The best garlic sourdough bread recipe

This garlic sourdough bread is an easy and delicious recipe that will have your taste buds singing with joy. It has tons of garlic flavor and characteristic chewy crumb and crispy crust textures. The best part is that it's made with simple ingredients that you probably already have in your kitchen.

Making your garlic sourdough bread is a great way to impress your friends and family. Not only is it delicious, but it's also really easy to make. In this recipe, I am gonna show you how to make garlic sourdough bread using toasted garlic. Let's get started!

Let us get to know Garlic sourdough bread

Garlic and sourdough are like a match made in heaven. I used to make garlic bread using a sourdough loaf, but it never occurred to me to make a whole loaf of garlic sourdough bread. So, it took a lot of attempts to finally get a loaf with a balanced garlic flavor. You can easily go overboard with garlic and your bread will become too garlicky!

In the first attempt, I made the garlic sourdough bread using the oven-roasted garlic. It was okayish. I felt that the garlic flavor was too strong, chunks of roasted garlic in the slices, and had some raw undertones to it. So, I made another using the garlic powder, so that we could only have the garlic flavor in the bread but will not have to deal with the hassle of roasting the garlic. The sourdough bread did not rise well. I think I should not have added garlic powder with the flour. It might have inhibited the sourdough starter or levain. (not fully sure though)

Finally, I made one with toasted garlic. The only thing I can say is that it was delicious. Every bite gives you that garlicky flavor!

0Brush the slices with generous strokes of butter and there you have it! Hearty, flavorful, aromatic, and delicious garlic sourdough bread.

A regular Garlic bread Vs garlic sourdough bread

Garlic bread is a type of bread that is made by brushing garlic butter to your favorite bread and is usually served as a side dish or appetizer. It is also flavored with herbs, spices and topped with cheese. Garlic bread is a favorite because it is delicious and easy to make. Garlic bread is the perfect dish to serve at parties or potlucks. It can be prepared ahead of time and stored in the fridge until you are ready to bake and serve it.

Now, coming to our today’s recipe. It is just a basic sourdough bread flavored with garlic.

Can you make the conventional garlic bread with sourdough garlic bread?

 Why not? It already has the garlic flavor. Brush the slices with some salted melted butter, a sprinkle of pepper, and a generous layer of cheese, if you please… And there you have delicious, crusty, chewy, cheesy, and garlicky bread slices made with sourdough garlic bread.

What is Garlic sourdough bread and why do we love it so much

It is a garlic-flavored bread that is made with a sourdough starter. You must try this garlic sourdough bread recipe because :

• It is a loaf of simple and yet delicious sourdough bread with tons of flavor
• The ingredients are simple, and you must already have them in your pantry.
• If you are a garlic lover, this bread will make your world go round.
• It makes great toasts. Those are crusty and chewy!
• It is great for making sandwiches.
• A great recipe to test your sourdough starter with.
• Sourdough garlic bread is the perfect companion for pasta dishes.
• The aroma of fresh-baked sourdough garlic bread just cannot be matched by any other means!
• It goes along great with minestrone, spaghetti bolognese, and lasagnas.

Baking percentages for the toasted garlic sourdough bread

Ingredient	Weight ( in g)	Percentage (%)
Bread flour	350 g	87.5%
Whole wheat flour	50 g	12.5%
Water	290g	72.5%
Salt	12g	3 %

Ingredients notes

1. Levain

We will leaven the Sourdough garlic bread with the levain made from the mother sourdough starter. We are gonna need a mature and ripe sourdough starter for this.   A ripe sourdough starter is in its growth or stable stage. In simple terms, the starter that is at its peak or about to reach its peak is considered a ripe starter. A mature starter is the one that has been around for 4-5 months or more. The microbiota inside such a starter is much stable, predictable, and resistant to various foreign contamination and unfavorable conditions. These characteristics of a starter are crucial to making great sourdough bread. Now, that we have a mature starter, we will make a levain from that.

For that we will need: 

Weight	Ingredient	Proportion
5g	Ripe and mature sourdough starter	1
20g	Unbleached bread flour	4
20 g	whole wheat flour	4
40g	Filtered water	8

The levain should ferment for at least 9-12 hours before reaching its peak. So, I like to prepare my levain in a 1:8:8 ratio and let it ferment overnight. You can always reduce the feeding ratio to suit the duration of fermentation you are looking for. 

