This recipe has evolved from something that Liz came up with last year as a fun way to get the kids to enjoy our homegrown garlic. It’s since become a family favourite, and so we decided to share it. So here it is: our tear and share garlic bread recipe.

Ingredients

500g strong flour
About 3 cloves of garlic, minced. Use more if desired
50g mature cheese, grated
5g salt
7g yeast
1 tbsp Oil
5g dried herb of choice*
About 325ml warm water

*We tend to use 5g dried oregano, or about twice as much if using a fresh herb. Others that work well include basil, marjoram, thyme, rosemary or a combination of each of them.

Method

1. Sieve the flour into a mixing bowl and add the salt to one side of the bowl, the yeast to the other. Stir these dry ingredients together, before adding the warm water, a little at a time until the ingredients have combined and formed a dough.

2. Knead the dough on a lightly oiled surface. Return the dough to the mixing bowl, cover with a tea towel and leave to prove for a minimum of one hour, ideally until it has doubled in size.

3. Knead the dough again, this time, folding in the garlic, herbs, cheese and oil.

4. Line an ovenproof dish with greaseproof paper.

5. Roll the dough into equally sized balls. Place these balls onto the greaseproof paper so that they are close together, just about touching (they will stick together as they expand when they rise). Leave them on the greaseproof paper at room temperature to prove for about 30-40 minutes. About 10 minutes before the end of this range, preheat your oven to 200ºC (400ºF).

6. Place your dish containing the now risen and merging garlic bread balls into the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown.

7. Remove from the oven and allow to stand for a minute. Serve and enjoy.

The finished product – tear and share garlic bread, delicious!