Is it better to use fresh or dried herbs in bread?

Fresh or dry herbs work equally well in bread recipes . Ensure you increase the amount of fresh herbs used (see instructions below). Or check out my Pesto Flatbread recipe where I use homemade fresh herb pesto in the bread dough.

What gives bread the best flavor?

Fat. If you're looking to ramp up the taste of your favorite bread recipe, we recommend adding a bit of fat. A fat like butter, olive oil or coconut oil in small quantities will help your bread achieve a higher rise and it will also boost its flavor by tenfold.

What is the secret ingredient in bread?

Introduction: The Bread Baker's Hidden Gem While many bakers focus on flour, yeast, and water, there's a lesser-known but equally important ingredient that can make all the difference— cream of tartar . This unassuming white powder is the secret to creating the fluffiest and most tender loaves of bread.

What is the best flour for bread?

While bread flour is the best option, it can sometimes be used if you don't have bread flour. “Check the protein content,” advises Chef Jürgen, since it can vary from brand to brand, and an all-purpose flour that contains protein on the higher end of the range, 12 to 13 percent, will produce a better outcome.

How can I make my bread lighter and fluffy?

All it takes is a small amount of dough enhancer per loaf to create a much lighter and fluffier result. Using a dough enhancer like Vital Wheat Gluten works to improve the texture and elasticity of the dough and elongate the strands of gluten. Doing so allows more room for the gas in the dough to develop and rise.

What do bakeries put in bread to keep it soft?

Commercial bakeries use two types of ingredients to slow spoilage — emulsifiers and enzymes . Emulsifiers keep bread from going stale by preventing oil and water from separating. Adding emulsifiers sometimes goes by the names “crumb softening” or “dough conditioning” because it works to preserve texture.

Does letting bread rise longer make it fluffier?

Does Rising Bread Affect Its Texture? For a fluffy bread texture, the key is to let the bread rise long enough .

What are the best spices to add to bread?

Oregano – You will find oregano in many Italian-style breads. Paprika – This herb is used for things like Paprika & Garlic Bread. Pumpkin Pie Spice – Used for Pumpkin Pie, Pumpkin Pie Bread, etc. Rosemary – Rosemary is used in great tasting Italian & Mediterranean bread recipes such as Rosemary Bread.

What can I add to bread dough for Flavour?

Topping bread dough with seeds and grains is a simple and effective way to increase the nutrition, flavor, and texture in a baked loaf of bread. Most of us have experimented with mixing seeds, nuts, dried fruit, and even other grains into bread dough.

What can I sprinkle on bread before baking?

You can dust the top of rolls or loaves (white or whole wheat) with white flour for a more rustic or “peasant” style appearance. Using flour is also a wonderful way to keep your bread (especially buns and rolls) vegan but still decorate the top.

Best Fresh Herb Bread Recipe (2024)

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Loaded with fresh parsley, chives, cheese, garlic and olive oil, this fresh herb bread with yeast dough is one of the simplest and most delicious breads you’ll ever make.

Made with ingredients you probably have on hand. Enjoy the herbed cheese bread for breakfast, brunch, as a snack or side dish.

At our house no barbecue or family gathering is complete without this parsley garlic bread with chives and cheese. The parsley bread is made with yeast dough that rises twice.

The dough is cut into rolls after the first rise. Then rolled into a cheesy herbed olive oil mixture, before the second rise.

The beauty of this recipe is that you can use any fresh herb of your choice and bake it in any cake tin/ bread pan/ baking dish of your choice.

You can have fresh bread for breakfast, brunch, as a snack or to compliment your main course. Some of my favorite combinations include: meatballs in tomato sauce and eggplant in tomato sauce and feta cheese.

So if you’re looking for a bread recipe which is perfect for a grill party or just want to make your house smell delicious, then you should give this easy peasy herb bread recipe a try.

