Spicy Garlic Bread
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It’s not a secret that I have a love affair with carbs. I can devour bread without even thinking about it. Whip up a tasty batch of fresh rolls for dinner and they’re lucky to make it till then unless I leave the house, chain myself to a wall or maybe a more reasonable solution… make them right before dinner. If there is bread on the counter, I’ll eat it. I have zero restraint.
It’s like cheese. It’s too good to not be enjoyed. This is also probably why I love mixing cheese and bread together. It seems like a perfectly acceptable way to enjoy two crave worthy foods at once.
Even before I had a Dutch oven, I wanted to make no knead (or practically no knead) bread. I remember spotting this bread that simply called out to me. It had almost all of the best ingredients bread should have: fresh garlic, herbs and butter were key. The super special extra… red pepper flakes. This is bread people, not soup or pizza or pasta. Bread! Since when does red pepper flakes go in bread? Oh wait… since now. Because you have to.
I have to admit, I didn’t go completely gaga over this bread. But I did still really like it. I love the spice and spongey interior that is completely different than most other breads I’ve had in the past. I think part of my issue lies in that the bottom got a tad too dark for my liking. I trimmed it off and then the loaf was perfect. Â The recipe calls for using a Dutch oven and to fit it in my oven it needs to be near the bottom, which is clearly too close to the heat source. If you have a traditional sized oven, be sure to place your pot in the center of the oven. If you have split ovens, just be aware that you may need to trim a bit after the loaf has cooled.
What surprised me most about this bread, both of my girls loved it. Not just my crazy spicy food loving 2 year old. My 4 year old too! The same girl that sticks her nose up at mashed potatoes, pickles and really just about everything good in life… LOVED this bread. It must be a full moon because they even willingly picked up their toys before lunch, not a single whine! Clearly my children have been replaced with aliens.
If you love a spicy food and a good spongey dense homemade bread… you want this in your life. And if you happen to love bread and cheese as much as I do, I dare you to sprinkle this with Parmesan cheese immediately after it comes out of the oven. I didn’t do it but wish I had.
PS – I hate photographing bread.
Spicy Garlic Bread
Ingredients
- 1 C warm water heated to 115°F
- 2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
- pinch granulated sugar
- 1/2 C unsalted butter
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 1/2 tsp dried basil
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp red pepper flakes, plus additional for sprinkling
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 4 C bread flour
- 2 tsp salt
- 5 Tbsp olive oil divided
- coarse salt for sprinkling
Instructions
- Combine warm water, yeast and a pinch of sugar in a medium measuring glass. Let sit for 5-10 minutes. If it doesn't poof up, start over with new yeast.
- In a small saucepan, melt butter. Reduce heat to lowest setting, add herbs, seasonings and garlic. Stir and let sit for 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat. Set aside.
- Add flour to the bowl of a stand mixer. Add salt. With mixer on low, pour in yeast and butter mixtures. Mix for approximately 10 minutes or until dough pulls away from the sides of your bowl completely. The dough should not be stuck to the bowl at all. If it is, add a touch more flour and continue to mix.
- Form into a smooth ball. Add to a large greased bowl. Cover and let sit in a warm location until doubled in size or roughly 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 450°F. Coat the bottom of a Dutch oven with 2 Tbsp olive oil. Knead dough for 1-2 minutes, then add to your pot. Make 2 large slices in the top of your dough, forming an X. Drizzle with 3 Tbsp olive oil, sprinkle with coarse sea salt and additional red pepper flakes.
- Cover and bake for 30 minutes. (**DO NOT place lids with plastic knobs in the oven at this temperature, they will explode. I purchased a stainless knob for my Dutch oven that allows me to put it in at higher temperatures.)
- Reduce heat to 400°F. Uncover and bake for an additional 15 minutes.
- Remove from oven. Let sit for 5-10 minutes before carefully transferring loaf to a cooling rack. Let sit for additional 10-15 minutes before slicing.
- Store covered for up to several days.
Notes
I also love carbs:-) Even if you weren’t obsessed with this bread it still looks really delicious!
