Garlic Bread

I've had this post all ready to publish for a while but it hasn't seemed appropriate in this heat! However this week I am all about comfort food and it doesn't get much more comforting than this! It's a relatively quick and easy recipe so no slaving away in the kitchen and I think it makes a great addition to a summer salad.

I love garlic. I love garlic WAY too much! My housemate and I used to roast whole bulbs and eat it as a snack (probably a good job that out boyfriends lived about 150 miles away at the time!)

Garlic bread is a great way to jazz up and bulk out a regular meal. I realise that you can buy a garlic bread sticks cheaply and chuck them in the oven but let's face it, nothing beats freshly baked bread. This recipe really doesn't take long and you can easily mix it up and leave to rise and you prepare your lasagne or cottage pie).



I'd like to experiment with different ways of making garlic-y bread but for now this is a quick and delicious addition to dinner with the family. I've used Paul Hollywood's recipe for his cottage loaf as this only require 5 minutes of kneading and an hour to prove.

Recipe:

400g strong white flour
1.5 ts salt
30g yeast
60g softened butter
250ml water

Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl. Knead on a floured surface for about 5 minutes return to the bowl and leave to rise for 1 hour.
Shape your loaf and place onto a lined and oiled baking tray. Dust with flour and cut vertical .... in the bread. Bake for 30 minutes (the top of the loaf should be golden brown).
Remove from the oven and leave to cool.

Roast two bulbs of garlic for 30 minutes at about 200C. Once cool enough to touch, squeeze out the garlic and use a fork to mash it into the softened butter.
Cut the bread into thick slices and spread the garlic butter onto each slice. Chop about five cloves of raw garlic and sprinkle over the bread as well as chopped chives and cracked black pepper. Place under the grill for a few minutes until lightly toasted and enjoy the buttery, garlicy, doughy goodness!