So before I was hired at my current job, I was by no means a bread maker, hell I had never even made bread from scratch.  I’m always up for learning a new skill, so I lied and said “yeah, I’ve made bread, it’s just been a while”  yeah, lie my ass off I did. I did have a concept of how to make bread, it was very skewed, because I thought it was hard and took forever….LOL not so, and now I embrace the bread making and have gotten pretty damn good at it if I do say so myself, not perfect, just pretty damn good, I still have lot’s to learn, and am always willing to do so. If you got any tips, feel free to throw ‘em at me, but for now I’m going to share some of what I’ve learned / taught myself over the past year and a few months….. First thing is this, it’s only as hard as you make it, so K.I.S.S. (keep it simple stupid) and don’t be afraid to experiment with your dough, yeast can be killed, and salt is your friend. Well, here goes nothing

Special Gear Recommended:

Kitchen-aid type mixer, or a stand mixer with dough hooks

Roasted Garlic & Basil Bread

2 Bulbs of fresh Garlic (roasted)

1Tbsp Active Dry Yeast

1Tbsp Sugar

1/2 cup warm water

1 1/2 Tbsp salt

2 1/2 cups  Warm Water 70 to 100 degrees(approx.)

1/4 cup Olive oil

2 oz Fresh Basil(chiffanod)

First off lets get our garlic roasting, then while that’s working combine your yeast, sugar, and first listed water and let your yeast bloom until it’s good and foamy. then add your flour, salt , basil, chopped garlic(rough chop it) . Then start adding to your mixer the second listed water & Olive oil(mix this with your water so it’s warm too) add until the dough Pulls away from the sides of the bowl and forms a ball and knead for 2 to 3 minutes place in a bowl that’s been sprayed with some food release and let raise for approx. 1hr, then punch it down and turn out onto a lightly floured surface, divide the dough in half and roll out to about 3/4 inch thickness, then roll into a loaf and tuck the ends under so it forms a loaf (you can use a loaf pan if you want a more uniform loaf), then score the loaves 4 times across the top, brush with egg wash (egg and water mix) and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and let raise for about 30 more minutes, then place in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for 20 minutes, rotate 180 degrees and leave in for 20 more minutes or until dark golden brown. let rest for about 1/2 hour slice and break out the butter your gonna need it, actually you won’t need it either, just eat up and enjoy!!