[Garlic and parsley small breads]

first.png
Inspired by Anne and adaptated from The Cook’s Book (p.458)

Well, I know I said I would update foodbeam more often but it seems I’m so busy at the moment that I barely have time to eat; thus you can imagine how much time I spend cooking – definitely not a lot.
Soooo how a foodaholic (who said greedy?) like me can almost stop cooking/baking? There are multiple answers; but in my case the answer is: an internship at Pierre Hermé’s pastry shop.
Don’t get me wrong! I do love every single second I spend in the laboratoire. Actually, I do even enjoy waking up at 4.30am. It’s just that the French saying metro-boulot-dodo makes full sense to me now.
Indeed, I feel like I am this saying.
I wake up – take the RER and tube to Pierre Hermé’s Vaugirard pastry shop – work – go back to my flat (ideally located in the first arrondissement) – sleep for a couple of hours – check my emails and feeds – go to bed – wake up – take the RER…
However over the last two days, I was put in the afternoon team (yep, the *macarons* one), which means I didn’t start working until 2pm. So guess how I spent my morning?
That’s where we come to the main subject of this article: a yummy and fragrant garlic bread.

A little more than a week ago, I spotted a lovely bread at Beau à la louche – one of my favourite French blogs; it was a beautifully folded bread in which you find pesto between each layer of dough. Simple, effective, gorgeous.
So I decided to make it, only I replaced the pesto with some herbed butter. And as you can imagine it was delicious.

bread dough
1.gifThe first step is to make the dough and beurre persillé (see recipes below).

bread dough
2.gifThen you roll the dough into a rectangle just over 5mm thick.

bread dough
3.gifYou can now spread a third of the herbed butter over the rolled dough.

4.png
4.gifAnd fold in three ( like a business letter).

5.png
5.gifTop with a third of butter and fold again in three – still in the width (so that the length of your bread remains the same between the forth and fifth steps).

6.png
6.gifSpread the remaining butter and fold in two (in the length).

7.png
7.gifDo the same with the other three balls of dough.

eat.png
8.gifEat!

Pains à l’ail et au persil
This bread is really fragrant. The beurre persillé [litteraly parlsey-ish butter] difuses through the bread; keeping ot moist and flavourful.
This bread is lovely served with a salad made of roasted/grilled mediterannean vegetables.

Pains à l’ail et au persil

makes 4 small individual breads

for the bread dough
7g fresh yeast, crumbled
240ml warm water
350g strong flour
1 tsp fine sea salt

Whisk the fresh yeast and water in a bowl until the yeast has completely dissolved. In another bowl, combine the flour and salt. Then slowly mix in the wet ingredients. Mix thorougly to make a soft dough. Leave for 10 minutes before starting to knead.
Then knead the dough for approximately ten minutes until it forms a soft and smooth ball.
Place the dough back in a bowl, cover with a cloth and allow to rise at room temperature for 1h30. Deflate by gently punching the dough.
Divide the dough into four pieces and proceed with the filling and folding.
Pre-heat the oven to 230°C while you leave the bread on a lined baking sheet to rise for 45 minutes.
Bake for 25-30 minutes until golden-brown.

for the herbed butter
a large bunch of parsley, very finely chopped
6 fat cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed
75g butter, at room temperature

Mix everything with a wooden spoon until smooth. Divide into four equal portions if making individual breads.

Posted by fanny who loves breads and yeast, herbs, recipe inside