Bubble Bread for Garlic Lovers

Readers of my blog know that garlic is a popular ingredient in my cooking. If a recipe calls for one garlic clove, I smile and murmur 'That's cute' and then add three or four. I love its flavour and I have yet to be bitten by a vampire, so clearly, garlic and I are a good duo. 

And when you bathe wee bits of carbs into a garlicy mixture, well my friends, THAT is gastronomical bliss! These squishy little carb balls are dipped in a buttery, garlicy concoction of savory spices, then laid in a Bundt pan and layered with fresh Parmesan cheese. These delicious layers are repeated. Bake. Grab. Eat. Repeat.

These delicious little pull-apart balls are the perfect accent to a pasta meal - or simply because you want to sate the garlic beastie that dwells within you. Either way, you will get no judgement from me.

Yours in garlicy, carby goodness... 

Bubble Bread for Garlic Lovers

Yield: 6-8 servings

Time: about 2 hours

1-1/2 cups warm water

1 tbsp instant yeast

2 tbsp white sugar

1 tsp salt

3-4 cups all-purpose flour (I used 3.5 cups)

Butter and Herb Mixture

1/2 cup butter

1 tsp dried basil

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp dried thyme

4 large cloves of garlic - minced finely (or 1-1/2 to 2 tsp garlic powder)

1 cup fresh Parmesan cheese, finely grated

In the bowl of your electric stand mixer, and using the dough hook, mix together: water, yeast, sugar, salt and ONE cup of flour.

Mix on low speed and continue adding flour, 1/4 cup at a time, until the dough pulls away slightly from the sides of the bowl. Knead for 3 minutes. Dough should be a bit sticky. Allow dough to rest in the bowl for ten minutes.

Meanwhile, in a microwave-safe bowl, add butter, spices and garlic. Heat this butter mixture in the microwave just until butter is melted.  Set aside.

Remove dough from bowl and pat into an 8-inch square as best you can. With a large knife or pizza cutter, cut dough into 8 strips, then cut these strips into 8 pieces each (64 pieces -- thank you Grade 4 math!)

Grease your Bundt pan and set aside**. Roll each square into a ball (perfect dough balls aren't required!) and then dip each ball into the butter/spice mixture and place into a Bundt pan in a single layer (I used my Pampered Chef stone Bundt but a metal pan or even two loaf pans will do).

Sprinkle this layer with the grated Parmesan cheese. Repeat the rolling dough into balls, dipping them into the butter, layering them in the pan and sprinkling each layer with Parmesan cheese. 

Sprinkle remaining Parmesan and any leftover butter/spice mixture over the top. Waste not, want not.

Cover the Bundt pan with a tea towel and allow it to sit for 1 hour in a warm spot to transform the dough balls into delicious poofs!

Preheat oven to 350F. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until the top is golden brown. 

Using a knife or thin spatula (I used one of those Tupperware orange peelers), lightly loosen the bread from the sides of the pan. Allow it to sit for 10 minutes and then over turn onto a serving dish and start pulling off the bubbly, garlicy balls of goodness. 

Dip in a warmed tomato sauce or serve as a side dish with soup or pasta.

** I didn't grease my Bundt, thinking the buttery balls would grease it well enough, but what you can't see it is that my bundt fell apart when I was removing it. Gah!! It still tasted great, but I lost points on presentation.

Inspired by: Mel's Kitchen - Garlic Pull Apart Bread