This looks so yummy! I’ve been such a huge carb lover lately (okay…always).
Mmmm.. Can I just eat this for dinner? And I agree. Taking pictures of bread is challenging. How do you make a brown blob look pretty? I think you did a great job though!
Found one you haven’t commented on yet! :P
I’ve been wanting to try a no-knead bread for a long time too. This looks awesome and I know we’d love it! I might end up making it today.
I love no knead bread and this just takes it to another level!! Too bad the bottom got a little dark, but it still sounds delicious!
I’m such a lover of carbs too. I love the spiciness of this, Rachel!
Yum! I bet this would be amazing rolled out as a pizza dough, too!
Garlic flavored breads are very tasty and flavorful. This is a great recipe to try. =)
I’m glad you posted it. It looks amazing. And seriously you are churning out recipes faster than I can keep up with! :)
Oh, yum! I didn’t realize that this was so easy. Your bread looks fantastic. I bet it would make for some even more mouthwatering sliced garlic bread!
wow, this bread looks gorgeous. i love that it’s spicy too..you really don’t see that all too often! great job! seriously, i could eat that whole loaf..i love carbs haha
I’ve never met a loaf of bread I couldn’t make friends with. This looks delicious!
Rachel, I bet your house smelled amazing while this was baking! What a marvelous bread!
This looks perfect! I’m not that into bread baking…. yet. This looks like one I can tackle no problem!
Lovely!
And I also HATE photographing bread! It is my favourite thing to bake, but it’s surprisingly unphotogenic.
Yours looks beautiful :)
What a great recipe for bread and sprinkling with parmesan immediately out of the oven would be wonderful. I’m wondering how this would bake up in regular bread pans.
Rachel this bread is gorgeous! Stunning! I don’t really bake bread but you make me want to!
Wahou! it is beautiful, i wish i had a big slice!!
Oh wow, I love homemade bread! This sounds delicious!
I have a serious weakness when it comes to bread too…especially when it’s homemade. I’ve never added red pepper flakes to dough before…but I love the idea! (And so would my husband who is crazy for spicy food!)
I too have a love affair with carbs. Wait, is it an “affair” if it’s true love? Seriously, I could eat only carbs for the rest of my life. My boyfriend took me to Lawry’s Prime Rib for our anniversary and I seriously put my fork and knife down, took a break from the prime rib, and ate their fresh sourdough toast. Yeah, it’s true love. And I’m sure I’ll love this spicy garlic bread. I love bread that has that kick of heat.
This bread looks simply delicious!!
oh man, this looks fantastic! i love love love carbs in all forms + if you add in garlic AND spiciness? serious win!
I have such a weakness for fresh homemade bread! with garlic and spices in it as well?? I am dying here!
I want this bread. Right out of the oven. With butter. Lots. Of. Butter.
Looks gorgeous! You did an amazing job.
I am terrible at making bread, but I have such a weakness for garlic bread in particular!! I have to try not to buy it, or I eat the whole loaf. The other day, I bought a loaf of roasted garlic bread, sliced it, drizzled with olive oil, sprinkled with crushed red pepper flakes, topped with mozzarella, and baked for a few minutes. I’m still dreaming of that stuff. I LOVE that garlic and spice combination!! Can’t wait to try your version!
Love bread, could live on pretty much that alone! This sounds amazing!
This loaf looks so rustic and spectacular! I hate photographing bread too, brown lumps aren’t normally the most photogenic of objects but your photos look so great! :)!
as a fellow carb lover,i MUST try this!
I have not made bread in ages. That is so sad. I’ll have to whip this up in the new place :-)
I’m a sucker for homemade bread! So sorry to hear the bread didn’t turn out as you expected. I have the same problem baking in my Dutch oven, the bottom gets a little brown, and that’s one of the main reason I don’t use it that often.
I’m thinking of trying the combo in a regular loaf, i’m intrigued by the pepper flakes
Could I use my bread machine to mix
I imagine you could. Just be sure to bake it according to the recipe instructions.