Garlic, Herb & Parmesan Tear Apart Bread

Today I decided to do a savoury recipe.  This one is for a bread that you can easily tear apart to enjoy with soup, pasta etc.  I wanted to have a herby taste and with garlic too, and then for additional flavour I decided to add some grated parmesan cheese.

The recipe for the dough is fairly basic, almost any bread recipe would suffice.  Then having proved the dough it is just a case of rolling out and covering with the garlic, herbs and cheese, cutting into squares and then placing the slices on edge in the loaf pan.  Some people cut into strips and pile the strips up and then cut square from that.  For me I decided to cut into squares and then create piles, with unequal edges, so that the top of the loaf would be rough and would hopefully show where to tear.

I really like how the loaf turned out.  It is so full of flavour and is ideal as an accompaniment to soup or any meal with lots of sauce for dipping.  I would be happy eating it just by itself too.

• 450g/3 1/2 cups strong white bread flour
• 13/g/1 tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 30ml/2 tbsp olive oil
• 60 ml/ 1/4 cup milk,luke warm
• 270ml/1cup+2tbsp water, lukewarm
• 7g/1 packet dried active yeast

For the filling:

• 1 tsp chopped thyme
• 1 tbsp chopped rosemary
• 1 tbsp chopped sage
• 1 tbsp chopped basil
• 8 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• 45ml/3 tbsp olive oil
• 112g/1 1/2 cup shredded parmesan
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Method:

1. Add the milk and water together and add in one teaspoon of sugar and the 7g of yeast, mix together and set aside for 10 minutes to activate.  The yeast should become frothy.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer(you can do this by hand but it is more work) add the flour, salt and remaining sugar, then mix to combine.
3. When the yeast has activated pour the oil and the yeast mixture into the flour and knead with the dough hook, starting on slow and then increasing the speed, for about 5 minutes, until the dough has come away from the bowl and is smooth and tacky.
4. Tip the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead a few times, forming into a ball.
5. Place the dough into a lightly greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap, then allow to prove in a warm place for between 1 and 2 hours until it has doubled in size.
6. Tip the dough out onto a floured work surface and knock the air out.
7. Roll out into a 12x20inch(30×50 cm) rectangle.
8. Mix the olive oil, herbs and garlic together and spread over the surface of the dough.
9. Sprinkle the parmesan over the top.
10. Cut the dough into 6 strips along the 12 inch length and then 6 strips along the 20 inch length.
11. Create piles, not too neat at the edges, and place each pile long edge horizontal and short edge vertical on edge in the pan, butting each pile against the previous one.
12. If you have space at one end of the tin you can pack that with some crunched up parchment paper.
13. Cover loosely with plastic wrap, or a damp towel, and  allow to prove for another 30 minutes.
14. Preheat the oven to 180C/160C Fan/350 while the dough is proving.
15. Bake in the oven for 45 minutes, until the top is a nice golden colour.  To test if done tap the underneath of the dough and it should sound hollow. If it doesn’t sound hollow then cook it for a little longer.
16. Allow to cool a little on a wire rack before serving warm.
17. This can be rewarmed in the oven if not eaten on the day it is baked.