Easy Crusty Bread with Roasted Garlic
Get crusty bread on your table, basic ingredients and less than 2 hours of prep and resting and 45 minutes in the oven.
Ingredients
- 360 grams All Purpose Flour 3 cups spooned and levelled
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1¼ cup Warm Water Around 38C° (100F°)
- 1 tsp Sugar
- 2¼ tsp Active Dry Yeast
Roasted Garlic
- 1 bulb Whole bulb of garlic
- 1 tbsp Olive Oil
- Salt
Instructions
Roasting Garlic
- Preheat your oven to 200°C.
- Keep the garlic bulb whole and with a sharp knife cut the tip of the bulb to expose the cloves. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt.
- You can bake the garlic bulb in a small pot with a lid or wrap it in aluminum foil and place in the oven for 40-50 minutes or until the cloves are light brown and soft when pressed. Squeeze the cloves out of the bulb and allow them to cool slightly while we start the dough.
Making the Dough and the First Rise (1 hour)
- In a measuring cup or a bowl add the warm water (not too hot to kill the yeast), add yeast and sugar (or honey). Stir and let that sit for 5-10 minutes until
- In a stand mixer fitted with the dough attachment add the flour and salt give it a quick mix on low speed or combine.
- Add in the water yeast mixture and continue to mix.
- Add in the garlic cloves (if using) and continue to mix until all the flour has incorporated and the dough starts to come away from the sides slightly. This should not take more than 5 minutes. The dough will be wet and sticky that's fine.
- Lightly flour the top of your dough and pat the flour down (do not mix it in). Using your hand flip the dough onto the other side and repeat. We want to make sure there is flour on all sides so that it helps prevent the dough from sticking. Cover it with a kitchen towel and let that rise for an hour. If your kitchen is cold turn on the oven’s light and place it inside to proof.
Shaping and Second Rise (30 minutes)
- Flour your working surface well and drop your dough on it, if its stuck use your hand to pull it out in one piece as gently as you can. Do not punch the dough as we want to preserve the air-pockets created during the rest.
- Dust the top of the dough with flour and pat the flour down gently. Flip over and repeat. Make sure to get some flour on the sides too.
- Start folding the dough onto itself. Pull one side of the dough out and fold it inwards towards the middle like an envelope, continue with the bottom and left and right sides. Keep working it in a circle until the dough starts firming up and resists your pulls.
- Next, you want to shape, with both hands start rolling and pulling the dough ball towards you until it forms into a tight ball. Lightly flour the ball again on all sides, then flour a medium bowl well and place your dough seam side down into the bowl. Generously flour the top of the loaf, cover with a towel, and let rest for 30 minutes while you preheat your oven and Dutch oven.
Baking (40 Minutes)
- Place your Dutch oven with lid inside your cold oven then preheat the oven to 240C (if using a regular ovenproof pot then you do not need to preheat it in the oven).
- Lay a large piece of parchment down on your counter, gently tip out your bread seam side up.
- Once your oven has preheated to the correct temperature, using oven mitts carefully remove the Dutch oven and place on a heatproof surface. Remove lid and use the parchment paper to lift your loaf and drop it into the Dutch oven. Place the lid back on and immediately place it in the oven.
- Bake for 30 minutes, then remove the lid and continue to bake for an additional 10-15 minutes until the top of the bread is crusty and brown.
- Again, using ovenproof mitts, lift out the bread using parchment paper. Allow bread to cool for 30 minutes before using a serrated knife to cut into your loaf.
- To keep bread fresh place leftovers in a paper bag or soft linen bag to prevent it from drying out.