2. Flour

I am using a combination of bread flour and whole wheat flour for making this garlic sourdough bread. You can use 100 percent bread flour if you do not want to add whole wheat flour without altering the hydration or anything else in the recipe.

If you do not have bread flour you can make this recipe with the all purpose flour but reduce dehydration to 68%. It is important to use unbleached flour when making bread with a sourdough starter. So whatever flour you use make sure that it is not bleached. I like to go for organic flours.

3. Hydration

I have kept the hydration at 72.5 percent. But anything around 70 percent works well for this garlic sourdough bread. Please make sure the water you choose to use is chlorine-free. You can also adjust the water temperature to achieve an optimum dough temperature that supports optimum fermentation by using slightly warmer or colder water to make up for the impact of the climate in your location. For instance, when I am baking back home, it is very cold in the winter. So, I always warm my water. If you are interested in knowing more about it. I have written in detail about the impact of temperature in sourdough baking in my sourdough starter recipe.

4. Garlic

Now let's talk about the star of our recipe, garlic. There are various ways to incorporate the garlic flavor into your sourdough bread. Let us talk briefly about each.

 The first is by using the raw minced garlic.

The drawback of using raw minced garlic is that you do get some raw undertones of garlic even after baking. So it is a definite no to use it. But there is one situation where you can use raw minced garlic. That is by using the store-bought minced garlic, which comes in those glass bottles. They are usually packed in brine. Such garlic is not very strong and on baking, it does not leave any strong unappetizing taste. All you will have is a very mild garlic flavor. If you are a person of convenience, it might work for you. But also keep in mind that fresh garlic has antimicrobial properties. It might affect the fermentation and the rise in the bread adversely.

The second is using that roasted garlic.

Start by preheating your oven to 420 ⁰F. Then, cover a garlic bulb in foil. Place the garlic on a baking tray and roast garlic for 30 minutes. You can always bake more than one garlic. I like to do 4-5 garlic at once.  Roasted garlic makes excellent sauce to go with roasted veggies or sometimes I add a little bit to salad dressings. More on that some other day.

The issue with roasted garlic is that it becomes very mushy. Not convenient to cut into small pieces for incorporation into the dough. I hate those big chunks of garlic in the bread slice. It's just too much for even a garlic lover.

So, here comes my way of making garlic sourdough bread.

The third way is to use toasted garlic.

We start by mincing the garlic and then, toasting it in a pan with very little oil until they become golden brown. ( read more about the process in the instructions section). But the garlic flavor in the toasted garlic is just beautiful. The overall loaf smells so fragrant and garlic, but still, you will never have an overly garlicky bite. It is just so well balanced, toasted flavor. Trust me you will love it.

The fourth and the easiest one is using garlic powder.

But the issue with garlic powder is that it will need to be added at the earlier stages of dough development. I have observed that garlic does have some anti-microbial properties. It might affect yeast fermentation if added too early.  That could work well in commercial yeast recipes but cannot risk using it with a sourdough starter. It is believed that cooked garlic has reduced anti-microbial activities and can be safely added in moderation.

Please note that in this recipe also, I am folding the toasted garlic in the dough almost towards the end of bulk fermentation. By this time the dough has already entered the log stage (or the exponential stage) of yeast fermentation. So, adding roasted garlic will have negligible or no side effect on bread leavening.

How do you make garlic sourdough bread? Step by step instructions

1. Making levain

Start by preparing the levain. I am making 100 percent hydration levain using the combination of bread flour and whole wheat flour in a 1:1 ratio. Start by measuring 5 grams of ripe sourdough starter that is bubbly and is at the peak stage. Now add the sourdough starter to a glass jar. Add 40 grams of water followed by 20 grams of bread flour and 20 grams of whole wheat flour. The feeding ratio for the Levine is 1:8:8. The ideal feeding ratio for your starter may vary with the vigor of your starter. If you have a sourdough starter that is not very vigorous and is slow, then reduce the feeding ratio. And in case your sourdough starter is very active and vigorous go ahead and increase your feeding ratio to 1:10:10. It is not advisable to go beyond this ratio.

