Bread homemade with additional herb infusion
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup butter softened
- 2 packages (1/4 ounce each) active dry yeast
- 1/4 cup warm water (110� to 115�)
- 1 cup warm milk (110� to 115�)
- 1/3 cup shortening
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 4 -1/2 to 5 cups all-purpose flour
- herb butter:
- 1 garlic clove minced
- 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
- 1/2 teaspoon dried minced onion
- 1/2 teaspoon caraway seeds
- 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- melted butter
- sesame or poppy seeds
- Carbohydrate 30.8068453758649 g
- Cholesterol 124.667056314 mg
- Fat 11.9735522667113 g
- Fiber 1.27090884823058 g
- Protein 7.28082634181618 g
- Saturated Fat 5.88249973883853 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (97g)
- Sodium 443.555228750617 mg
- Sugar 29.5359365276343 g
- Trans Fat 1.12918000610159 g
- Calories 259 calories
Step-by-step
- In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water.
- Add the milk, eggs, shortening, sugar, salt and 1 cup flour.
- Beat on medium speed for 3 minutes / Beat until smooth.
- Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough.
- Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes.
- Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease the top.
- Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1-1/2 hours.
- Punch dough down.
- Turn onto a lightly floured surface; divide in half.
- Roll each portion to 1/16-in. thickness; cut out ten 5-in. circles from each.
- Combine the butter, garlic, basil, onion, caraway seeds, oregano and cayenne; spread over dough.
- Fold circles in half; set half aside.
- For each loaf, start with one folded circle on a greased baking sheet with folded edge toward the right.
- Working from right to left, add another piece with folded edge on right side, overlapping three-fourths of the previous piece. Repeat.
- Form a second rectangular loaf from the reserved folded circles.
- Brush with butter; sprinkle with sesame seeds.
- Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 30 minutes.
- Bake at 350? for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.
- Remove from pans to wire racks. Serve warm. Yield: 2 loaves (16 slices each).
Mechanical Structure and Serving Pairings
The folded-circle assembly method creates built-in expansion joints that prevent steam from blowing out the loaf crust during baking. When dough bakes at 350°F, trapped moisture expands rapidly inside the crumb. Standard solid loaves burst along weak seams if score marks are uneven. Overlapping rolled 1/16-inch dough disks gives steam a structured path to escape without rupturing the crust. This layered format also yields distinct pull-apart leaves. You do not need a full-sized rimmed sheet pan or large loaf tins for this layout. A compact 9x13-inch quarter-sheet pan easily holds one complete loaf in tight oven spaces.
Because these loaves carry garlic, caraway, and herb butter throughout the layers, pair them with simple acid-forward dishes. A light, broth-based tomato soup cuts through the dense dairy fats. Acidic green salads tossed with lemon vinaigrette clean the palate between bites. Caraway seeds complement hearty vegetable soups and roasted root vegetables.
Second-Day Storing and Toasting Strategies
Enriched doughs stale differently than lean flour-and-water breads. Solid butter slows down immediate moisture loss, but fresh herbs lose bright flavor notes after 24 hours. Store leftover slices in an airtight glass container at room temperature for up to 3 days. Do not refrigerate this bread. Cold refrigerator air accelerates starch retrogradation, making the interior texture dry and crumbly.
Second-day loaves excel when reheated with targeted direct heat. Place stale pull-apart leaves flat on a small countertop toaster oven tray. Reheat at 300°F for 4 to 6 minutes. The butter between layers melts and lightly re-fries the interior crumb. You can also cube day-old pieces into half-inch croutons. Bake them at 325°F for 12 minutes on a small sheet tray until crunchy. The internal butter content toasts the bread cubes evenly without extra liquid oil. Pressing individual folded segments flat in a cast-iron skillet over medium heat for 2 minutes per side turns leftovers into crispy, herb-infused flatbreads.
