Parmesan, Roasted Garlic and Basil Bread

I have an elderly couple that lives next door, that keeps THE most immaculate yard.  Everything is perfect.  All the grass is uniform in color and length, the flowers look like a painting, there is not a stray leaf or weed anywhere to be found. It is quite impressive.  Apparently, not only are they adept at keeping a gorgeous yard and beautiful flowers, they also have a little garden area in the back, that is so well maintained that it looks like part of the landscaping.  (My gardens always look like a painting too.  A painting done by my 4 y/o that is.)  Anyway, not long after we moved in, my green thumb neighbor brought over several bulbs of garlic that he grew.  Not a pound cake or cookies, but welcoming and neighborly just that same :-)  Either that, or we need to be protected from the vampires that we have yet to discover...but I'm on the lookout.

I decided to roast a few bulbs, and did a search of my favorite blogs for a recipe to use it in.  

Of course, I was not disappointed and found a winning recipe!

Parmesan, Roasted Garlic and Basil Bread from For the Love of Cooking 

• 1 head of roasted garlic 
• 1 1/8 cups of warm water
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 3 tbsp Parmesan cheese
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp fresh basil, chopped
• 3 cups of flour
• 2 tsp active dry yeast
• 1 tbsp butter

Roast the garlic then let cool. Once the garlic is cool, remove each clove from the peeling and chop (Mine was like a paste almost. No chopping required! I just squeezed out the cloves and mashed with a fork.) Place all dough ingredients (through yeast) in the bread machine in the order listed. Put the yeast in a well in the center of the flour. Select the dough cycle and press start.  Once the bread machine stops (it was one and a half hours on my machine), remove the pan from the bread machine and pour the dough onto a well floured surface. (My dough was very wet and sticky, and I added more flour until it was workable.) Divide dough into 20 small balls or 10 larger balls. Roll each ball into a rope then place on a baking sheet lined with asilpat mat coated with cooking spray.  Divide dough into 4 equal pieces and place in mini bread loaf pans.  (I made 4.)

Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size (about 40 minutes).

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Coat the breadsticks mini loaves with melted butter (I skipped this step) then place into the oven and bake for 18-22 minutes, or until golden brown. Time will vary depending on what you are making -  rolls, sticks, mini loaves, etc.

Remove from the oven (this is where I rubbed butter on the tops of the loaves) and enjoy!  I shared a loaf with my neighbors.  Now they have given me a butternut squash....not sure what I am going to do with it yet!

Even my kids enjoyed this bread, and the garlic flavor is very mild from roasting it.  If you are like me, and have never roasted a whole head of garlic...it's easy!  Just chop off the top to expose the cloves inside, drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper, wrap in foil, place on a baking sheet (b/c mine dripped thru the creases in the foil) and stick in the oven at 400 degrees and bake for about 30 mins.  I definitely prefer my garlic (and all veggies, really) roasted!

I'm linking up today with Naptime Creations, Mandy's Recipe Box, It's a Blog Party, Weiner Tales, 33 Shades of Green, Blessed with Grace, Premeditated Leftovers, Simply Sugar and Gluten Free, Our Delightful Home