In my personal opinion, the 1:8:8 ratio works just best If you're going to bake after 12 hours.

2. Combining flour and water and autolyze

The next morning, we start by measuring flour and water. Retain 10 g of water for mixing with the salt. In a big bowl, simply combine flour and water using the back of a ladle to a point where no dry patch of flour is left. It would take 30 seconds to one minute of active mixing. Then, all you have to do is to cover the bowl with a damp towel or a cling wrap and let it autolyse for one hour. This resting time will help in gluten development, and also make the dough more pliable and less sticky. This is the magic of autolyse. A simple rest does wonders on your dough. To learn more about how to autolyse helps in building those gluten structures read the detailed post on autolyse .

3. Incorporating salt and levain into the dough

Once the dough has autolysed and it has become more manageable, it's time to incorporate the levain. By this time the levain would have reached its peak and would have doubled or tripled in volume (whatever the peak for your starter or levain looks like ). It should be ripe and bubbly. You can check that by taking a drop of the starter and putting it in a small bowl of cold water. It should not sink but rather float. This process is called the drop test.

Now that we know that our levain is ready, take 80 grams of levain and spread it over the dough. Use your fingertips to poke the levain into the dough. Now incorporate the levain into the dough by using the Pincer method. Some people like to stretch and fold to incorporate the starter. It is a matter of choice. Use the technique that you feel comfortable using. You can use the Rubaud Mixing method if you like it. It is a great way of incorporating starter and salt into the dough. But I find it very tiring. It does take a good amount of elbow grease.

 After combining the levain into the dough, give it a rest of 30 minutes. Cover the bowl with a cling wrap or a kitchen towel and let it rest on your kitchen counter.

After the dough has rested, spread salt and retained water on the dough. And use the same technique to incorporate the salt and water into the dough. This process of adding water later in the kneading process is called bassinage. Once the salt has been evenly incorporated into the dough and you do not feel any grain of salt in your fingers, it's time to cover the dough and let it rest for another 30 minutes.  

4. Stretching and folding

Now execute the first set of stretches and fold on your dough. Stretch it from one side and fold it on the opposite side. Turn the bowl 45 degrees and repeat. Keep repeating until you have made five to six stretches and folds. Now grab the dough by placing your hands under the dough. Lift and flip the dough in a way that now, the folds face down and the smooth top faces you. Let the dough rest for 30 minutes and conduct three more rounds of stretching and folding spaced at 30 minutes of interval.

By the end of 4th stretch and fold the dough should become smoother and supple. It should hold its shape in the bowl in the form of a dome. It means that the optimum gluten development has been obtained in the dough and it is ready for the next stage.

5. Toasting garlic

While the dough is resting during the stretch and fold rounds, go ahead and finely mince the cloves of garlic. Add a tablespoon of vegetable oil to a small pan. As the oil heats, add the minced garlic and roast them on low to medium speed until they become golden brown. Keep stirring occasionally to avoid them from burning.

 If you are gonna use roasted garlic, this might be the time to do that. I find it painful to heat the entire oven for roasting 1 bulb of garlic. One should rather roast a big batch and use them in other recipes as well.

6. Folding garlic into the dough

I am going to fold the toasted garlic into the dough by simply spreading it between the layers of stretches and folds. I spread 1 tablespoon of toasted garlic on the dough. Then I stretch and fold the dough over it. I further rotate the bowl and spread another tablespoon of toasted garlic on the fold, and again fold the dough over it. I keep doing it until the entire garlic is incorporated.

Another way is to incorporate garlic is to laminate the dough with toasted garlic. But this is usually done on a bulk fermented dough, right before shaping. For doing so, invert the dough on a wet surface. Now stretch from sides until a thin layer of dough is formed. Now spread the toasted garlic in a thin layer. Roll and gather the dough to shape in a batard or a boule.

7. Bulk fermentation

Now, I cover the dough and let it bulk ferment for 1 and a half hours. You can increase or decrease the bulk fermentation period depending on how fast your dough is fermenting. It will depend on the temperature and the relative humidity of your kitchen and the vigor of your sourdough starter.

Please note that dough is already bulk fermenting through the stages of stretching and folding. I am going for 4.5 hours of total bulk fermenting period. It may take longer or shorter for your dough to complete bulk fermentation.

