August 17, 2009 - 4:06pm
Chunky garlic loaf
I returned from my 9-day vacation and couldn't wait to bake breads... what's wrong with me? LOL Anyway, nothing too exciting but I discovered chunky garlic bread and fell in love with in while I was away. So I made one free form loaf and the sandwich loaf is onion sesame, both sourdough.
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althetrainer:
Could you please share your recipes and show some crumb shots? Thanks.
Yippee
Yippee, I didn't use a special recipe for these two... Just the basic things: starter, half whole wheat half unbleached flour, kefir whey, salt, sugar, and some oil, then about two tablespoons of sesame seeds. I roasted the garlic in advance and let them cool. I didn't knead the garlic into the dough until it was ready for the final proof. For the onion sandwich loaf I just added one tablespoon of onion powder. Shaped dough, brushed some egg white then sprinkled seasmes before baking them at 350F for 50 minutes. The breads are cool now but it's a bit too dark to take pictures but will post some tomorrow.
I am hungry already !! Looking sooooo good.
Anna,
I am one of those people who don't measure ingredients when making breads. I always base on the look, touch/feel, and smell... sort of like grandma style, to determine if the food is prepared correctly.
For the sourdough, I maintain a high hydration level starter, it's probably about 166% when I make it into a sponge (equal amount of flour and water by volume not by weight). To make two loaves I used:
About two cups of that sponge, then added,
Flour: roughly 2.5 cups of whole wheat four and 2 - 2.5 cups of unbleached flour.
For the liquid, 1 to 1-1/4 Cup of the whey left from making kefir cheese. When I don't have whey, I use just water
About three TBSP of vital wheat gluten,
2 TBSP of sugar,
2 TBSP of fat (usually canola oil),
1 tsp of salt,
That's what I used for the base. Once I have the dough together, I add the extras: sesame seeds, onion powder, dill weeds, caraway seeds etc depends on my mood.
If you don't want to make sourdough, a regular recipe for white loaf will do just fine. The reason I suggest white loaf because the chunks of garlic tend to weight down the loaf a bit more than usual. If you are a true whole wheat lover, expect a bit less volume of your final product.
The key of this garlic bread is to prepare the garlic to your liking. I pan "roasted" the garlic in olive oil until golden brown. Added a bit of sea salt to it then let cool. Cut them into chunks then add to the dough right before the final proofing. I would try to keep most of the garlic inside the dough because the garlic exposed to dry heat tends to be dry and a bit bitter. The garlic baked inside the dough is soft and juicy and very tasty. But of course, I always let a few pieces of garlic poke out for the look. :-p
For the final touch, I brushed egg white on the crust then sprinkled lots of sesame seeds. Baked in my cold oven at 350F for 50 minutes. Sorry for the non traditional "recipe" but that exactly how I did it.
both with "measurements" and ingredients. You are a doll, THANK YOU !!
BTW, love your kitchen with the bouquet of parsley etc. :)
I was going to wait until tomorrow morning to slice the breads and take pictures but DH kept asking me "Are you going to cut the breads?" every 30 minutes. I finally gave in and he was as happy as our 7-year-old on Christmas' Eve. He loved the roasted garlic chunks and he didn't even need any butter or margarine to eat with.
Chunky garlic loaf crumb shot:
Onion Sesame loaf
Crumb shot of onion sesame loaf
Al,
The garlic loaf just lit a bulb in my brain! I think I'll build up my starter to make SD with grilled cherry peppers (from my garden) and asiago cheese. I'll have to do a bit of research on amounts of ingredients though.
I'm excited!
Please let us know how it turns out!