Real Garlic bread

Last Tuesday, April 19th was national garlic day. You don’t know about that? Yes I too had no knowledge about that special day until Heather of Girlichef posted chicken with 40 cloves to honor the particular day. Anyway I made this awesome garlic bread on that day as my ode to this wonderful vegetable. I was in doubt that whether garlic is herb or vegetable, after reading from here. I confirmed it is a vegetable. Garlic is considered to be wonder drug as it found to help in managing high cholesterol levels, antibiotic and helps to in cold and flu read more about from here.

My grandma did not use garlic in her curries, and she tells folklore behind that non-use. According to Hindu mythology, the gods (Devas) and the demons (Asuras) once churned the ocean (Palazhi madhanam), using earth as the axis and divine snake Basuki as the rope. Many precious gifts were obtained by churning of the sea, such as Kamadhenu, Airavata, Kalpataru, Goddess Laxmi etc. Along with the other materials, a pot of nectar (Amrutha) also came out.

at 4.21 minutes 

By consuming the nectar anybody will attain the capacity to make one immortal. Both gods and demons fought against each other for this pot and eventually, the gods took possession of the pot with help of Lord Vishnu. The King of Gods, Indra took the pot to heaven for distributing to Gods. However, he first offered it to his wife Shuchi, before distributing to others. After consuming it, Shuchi could not digest the nectar and thus vomited. A drop of her vomit fell from heaven on to the earth from which one plant emerged that is Garlic.  Garlic is foul smelling because it had emerged from vomit. The mythology also mentioned that Garlic has several medicinal values, as it had emerged from heavenly nectar. Anyway that is the story.

Coming back to the bread, when I saw this bread in Natashya, of Living in the Kitchen with Puppies for this month’s bread baking babes which is adapted from Dan lepard’s garlic bread I got hooked immediately. I asked my hubby can I make this. He agreed and told me if you want okay go head. I also need to make bread for bread baking day too. As salt rising bread is the theme for bread baking day, I made changes in the preferment by adding salt. I used my sourdough instead of commercial yeast used in the original recipe, and further substituted 75 % of flour with whole white wheat flour. I was little bit skeptical about my substitutions; still the end result was awesome. Don’t be intimidate by the use of “3 heads “of garlic, as Dan lepard said, they mingle with dough so beautifully you won’t realize at the end. 

I made other changes such as reduce the amount of sugar from 2 tablespoon to ½ tablespoon, and increased the black pepper to ½ teaspoon. Since I don’t have fresh rosemary in my hand, I used ¼ teaspoon dried rosemary. I like to call this real garlic bread as you can see entire cloves from start to finish, not as a paste or as garlic butter. Since I used sourdough, it took me two days to finish the bread, first day I made my preferment and the next day, the rest of the recipe. Balsamic vinegar makes the garlic prettier by giving mahogany color caramelization. Even though while looking at the recipe, it might seem like a herculean task, don’t worry as you finish the steps one by one it will be real fun, just like my little one try to climb the stairs one at a time. If you are a true garlic bread lover and real bread making enthusiastic give it a try and you are going to end up with intoxicating garlicky bread with a touch of tanginess from the sourdough. 

One year ago: Russian Rye bread
Print recipe from here

What you need

 Recipe adapted from  Dan Lepard's site

Preferment
Bread flour: 1 cup/161g (I used unbleached King Arthur flour)
Sea salt: 1/8 teaspoon
Sourdough: 1/2cup/103g (I used 100% hydration starter)
Water: ¾ cup/161g(95F-101F)

Dough
Water: 7 ounce/202g
Whole white wheat flour: 2cup/306g
Sea salt: 1 1/2 teaspoon/9g
Extra virgin olive oil: ¼ cup

For filling
Garlic heads: 3 no/136g
Salt ½ teaspoon: 3 g
Water: 1 ¼ cup/260g
Balsamic vinegar: 1 tablespoon/12g
Granulated Sugar: ½ tablespoon/ 8g
Black pepper: 1/2 teaspoon/2g
Dried rosemary: ¼ teaspoon/1g ( if you have fresh rosemary in hand use that)












How I made
Day before baking

In a medium bowl mix bread flour, salt, sourdough and water to form a loose batter and set aside for ferment at room temperature for 5 hours. You will see some bubbling action at end of fermentation time. You can store the preferment in the refrigerator at this time. 

