Garlic herb bread wreath

Impress your family on Christmas with this garlic herb bread wreath. Doesn’t it look festive? Best thing is, it’s not hard to make at all! But, it’s still bread. And bread has to rise, so you need a bit of patience (that’s all).

This is not an everyday bread. I make it just for special occasions. And even though I aim to make all my recipes on the healthier side, this does require some butter. It can be margarine/vegan butter though, but without it or to replace it with oil, it just doesn’t turn out as good. The dough is made with white whole wheat flour and I kept it down wherever I could. So just indulge and treat yourself and your loved ones to this soft, garlicky, melt-in-your-mouth whole wheat garlic herb bread wreath!

How I make this garlic herb bread wreath?

Make the dough

I start by combining the dry ingredients for the dough, flour, yeast, and salt, in a large mixing bowl.

Once that is combined I add the wet ingredients, lukewarm milk, honey (or rice malt syrup or even agave nectar), an egg and butter. Using a handheld mixer (or a stand mixer with the dough hook attached), I mix until the flour is completely incorporated, about 2-3 minutes. If the dough is too sticky (a little sticky is ok though), add some more of flour. I would say maximum 1/4 cup.

I cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it sit at room temperature for 30-60 minutes, until the dough has doubled in size.

Make the garlic parmesan butter

To make the garlic butter, I combine butter, garlic, parmesan, dried oregano, freshly chopped sage, parsley and thyme, some sea salt and black pepper together in a small bowl.

Cutting up the dough into pieces to fit in a bundt form

To my lightly floured countertop I transfer the dough and cut it into 4 equal pieces. I roll out one of the dough balls into a large rectangle (so working with 1 dough ball at a time) and I spread 1/4th of the garlic butter over the dough. Then I cut the rolled out dough lengthwise into 3 strips and then crosswise into 4 strips each, making 12 squares (like in the picture below). Stack all 12 dough squares one on top of the other. I repeat all of this with remaining 3 dough balls each time using a quarter of the total amount of garlic butter.

I arrange all the stacks of buttered dough standing up, in a lightly buttered bundt/tube pan. Don’t worry if you have too much space; leaving gaps between the dough allows for better rising! Watch this reel on Instagram to see the piles of dough squares stacked up in a bundt pan.

Second rise

I cover the bundt pan with plastic wrap to let the bread rise in a warm place until the dough almost reaches the top. Depending on the climate where you are, expect that to be around 40-60 minutes.

Bake the bread wreath

Now it is time to slide the bread wreath in the oven. I bake it for 30-35 minutes, until golden brown. When it is ready, I take it out and let it stand for 5 minutes, then I carefully remove from the pan.

I usually don’t, but you can brush your garlic herb bread wreath with additional melted (vegan) butter and sprinkle it with coarse sea salt.

A great bread to share with friends and family. Always a winner! I hope you like it too. It is

soft centered – garlicky and cheesy – full of (herby) flavor – great to have your kids help out with – & so delicious

I am not a big bread baker, but these bread recipes are all super delicious and easy to make: pumpkin buns, nuts and seeds bread, Christmas bread and carrot coconut bread.

Garlic herb bread wreath

This garlic herb bread wreath is a great addition to any feast. A pull-apart bread that is perfect to share.

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Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Rising time 1 hour hr 15 minutes mins

Total Time 2 hours hrs 5 minutes mins

Course Appetizer, Side Dish, Snack

Calories 381 kcal

Equipment

• Bundt/Tube pan

Ingredients

  

The dough

• 700-740 gr white whole wheat flour (approx. 5⅔-6 cups) (or sub regular whole wheat flour or all purpose flour)
• 18 gr instant yeast
• 1½ tsp sea salt
• 450 ml lukewarm (oat) milk (approx. 2 cups)(or sub other type of milk)
• 1 tbsp agave nectar (or sub rice malt syrup or honey)
• 2½ tbsp butter (room temperature)(or sub vegan butter/ margarine)
• 1 large egg

Garlic parmesan butter

• 140 gr butter (or sub vegan butter/ margarine)
• 4 cloves garlic (minced)
• ⅓ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
• 2-4 tbsp freshly chopped herbs (like sage, parsley and/or thyme*)
• 1 tbsp dried oregano

Topping (optional)

• 1-2 tbsp butter (melted)
• a sprinkle of coarse sea salt
• more fresh herbs*

Instructions

 

• In a large mixing bowl or in the bowl of a stand mixer combine 700 grams of flour, yeast, and salt. Add the lukewarm milk, sweetener, egg, and 2½ tablespoons of butter. Using the dough hook, mix until the flour is completely incorporated, about 2-3 minutes. If the dough seems sticky, add up to 40 grams of flour more (bit by bit). Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature for 30-60 minutes.
• Make the garlic butter: combine the butter, garlic, parmesan, herbs (fresh and dried), and a pinch of salt together in a small bowl.
• Place the dough on your lightly floured countertop and cut it into 4 equal pieces. Roll out one of the dough balls into a large rectangle (so working with 1 dough ball at a time) and spread ¼th of the garlic butter over the dough. Cut the rolled out dough lengthwise into 3 strips and then crosswise into 4 strips each, making 12 squares (see picture above). Stack all 12 dough squares one on top of the other. Repeat all of this with the remaining 3 dough balls and garlic butter.
• Cover the bundt pan with plastic wrap, and let the bread rise in a warm place until the dough almost reaches the top, about 40-60 minutes. In the meantime preheat oven to 350F/175C.
• Now it is time to bake the bread wreath. Take the plastic wrap off, slide it into the preheated oven and bake until the bread is golden brown, 30 to 40 minutes. Let stand in the pan for 5 minutes and then carefully remove it.
• Optionally, brush it with melted butter, sprinkle with flaky sea salt and some extra chopped herbs.

Notes

Nutritional information:

the information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

Keyword Garlic bread, Pull-apart bread

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