Fluffy yeast bread swirled around salted butter, garlic, and herbs. Your favorite swirl loaf and your favorite garlic bread just became best friends.
We need to get something out of the way immediately: The butt of this bread is the best part.
But we’ll come back to that.
Actually, scratch that. I’m too intrigued by my own statement to move on from that.
Yes, I just fascinated myself.
Normally, the butt of the bread is…well, the butt of the bread. Kind of so-so, probably the piece that the least picky person in the family will eat, but not something you fight over. In my family, my dad is the bread-butt-eater. (<–That’s a weird phrase.) He will eat the end pieces gladly, as toast or sandwich, with no complaint. We also often liken his palate to those of our beagles.
But this bread…well, let’s examine what is going on here. We’ve got ourselves a fairly traditional fluffy yeast bread (See those little air pockets? All courtesy of Red Star Platinum Yeast. I swear, that stuff is baking gold.). But instead of simply plopping it in a pan and baking it – which would actually make a pretty stellar sandwich loaf, to be honest – we roll it out, spread it with a mixture of salted butter (please, splurge on the good stuff for this), minced garlic and herbs, sprinkle on a little freshly-grated Parmesan cheese, then weep for joy as we roll it into a perfect swirl loaf.
Now, here’s where it gets (extra) good. In the oven, all of that garlic-butter-goodness starts to melt and ooze out the ends of the bread, turning the ends and bottom of the loaf perfectly flaky and buttery.
Now you understand why I say that the butt of this bread is the best part. It was after tasting the bottom part of this loaf (after a quizzical look when I told him that the bottom was GOLD), that Boyfriend announced, “You could sell this bread.”
I might have taken a bow in my mind.
Make this bread. Serve it alongside your favorite spaghetti and meatballs. Enjoy a meal with your family and try not to fight over the butt of the bread.
Looking for baking tips and tricks? Make sure to check out Red Star Yeast’s tips page, and follow them on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest for more great recipes.
Garlic and Herb Swirl Bread
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/3 cup water
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 3-4 cups bread flour
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 package Red Star Platinum Yeast 2 1/4 teaspoons
- 1 whole egg + 1 egg divided
For the filling:
- 1/4 cup salted butter melted
- 3 cloves garlic finely minced
- 1/4 teaspoon dried basil
- 1/4 teaspoon dried dill
- 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
- 2-3 tablespoons freshly-grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Combine milk, water, and butter in a small saucepan. Heat over medium heat until liquids are very warm. Remove from heat.
- Place 3 cups of flour, sugar, salt, and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the hook attachment. Mix just until dry ingredients are combined. Gradually add whole egg, egg yolk (reserve the white), and liquids. Mix on medium-low speed just until ingredients are combined, then add in the remaining flour, 1/4 cup at a time, until dough clings to the hook and pulls away from the sides of the bowl, about 2 minutes. Continue kneading on medium speed for an additional 2 minutes.
- Place dough in a greased bowl, turning to lightly grease the top. Cover with a clean towel and let rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.
- While dough rises, make the garlic butter: Mix melted butter, garlic, and dried herbs in a small bowl. Let sit in a cool spot while dough rises so that butter starts to solidify again, making it easier to spread later.
- Once dough has risen, turn out onto a lightly-floured surface. Roll into a 9x14-inch rectangle. Spread with the garlic butter, then sprinkle with the cheese. Starting from the short end, roll the dough tightly into a loaf and place in a greased 9x5-inch loaf pan. Cover with the towel and allow to rise until doubled again, about 30-40 minutes.
- Near the end of the second rise, preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bake loaf for 40 minutes. Brush with the reserved egg white, then bake for an additional 5 minutes, or until deeply browned. Remove from pan to a cooling rack immediately. Allow to cool slightly before cutting and serving.
Notes
Red Star Yeast compensated me for creation of this recipe and post. All opinions, however, are entirely my own.
This bread looks so absolutely tasty! I love garlic and herb bread for the barbecue season. This one looks even better than the usual thing to do. You can roeast it on the grill as well. So yum! 🙂
Ooo, that would be pretty great!
Ahhh, what a genius idea! I know you have to put in the initial effort, but then your garlic bread is just … done. I would definitely fight over the butt of this bread any day!
And the presentation seems so much better than just regular garlic bread to me. (But it’s still easy to do!)
I need this in my stomach. 0.o
Baby needs the bread!
I’m attempting to make a trade–future baby snuggles for a loaf of this bread. Seems like a good trade to me.
I make Paul eat the butts
You would.
It’s not even 8 am and I’m now craving spaghetti and a loaf of this bread! You always out-do yourself with bread recipes!
Thanks, Maggie! Can you tell what I really love? (Gimme ALL the carbs!)
I really feel like being corny right now. Corny as in attempting to sing “I like bread butts and I cannot lie…” (yeah, see? Fail. Corny but not funny. But hey, I’m so obsessed with these bread butts that I can’t think rationally).
This looks AH-MAZING. I am a huge carb lover and, well, with garlic and herb butter? This wins all round. LOVE xx
Not funny? I’m laughing my butt off over here. (No pun intended…actually, maybe a little pun intended.) (We’re both corny now.)
You’re totally right!! The butt of the bread is usually like “eh” but this one sounds drool-worthy!! I love the garlicky-herby-Parmesan-yness of this swirly, yummmmyyyy bread!
It’s like all the best flavors in one loaf.
Love that garlic & herb swirl! This bread looks amazing!
It’s true, the swirl gets me every time! Thanks, Jessica!
You say things like “butt,” “melt,” and “ooze,” and I’m like “I’m so all in!!”
The butt of the bread is my FAVORITE part. When I was a kid, I used to hover around the french bread until dinner so that I could make sure I would get the butt. No one ever fought me for it, but I was that protective of the booty. This bread is killing me. I want it to ooze and melt in my mouth.
Thank you for sharing your wonderful blog post at #theWeekend Social! We enjoyed it! I look forward to seeing you next week at The McCallum’s Shamrock Patch Blog!
Have a great day!
Heidy L. McCallum
What a Fun, and Tasty Bread. This is the first time I have seen a swirl bread, that was actually rolled up to make the swirl.