Garlic Herb French Bread
Bread lovers are going to rave over this delicious recipe! Garlic Herb French Bread starts with my Easy French Bread recipe, but instead of being plain bread, I wanted to spruce it up a little bit with lots of different herbs and garlic. All I can say is that this recipe was a resounding success! If you enjoy a great tasting homemade bread this one is delightful.
I have been wanting to do an advanced version of my Easy French Bread recipe for quite some time but I’d just never gotten around to it. Then when one of my prayer partners came down with a bronchial infection I wanted to make up a quick and easy meal for her that would help her feel better as she recovered. I made up a batch of Canadian Cheese Soup (one of my personal favorites), and this delicious bread. I also sent her home with a batch of Candy Corn Cupcakes which her son promptly disposed of.
Let me make one recommendation. If you don’t have marjoram as an herb you usually keep in your pantry, go out and buy yourself some for this recipe. It makes a difference. Quite frankly, if you’ve never used marjoram in recipes before you don’t know what your missing. It’s fantastic with soups, potpies and casseroles. It also works wonderfully in breads. It is rapidly becoming one of my favorite seasonings and it’s wonderful if you can get it fresh as well.
Garlic Herb French Bread is a great addition to any main dish entree, but it’s especially good with soup, salad, and pasta. I hope you’ll give it a try soon. While we served it plain, it’s just as good as a dipper for Easy Marinara Sauce or your favorite dipping oils. You’ll find the bread heavenly–and so will your family or guests.
Here’s what I did.
Add hot water.
Stir to combine.
Flour your working surface. Place dough on top of surface and sprinkle generously with more flour. I start by pushing flour into the dough with my fingers for about 15-20 seconds.
Knead dough working in remaining 3/4 cup flour (from the working surface and the flour that was sprinkled on top of the dough), until dough is no longer sticky. Push dough with the heel of one hand and pull dough toward you with the other hand. Sweep dough into the dough from the surface so the dough gets less and less sticky as you work it.
It takes me about 5 to 7 minutes to knead the dough, that is about 50 pushes and pulls (kneads) per minute.
Place dough in a greased bowl. Grease the top of the dough, too. Cover with tea towel. Place bowl in a warm surface (like on top of a dryer or a garage), or you can heat your oven for exactly one minute. Turn off oven and put covered bowl in oven. Allow dough to raise about 45 minutes.
Punch dough down with your fist.
Cut dough in half and roll out and shape into two loaves.
Grease cookie sheets. Place dough on cookie sheet. I’ve made several cuts on the bread. Place dough in warm surface again, or in the oven that’s been turned on for exactly one minute. Allow bread to rise one more time – it will usually double in about 30-40 minutes.
While bread is baking melt butter in a measuring cup. Add 1 tsp. parsley, and 1/8 teaspoon each of marjoram, basil, garlic powder and thyme.
Stir ingredients to combine.
Brush loaves with butter-herb mixture as soon as the bread comes out of the oven.
After about 15 minutes, cut bread down with an electric knife.
Garlic Herb French Bread is a great side for anything Italian!
Garlic Herb French Bread is so tasty with all the different herbs in it.
Here’s the recipe.
GARLIC HERB FRENCH BREAD
(My own concoction)
Prep time 20 mins
Cook time 20 mins
Total time 40 mins
This fabulous garlic bread is filled with lots of herbs and garlic then the top is spread with garlic butter that contains marjoram, thyme, parsley and basil. It's incredibly delicious and wonderful served with soup or your favorite Italian or pasta dish.
Author: Teresa Ambra my own concoction Recipe type: Breads, Rolls and Muffins Cuisine: Italian Serves: 24
Ingredients
- 2 ½-2 ¾ cups bread flour
- 1 tsp. thyme
- 1 tsp. basil
- 1 tsp. marjoram
- 1 tbsp. parsley
- 1 tbsp. minced garlic from a jar or about 4 cloves fresh garlic, minced
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 tbsp. sugar
- 1 pkg. Fleishmann’s active dry yeast, or 2 ¼ tsp.
- 1 cup hot water (120°)
- 3 tbsp. melted, unsalted butter or olive oil
- ⅛ tsp. each of marjoram, basil, thyme
- 1 tsp. garlic powder
- 1 tsp. parsley
Instructions
- Combine 2 cups flour with salt, sugar, thyme, basil, marjoram, parsley, minced garlic and yeast.
- Add hot water and beat until very well combined.
- Beat in enough flour to make a soft but kneadable dough.
- Knead 3-5 minutes.
- Place in a greased bowl.
- Grease top of dough.
- Cover with a tea towel, and place in oven that has been heated for exactly one minute.
- Turn off oven.
- Let dough rise about 45 minutes.
- Punch dough down and roll into a rectangle, or three smaller log shapes to braid.
- Roll up or braid dough from long end.
- Place on GREASED cookie sheet.
- Heat oven for exactly one minute.
- Turn off oven.
- Allow bread to rise one more time for 30-45 minutes.
- About 5 minutes before rising time ends, preheat oven to 400°.
- (Leave bread in oven).
- Bake 15-20 minutes.
- While bread is baking, combine melted butter, ⅛ tsp. each of marjoram, basil, thyme, garlic powder and 1 tsp. parsley.
- Brush top crust with melted butter mixture after removing from oven.
- Allow to cool a few minutes before slicing down.
Notes I preheat the oven to 350° for exactly one minute, then turn it off. Then I put the bowl, covered with a tea towel that I have gotten wet with hot water, in the oven and I leave the oven light on. My oven gets all steamy and it rises in no time.
I have tried using other brands of yeast, but they usually cause this bread to fall flat during the second rise time. Fleishmann’s is the best yeast to use.
My oven usually cooks the bread in about 15 minutes from the time I begin preheating the oven. Each oven varies.
Preparation time does not include time required to raise bread twice.
3.4.3177
I served Garlic Herb French Bread with Canadian Cheese Soup.
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