We were walking around the market on Sunday, when I decided that I was super hungry and needed to get something in my belly stat. As I came trudging up to the register with a huge loaf of ciabatta bread, Jason asked if we would be having it with dinner. Uh, no. I plan on ripping into this as soon as we get in the car. Needless to say, he wasn't impressed with my snack of choice.
As I sat in the car munching away on a hunk of bread, I wondered why I didn't buy a stick of butter to eat with it. I learned that when it comes to bread, unless it's smothered in butter, dipped in oil, or soaking up soup, it really isn't that tasty to me. I need flavor with my bread. So, I tucked the rest of the loaf away with the intentions of adding a little flavor to it when I got home, but when I went to sneak a piece for a late night snack, realized someone ate the remainder of my bread! Yes, folks, I live with a bunch of heathens who have no respect for mama's late night bread cravings.
Yesterday, while Jason was at work and the girls were at school, I decided I was going to treat myself to some homemade bread. I thought about making ciabatta to make up for my loss, but remembered that I had a recipe for a Garlic & Herb Braid tucked away for a rainy day. Or, should I say week, since that's all it's been doing here every day.
With a scrumptious mix of herbs, your kitchen will smell like a pizzeria as this bread is being baked into golden perfection. I was really glad I went with my instincts and made this garlic herb braid over boring a ciabatta. It comes of out the oven looking really pretty, but best of all, it is super simple to bring together. Simply form your dough into a ball and let it rise...
Divide it into 3 equal pieces...
Braid, then tuck ends under the bottom to form rounded ends.
Garlic & Herb Braid
INGREDIENTS:
- 3 to 4 cups all purpose flour
- 3 tbsp sugar
- ½ ounce quick rise yeast (4 ½ tsp)
- 2 tsp dried basil
- 1 tsp dried dill weed
- 1 tsp salt
- 3/4 tsp garlic powder
- 3/4 tsp dried rosemary, crushed
- 3/4 cup milk (I used whole milk, but 2% is fine also)
- ½ cup water
- ¼ cup butter, cubed
- 1 egg
- 1 tbsp butter, melted
INSTRUCTIONS:
- Stir together 1½ cups flour, sugar, yeast, and all seasonings in a large bowl. In a small saucepan, heat the milk, water and cubed butter to 120 degrees. Beat into dried ingredients until just moistened. (I recommend using a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment to beat together the wet and dry ingredients as the dough gets stuck between the beaters of a handheld mixer). Add egg and beat until smooth. Stir in remaining flour in small batches to form a soft dough.
- Turn dough out onto a floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 4 minutes. Cover and let rest for 30 minutes.
- Divide dough into 3 equal parts. Shape each section into a 15 inch rope. Place ropes on a greased baking sheet and braid. Pinch ends to seal and tuck under. Cover and let rise until doubled in size, about 30 minutes.
- Bake at 375 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pan and let cool on a wire rack. Once cooled, brush the tops with melted butter if desired.
Jason isn't a fan of rosemary because he thinks it taste like twigs and dried grass when I sprinkle it on our dishes. However, I was able to sneak it into this recipe since it called for the rosemary to be crushed. The best way to do that is with a mortar & pestle set.
I'm a firm believer that to be able to create delicious dishes, you have to have the proper tools on hand, and a high quality mortar & pestle set is a must for any kitchen. In my kitchen, I use this Sweese Porcelain Mortar and Pestle Set.
The bowl has the capacity to hold a little more than a cup of ingredients. It's made from a heavy porcelain, is lead-free, and chip resistant. The lower half of the bowl is rough, like sandpaper, which makes it really easy to grind down ingredients. The pour spout is very convenient to help transfer ingredients without mess. The wooden pestle is smooth and lightweight, and easy to grip. If you like to make homemade sauces, or you grind a lot of herbs or even pills, then you definitely need to add this set to your kitchen stash.
What's a loaf of bread without adding a little butter? This garlic & herb braid is flavorful enough to eat without adding any butter or oil, but I am the kind of girl who slathers butter on everything, so I had to add a bit to my portion. I like my butter room temperature, so I keep it tucked away into my Sweese Butter Dish. This dish is wide and deep, so I can fit 2 sticks of butter in easily. If you are a user of the wider sticks of butter, like Kerrygold, then you're going to love this dish since it's hard to fit that type of butter into traditional butter dishes. This dish is made with chip resistant porcelain and is oven, microwave and dishwasher safe. It comes with a tight fitting cork lid (must be hand washed) that has a rubber seal to keep butter fresher longer. Since it has a deep design, your butter is IN the dish, not ON it, there's less mess to deal with.
I like the simple and clean look of my Sweese products, and think they would look classy in any kitchen. Now that wedding season is upon us, if you are looking for a great wedding gift, you can't go wrong with the mortar & pestle set or the butter dish.
WIN IT!
One lucky Theresa's Mixed Nuts reader is going to win a Sweese Butter Dish. The giveaway is open to residents of the U.S., 18+ and will run though 6/9/17. Winner will have 24 hours to respond to winning email before a new winner is selected. Please enter on the giveaway widget below.
