Soft, flavorful, and delicious. The perfect side for dinner. Easy to make, soft and pillowy on the inside.
Last night we had spaghetti for dinner. Not the most amazing, or the most exciting meal in the world, but sometimes you just need something like spaghetti for dinner. We’ve had a lot of potatoes and rice dishes lately, and we were ready for something a little different. So, pasta it was!
I’m not sure why, but some sort of bread is usually paired with pasta and red sauce. It’s delicious, that’s for sure! But when you are eating pasta, do you really need the extra carbs? Well, yesterday I said yes to that question, and I am sure glad I did. This bread is delightful. It’s light, flavorful and a little different from the standard garlic bread that goes with a lot of pasta meals.
I used mixture of dried basil, thyme, oregano and a little garlic powder with my butter mixture, but I think this is the kind of bread base that you could adjust the butter mix-ins with, and it would still turn out just delicious. You could even do a sweet version with sugar and cinnamon. Oh, yeah, that would be delicious. But for now, let’s just make the savory version.
*slightly adapted from kingarthur.com butterflake herb loaf
1 cup milk 1/4 cup butter 2 1/2 tablespoons sugar 2 teaspoons salt 2 large eggs 2 teaspoons active dry yeast 4 cups all-purpose flour (more if needed) 3 tablespoons instant potato flakes
Filling
6 Tablespoons softened butter
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon dried thyme
½ teaspoon garlic powder
Microwave milk and butter in a 2-cup measuring cup 30 seconds on high. Stir. Continue to microwave for 20 second increments, taking out and stirring until butter is completely melted. Stir in sugar and salt. Let mixture cool to lukewarm.
Add the milk to the bowl of a stand mixer. Add remaining ingredients. Using a dough hook, mix on low until mixture comes together, about 2 minutes. Increase speed to medium high, and knead until dough is smooth. It will still be slightly tacky, but it should be smooth when it is done being kneaded.
Place dough in a greased bowl and cover with a kitchen towel. Let rise for about an hour and a half.
While dough is rising, mix together the ingredients for the filling. Set aside.
Working with half the dough at a time, roll out dough to about a 14-inch square or circle. Cut 4-inch circles in the dough. I used a wide-mouth canning jar ring for this, but you could use a large biscuit cutter or large cup.
Spread about 1 teaspoon of filling on each circle. Fold each circle in half, so that the buttered side is on the inside. Place curve side up in a loaf pan. Repeat with remaining half of the dough, filling 2 loaf pans in total.
You can decide what you want to do with the scraps. The original recipe suggests rolls. I shaped the scraps into balls, melted the remained butter, dipped the balls in and placed them in a mini loaf pan.
Let loaves rise 45 minutes. Bake at 350 for about 25 minutes, or until golden brown. Serve bread warm. Store at room temperature, wrapped tightly.
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