Garlic bread (vegan)

Garlic bread is an Italian bread topped with garlic and oregano. Even though garlic has a strong smell, when this bread is being baked, the smell of roasted garlic is heavenly. I have read that in some traditional medicines, they say its healthy to swallow a garlic clove in the morning. There are also stories that garlic can keep vampires away! That reminds me of the funny movie "Hotel Transylvania".

Plain flour - 3 cups and 2 Tbsp for dusting
Potato water - 1 and 1/4 cup
Sugar - 2 Tbsp and 1 tsp
Olive oil - 4 Tbsp
Salt - 1 and 1/2 tsp
Yeast - 1 and 1/2 tsp
Garlic - 3 to 10 cloves, according to personal taste
Oregano - 1 tsp

Take 1/4 cup lukewarm potato water, add 1 tsp sugar and 1 and 1/2  tsp yeast. Mix well. Set aside to rise, 10 minutes.

Combine flour, 2 Tbsp sugar, salt.

Add oil and remaining potato water to risen yeast mixture. Add wet ingredients to flour mix, adding little by little, mixing well with a spatula. You will get a very wet dough. Allow dough to rest, 5 minutes.

Place dough on a lightly floured work surface, Knead gently, 10 minutes (lift, spread and throw or stretch and pull). You will get a loose, soft dough; not sticky. Coat oil on its surface. Place in a large bowl. Cover bowl with a wet cloth and set aside to rise in a warm place, until it doubles in size, 1 hour.

After an hour, gently deflate dough. Shape and place in greased loaf pan. Brush with oil. Make few deep cuts gently and sprinkle crushed garlic and oregano. Cover with wet cloth and and let dough rise until doubled, 45 to 60 minutes.

Preheat oven to 200 C. Bake for 15 minutes. Take out from oven. Allow to cool in pan.

Recipe credits : Anu Garg