Fantastic Garlic Loaves

Wow! I don't mean to sound prideful but I am so proud of myself for getting better at making bread! I will admit it. I was never really good at baking bread - one lesson learned from lots of terrible failures, you've just got to KEEP TRYING!! Well, I've been having more and more success in the bread department. I found this recipe on my Betty Crocker baking for today cookbook - Thank you, Betty Crocker!! These amazing garlic loaves turned out so soft, flaky, and tasty! I am a big garlic fan! I think cooking without using fresh garlic would be so boring!!

Garlic Loaves

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons olive oil
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped (You may use less or more garlic)
5 - 5 1/2 cups flour or bread flour (I used regular flour and it still turned out so good)
2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
4 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
2 cups very warm water (120-130 degrees F)
(optional) 3/4 cups shredded Asiago cheese (3 oz) (I didn't have any Asiago cheese so I skipped this ingredient but next time, I am definitely trying it with the cheese!)
(optional) butter & garlic powder
Dipping Sauce: Recipe follows

Direction:

In skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Cook garlic in oil, stirring frequently until garlic just begins to brown. Remove from heat.

In large bowl, mix 2 cups of the flour, the sugar, salt, and yeast. Add very warm water and garlic with oil. Beat with electric mixer on medium speed 3 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. Stir in cheese (optional) and enough remaining flour to make dough easy to handle.

On lightly floured surface, knead dough 5-10 minutes or until dough is smooth and springy. Grease large bowl with cooking spray. Place dough in bowl, turning dough to grease all sides. Cover bowl loosely with plastic wrap and let rise in warm place.

Grease large cookie sheet with cooking spray. Gently push fist into dough to deflate. Divide dough into fourths. Shape each into 6-inch round. Place each round with smooth side up on corner of cooke sheet. Cut 1/2-inch-deep slash in top of each round with serrated knife. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise in warm place about 30 minutes or until has doubled in size.

(Optional) Melt 1/4 cup cheese and stir in 1 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder. Brush the top of each round with the garlic butter.

Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Remove plastic wrap. Bake 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Brush the top of each round with the remaining garlic butter if desired.

(Note) This bread is fantastic with this particular dipping sauce -

2 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 clove garlic, finely chopped (carmelized if desired)

Mix all the ingredients and dip the bread in the sauce. It's amazing!!

Adapted from Betty Crocker with slight changes