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| Wild garlic loaf (German Bärlauch Brot) |
I suppose wild garlic is a little bit of Love or Hate thing. Less so if eaten raw, as in a raw state it resembles conventional garlic quite a lot. It reveals its special taste and aroma in some cooked dishes. Bread is one of such ways that when detected can be a real pleasure for the gourmet palate or may put off an eater not familiar with this herb.
In any case, for any curious mind, to find out if you have a love or hate relationship with wild garlic bread I invite you to try it out in your own kitchen.
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| Wild garlic at the market in April |
Wild Garlic Bread
Ingredients for a small loaf
ca 15 g of fresh yeast
2.5 cups of dark wheat flour (I used the Swiss Ruchmehl)
0.5 tsp salt
2 tbs olive oil + a bit more for kneading
a small bunch (6-8 leaves) of wild garlic, finely chopped
1-1.5 dl water
Dissolve the yeast in a bowl in 0.5 dl water. Add the flour, oil, salt and the wild garlic. Add the water and mix the components together by hand. If the dough does not stick together add a little bit more water but not too much.
Put about 1 tbsp olive oil on the working surface where you knead the dough. Take the dough out of the bowl and start kneading it, stretching and folding it together for about 10 minutes until gluten builds and the dough becoms elastic and does not stick to the hands any more.
Drizzle some olive oil (again no more than 1 tablespoon) on the bottom and sides of the bowl and place the dough ball back into the bowl. Cover tightly with cling film and cover with kitchen towles. Leave to raise (prove) in a warm place for an hour or until the dough has doubled its size.
Preheat the oven to 220 Celsius.
When the dough has risen, take it out of the bowl onto the working surface and stretch and press out the air. Then fold the dough into a loaf and place it into the baking form fitted with the baking paper. If you wish, make a cut lengthwise.
Place a tray with water into the oven to create steam to support the making of the crust. Now the loaf goes into the hot oven for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes turn down the heat to 200C and continue baking for another 20 minutes.
Knock on the crust, but take care not to burn yourself. Hearing a hollow sound is a good sign. Place the loaf on a cooling rack and get the fresh bread afficionados ready around the table to taste your work. Serve with butter.
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| Serve the fresh wild garlic bread with butter |
More recipes with wild garlic:
Red snapper on wild garlic risotto