Next morning bring the preferment to room temperature by keeping them out for about 1 hour 20 minutes. Still they are cold to touch increase the water temperature of the dough (By microwaving water for 20 seconds at high).

On the baking day

In the large bowl combine all the preferment, white whole wheat flour, water and salt and mix everything to form very sticky dough. Set aside by loosely covering them with plastic wrap for 20 minutes for autolyse.

After twenty minutes knead the dough in the bowl to form a slightly smooth but sticky and top the dough with 2 tablespoon of olive oil and set aside for ferment at 2 hours by covering them plastic wrap or a damp kitchen towel. 

In the mean time prepare the filling. In a sauce pot add 1 cup of water and bring to boil to this add garlic cloves and let it simmer for 4 minutes. Then remove from the fire and strain it using a strainer and set aside for cool. When they are cool enough to touch peel the skin and set aside.

In a skillet heat 1 tablespoon olive oil and add garlic cloves and fry them until both sides become golden brown color( Make sure not to let garlic burn, if it burn it is not useable).It takes about 5 minutes in low flame.

In a bowl mix ¼ cups of water, balsamic vinegar, salt, sugar, black pepper and rosemary. Add this mixture to garlic cloves and let the balsamic vinegar gets reduce and coat the garlic cloves. It takes about 6 minutes and set aside for cool.

In lightly oiled flour or table transfer the dough and fold from side first and then fold from opposite side to form a parcel and set aside for 30 minutes to ferment by covering them with plastic wrap. 

After 30 minutes again bring back the dough the lightly oiled area and spread it into rectangle and fold again from sides and then from opposite sides and make a parcel and set aside for another 30 minutes fermentation.

After 30 minutes of second fermentation spread the dough into rectangle and lightly press the caramelized garlic cloves to 2/3 rd of the dough. Then start folding from the side which doesn’t have garlic cloves and then fold from opposite sides and make parcel and set aside for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes remove oil from the work surface and well flour the area. Bring the dough and spread the dough into rectangle and again fold to from sides and opposite sides to form a parcel and set aside for 20 minutes.

After 20 minutes cut it into two equal pieces form a batard/loaf transfer to well floured tea towel placed in a try. Place the dough cut side upward on the tray then pinches the fabric between each so that they stay separated. Cover and let it allow rising for another 45 minutes. After 45 minutes, carefully transfer the batard into baking tray sprinkle with cornmeal/semolina. (Make sure that no garlic cloves gets exposed, then they burn and become bitter).

By the end of rising time preheat oven to 390 F and Place the baking sheet in the oven. Keep an empty broiler pan in the lower rack of oven. Add boiling hot water into the broiler pan when you are ready to bake the bread. (This will create steam, necessary to make the thick crust).

Bake the bread for about 35 minute or until they brown in color. Or they register 195 -200F in the instant thermometer. Immediately transfer them to cooling rack and let it cool for 2 hours. 

Slice and enjoy as much you want.

We become total fan of this bread. Once again don’t intimidate by these steps all efforts are worth to get this delicious bread. 

Preparation time: Preferment: 5 hours+ Autolyse: 20 minutes+ Dough: 2hours, Filling: 15mintues, First fold: 30 minutes, second fold: 30 minutes, third fold: 30 minutes, 4th fold: 30 minutes, 5th fold: 20 minutes+ 45 minutes second rising time+ 35 minutes baking time

Total: 12 hours

Yield: 2 loaves

Verdict: Yummy

Will you make it again: Yes I will

I am sending this bread to  Bread Baking Babes hosted by Natashya, of Living in the Kitchen with Puppies
 Bread baking day: 39 Salt rising bread hosted by Easier than Pie originally started by Zorra of kochtopf.
Yeast spotted