What you’ll need to make fresh herb bread

For the yeast dough:

430 g (15.2 oz/ about 3 2/3 cups) plain flour/ all purpose flour plus extra for dusting
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons olive oil plus extra for greasing
250 ml (8.5 fl.oz/ 1 cup) lukewarm water
2 1/2 teaspoons dry yeast (1 package of dry yeast (7 g/ 0.25 oz))

What you’ll need for the parsley chives garlic cheese filling

60 ml (2 fl.oz/ 1/4 cup) olive oil
110 g (3.9 oz/1 cup) mild grated cheese
½ teaspoon salt
3 garlic cloves
4 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh chives

You’ll also need:

– 2 bowls
– a parchment paper
– spring-form cake tin/ bread pan or any cake tin of your choice
– a cutting board
– a hand mixer, optional
– silicone pastry mat/ cutting board
– 2 spoons
– clean kitchen towel

How to make cheesy parsley bread with chives

Grease the cake tin with oil, including the sides and line the bottom with parchment paper. If you’re using a Bundt pan or bread pan, line the pan with parchment paper.

Make the yeast dough

Add 2 tablespoons flour (from 430 g (15.2 oz)), yeast, sugar to lukewarm water. Using a spoon stir well and let the mixture stand for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile mix the remaining flour, salt and olive oil in a bowl until well combined. After 10 minutes, pour the yeast mixture to the flour – salt mixture.

Then knead the dough very well. I normally knead my dough like this:

With hand mixer: If I’m kneading it with the hand mixer with dough hooks, I knead the dough for about 8 minutes at low speed and then for 5 minutes on medium high speed.

With stand mixer (kitchen machine):I knead the dough for 7 minutes at low speed (speed 1, on Bosch kitchen machine) and for 3 more minutes at medium high speed (speed 3).

By hand: With the hands, I knead the dough for about 10 to 12 minutes. If the dough is too sticky when kneading with your hands, just oil your hands.

Make the parsley chives garlic cheese filling for bread

In the meantime rinse and finely chop fresh parsley and chives. Peel and finely chop garlic cloves as well. Grate the cheese if you’re using ungrated cheese.

In a second bowl combine chopped herbs, garlic, cheese and olive oil. Mix well using a spoon and season with salt.

Cut rolls and bake:

Lightly flour the silicone pastry mat or cutting board. Tip the dough out of the bowl onto a floured surface and carefully shape it into a long baguette form.

You want to retain the air bubbles in the dough intact so that you’ll have a nicely fluffy bread.

Cut baguette (long) loaf into approximately 10 equal rolls – cut it in the middle first. This makes it easier to cut equal rolls.

Roll each dough roll in the cheese mixture and arrange it in the prepared cake tin or bread pan. If you have some herb – cheese mixture remaining, just sprinkle this on top.

Cover with kitchen towel and let rise for another 30 minutes. In the meantime preheat the oven to 200 ° C (392 °F), with both top and bottom heat.

After the second rise bake for 30 minutes or until nicely golden brown. If you’re using a smaller bread dish, just be sure to increase the baking time.

Because the smaller the baking dish, the longer the baking time. Also try to use a toothpick or a fork to check the bread for doneness

Remove the bread from the cake tin by going around the edges with a knife to release it from the ring.

Fresh herb bread FAQ

What can I use instead of parsley and chives to make this garlic herb bread

Instead of using fresh chives and parsley, you can use:

fresh basil and Mozzarella cheese or
Mediterranean herbs (oregano, rosemary, thyme etc.), Parmesan/ feta cheese and sun dried tomatoes or
ham or pork belly & sauteed onions/ leek. The list goes on! Let your fantasy be the limit!

What to serve with parsley bread

Meatballs in tomato sauce
Eggplant in tomato sauce and feta cheese
Red pepper and feta dip
Cheese and leek soup
Sudanese eggplant salad

How long will this parsley bread keep?

This herbed cheesy bread can stay fresh up to 3 days. Just wrap it in a plastic or cover it with a clean kitchen towel, so that it will stay moist.

Love this parsley bread? Try my Turkish flatbread andItalian flatbread recipes, too.

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5 from 13 votes