Roasted Garlic Loaf

I love the roasted garlic oval by Ace Bakery. I do not love the price. After several attempts, including one where I forgot the yeast entirely, I think I have made a pretty good version of it. Plus, it is made at home, so it makes me feel even better about serving it to my family.

I have been doing a lot of baking this week, rather than cooking, because my husband has been off on vacation and he likes to do the cooking (but without measuring anything for me!). I will post some more cooking recipes in the near future, but for now you will have to enjoy all the baking I truly love to do.

MAKES 1 LOAF

INGREDIENTS
– 2 heads of garlic, roasted
– 1 cup water
– 2.5 teaspoons of yeast
– 2 tsp salt
– 2 Tablespoons olive oil
– 3 cups of flour

DIRECTIONS
1. Roast the garlic. *See note on how to roast garlic.
2. Put all ingredients into a bread machine on the dough cycle.**
3. Once the cycle is done, take bread out of pan onto a lightly floured surface.
4. Shape the bread into an oval.
5. Place on a baking sheet (oiled, or lined with parchment paper) and cover with a towel.
6. Let rise for 30 minutes.
7. Bake in a 350F oven until lightly brown and sounds hollow when tapped (approximately 40-45 minutes).

Notes:
*I use a garlic roaster, and I double roast my garlic in it so it is really just a paste after it is done. To do this, cut off the tops of the garlic and place in the roaster with 1 Tablespoon of olive oil drizzled on top of them. Roast for 1-2 cycles.

If you do not have a garlic roaster, use the oven. Cut off the tops of your garlic heads and top with 1 Tablespoon of oil. Wrap in aluminum foil and bake for 30-35 minutes in a 400F oven. The garlic should feel soft and squeeze out easily.

**If you do not have a bread machine, follow the steps below.

Traditional Method
– warm the water slightly. Put into a bowl and sprinkle with the yeast.
– let the yeast set until it is bubbly.
– add in the salt and oil.
– add in the flour slowly until it forms a slightly sticky ball (you may not need all 3 cups).
– place the ball on a lightly floured counter and kneed the dough for 5 minutes, adding in the rest of the flour as needed until the ball is soft and smooth (it will still be tacky to the touch).
– cover the dough and let rise until doubled in size (approximately 45 minutes).
– punch the dough and need again.
– follow the instructions from Step 2 onward above.