
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon yeast
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Garlic butter:

• 1 head of garlic
• 1/4 cup butter (or olive oil or half and half butter/oil)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions: 

1. Mix all of the dry dough ingredients in a bowl and then add the wet ingredients.
2. Mix and knead until you have a ball of dough with no flour left in the bottom of the bowl. This should only take a minute or two. 
3. Cover the bowl and let sit for 20 minutes.
4. Uncover the bowl and knead the dough for an additional three minutes or until it appears smooth. Replace the bowl cover and set it in a warm place to prove for 1 1/2 - 2 hrs. 
5. Make the garlic butter while you wait. In a skillet over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the minced garlic and salt and cook for about three minutes.
6. Remove from the heat and let cool completely.
7. Once the dough is done proving, put some oil on your hands to prevent sticking and separate the dough into four equal parts.
8. Shaped them all into balls and then flatten them and roll them out into rounds that are slightly bigger than your hand.
9. Place the first round on a piece of parchment paper and top with 1/4 of the garlic butter.
10. Add another round on top of that and cover with another quarter of the garlic butter. Repeat this once more and then simply lay the last layer on top but do not brush with garlic butter. 
11. Make cuts around the dough so that there are 16 segments with the center of the dough intact. 
12. Lift two of the segments next to each other in each hand and gently tug them. Twist them away from each other twice and then press the ends of the segments back together and tuck that point under as you lay the now shaped petal back down.
13. Repeat this seven more times. 
14. Using parchment paper move the shaped bread into a cast iron skillet and cover with plastic wrap to rise for 45-60 minutes 
15. Bake at 400°F for 25-28 minutes. 
16. Brush the remaining garlic butter over the finished loaf while it is still hot. 
17. Enjoy!!