This is superior garlic bread. The garlic is roasted until caramelised and then pressed into homemade bread dough before baking. Serve toasted with mozzarella and with simple coriander and tomato salad.
Ingredients
For the baguette
250g/9oz strong white flour, plus extra for dusting
5g/¼oz salt
5g/¼oz fast-action dried yeast
30ml/1fl oz olive oil, plus extra for oiling
180ml/6fl oz water
For the garlic mixture
1 head of garlic
splash olive oil
pinch salt
pinch sugar
1 x 125g/4½oz buffalo mozzarella
How-to-videos
Method
For the baguettes, place the flour, salt, yeast, olive oil and most of the water in a food mixer with a dough hook attached, taking care not to let the yeast touch the salt until you begin mixing.
Start mixing on a slow speed, gradually adding the rest of the water until you have a smooth dough. This should take about five minutes.
Tip the dough into an oiled bowl, cover and leave the dough to prove for two hours.
Tip the dough out onto an oiled surface. Dust your hands with a little flour and divide the dough in two.
Knock back the dough and stretch and fold, and then roll the dough into shape.
For the garlic mixture, preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6. Smash the head of garlic to release the cloves and place them in a roasting tin, still in their skins. Add a splash of olive oil and a pinch each of salt and sugar and toss together. Cook in the preheated oven for 20 minutes, or until caramelised.
Remove from the oven and, when cool enough to handle, squeeze the soft, roast garlic out of their skins.
Press the garlic cloves into the baguette (add them to taste) as you shape the dough into a baguette shape.
Place on a baguette tray or a large baking tray, cover and leave to prove until it has doubled in size.
Heat a roasting dish in the bottom of the oven and pour in some water to create some steam (this will help form the crust). Preheat the oven to 220C/425F/Gas 7 in a non-fan oven.
Just before baking, slash the top of each baguette three times.
Bake the baguettes for 30 minutes. Then drop the temperature to 200C/400G/Gas 6 and cook for 10 minutes. The baked baguettes should be golden-brown and have a slight sheen to them.
Remove the baguettes from the oven and leave to cool. Once cooled, preheat the grill to hot. Slice the bread, top with mozzarella and grill until melted and bubbly.
Source: BBC FOODS