How to know that the bulk fermentation is complete?

You know that the dough has finished bulk rising,

• Once your dough has started to become fuller in volume. (Look for 30-40 percent volume rise.)
• You see little bubbles on the dough throughout.
• If you are using a glass bowl,( which I highly recommend for beginners), you will see air gaps throughout the dough.
• The dough would feel lighter and aerated.

8. Shaping

After the bulk rise, it is time for shaping the garlic sourdough bread. You can shape it into a boule or a sandwich bread. It is totally up to you. I am going to shape mine in a batard.  

Batard is an oblong loaf of bread.  I like the batard shape as it encourages an open crumb and perfectly sized slices as compared to the boule or round shape. I am using the letter fold method for shaping this garlic sourdough bread.

 Dust the work surface lightly with flour and transfer the bulk risen dough on it. Now using lightly flour-dusted hands, stretch the bottom of the dough and seal it at the middle. Similarly, grab the top of the dough and seal in the middle (over the bottom fold). In the same manner, tuck the right and left edges in the middle. Gently flip and let the dough rest on the work surface for 5 minutes. Then, gently flip and transfer the dough into a flour-dusted oval banneton with the seals facing you.

9. Cold rise

  Cover the banneton and put it in the fridge for proofing. I like to proof mine for about 24 hours at the back of the fridge. But you can comfortably bake it after 12 hours. Just do the poke test to check if the dough is proofed right. On poking the finger into the dough, the dough should bounce back slowly and leave an indentation of the poke. This is how you know that the dough is ready to bake.

10. Baking the garlic sourdough bread

Preheat oven to 500 ⁰F with Dutch oven heating inside it. When the oven is ready, take the dough out of the refrigerator and flip on a flour-dusted parchment paper or a bread sling. Score and transfer carefully to the hot Dutch oven. Cover with the lid bake for 20 minutes. Then reduce the oven temperature to 450 ⁰F and bake for another 20-22 minutes.

Remove from the oven and let the sourdough garlic bread cool completely before slicing and serving. I know it smells so tempting, but at least wait for 30 minutes before cutting into the bread.

What other flavoring can we add with garlic to our garlic sourdough bread?

Adding flavorings to your sourdough garlic bread is a great way to customize it to your taste preferences. Here are a few ideas to get you started:

• Chili powder: Add a pinch of chili powder for a spicy kick.
• Herbs: Add fresh herbs such as thyme or rosemary for extra flavor. Rosemary garlic sourdough bread! Sounds delicious.
• Cheese: Add shredded Parmesan cheese, asiago, cheddar for a cheesy flavor boost.
• Onion Seeds: Onion seeds will give a nice crunch to this garlic sourdough bread. You can also opt for sesame seeds or poppy seeds instead.

The possibilities are endless when it comes to flavoring your garlic sourdough bread. Get creative and experiment with different combinations until you find your favorite flavor combinations.

How to serve Garlic sourdough bread?

Sourdough garlic bread makes a delicious side dish or sandwich or a great sourdough toast that can be served with a variety of dishes. Here are a few ideas to get you started:

• To make garlic bread with it. Brush the slices with melted herbed butter, spread your favorite cheese, bake and serve it as a side dish. Sourdough garlic bread is the perfect side dish for chicken, fish, or steak.
• Serve it with pasta: Sourdough garlic bread goes great with pasta dishes. Try serving it with a classic Italian dish like spaghetti and meat sauce.
• Serve it as a sandwich: It makes a delicious sandwich bread. Try stuffing it with grilled tofu, veggies, and cheese for a mouth-watering meal.
• Serve roasted vegetables alongside your garlic bread for a healthy and satisfying side dish.
• Make a classic grilled cheese sandwich with a twist by using garlic sourdough bread instead of regular bread.
• Tomato sauce: Top your garlic sourdough bread with tomato sauce for a classic Italian style sourdough garlic bread pizza

Frequently asked questions

More sourdough bread recipes

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Baking schedule

I hope you enjoy this garlic sourdough bread recipe! If you give it a go, I’d love it if you tag me on Instagram @theflavorbells and share your creations using #theflavorbells. You can also follow me on Facebook and Pinterest – I hope to see you there!

Till then,

Make it Delicious!

Garlic sourdough recipe card