This garlic and rosemary polenta bread gets its flavor from fresh rosemary and buttery slow cooked garlic confit and its perfectly airy and toothsome texture from polenta, the Italian version of cornmeal.
I have to thank my dad for this garlic and rosemary polenta bread recipe. While the recipe isn’t his – it’s more of a Frankenstein of recipes I found online combined with my own knowledge – he is always my inspiration when it comes to baking. Also, he got a huge sack of really good polenta and gave me some to experiment with. While I wasn’t sure if this recipe would work – adding polenta to bread wasn’t something I’d ever even heard of before – I’m super proud of how it came out. This bread is simultaneously light and toothsome with a super crusty crust, exactly how a good bread should be. I used rosemary and garlic confit to give a little extra oomph of flavor to the bread. And I’m happy to say that the taste is just as good (if not better) than the texture.
USING POLENTA FOR TEXTURE
While we can buy bags of stuff labeled “polenta” in the grocery store, the name polenta actually refers to the preparation of cooking coarsely ground grains (usually corn) into a porridge. The label “polenta” really just refers to very coarsely ground cornmeal. So it makes sense that most of the other recipes I found for polenta bread are essentially just cornbreads. But I wanted to try something a little different with my recipe. I’ve made cornbread before, and recently (thanks to my dad, the bread baker), I’ve become much more interested in breads made with yeast rather than those made with eggs and baking powder. So my bread is baked in the style of a traditional loaf of Italian or semolina bread, only using polenta for lots of added texture.
Polenta is much more coarsely ground than cornmeal, making it the perfect texture addition to a loaf of bread. Using only polenta will give you a bread that’s textured like any other cornbread. So in this recipe I used a mix of polenta and bread flour. The addition of polenta gives you a chewier bite of bread than a traditional loaf. It has a super crusty crust, helped along by the large grains of cornmeal. And since it goes into the bread raw, the polenta slowly cooks in the oven as the bread bakes. The final texture is light and moist, with a nice chew in the center and a beautiful crust.
FLAVORING POLENTA BREAD
I chose to flavor my bread with one of my all-time favorite flavor combinations: garlic and rosemary. I use them together when making focaccia, so I figured they’d be perfect in this recipe as well. The combination is earthy, nutty, and slightly sweet. But instead of just using raw garlic or garlic powder, I made this creamy garlic confit. It is the perfect complement to the slightly sweet flavor of the cornmeal in this recipe. And since the garlic is already softened from its slow roast in the oven, it practically melts into the bread while baking. (And it it’s perfect to spread on a slice as well!)
While I personally love this combo, feel free to experiment with other flavor additions in your polenta bread. If you don’t have time to make garlic confit, you can try this simple roasted garlic instead. Or, think totally out of the box. You could use thyme or sage instead of rosemary. Or try adding something sweet instead of garlic, like apples or raisins, to play up the sweetness of the corn even more. (Sage and apple polenta bread would be especially delicious for fall!) No matter what additions you make – if you choose to make any at all – this bread comes out so perfectly textured that you’re guaranteed to love it.
TIPS AND TRICKS FOR THE PERFECT GARLIC + ROSEMARY POLENTA BREAD
- Use a 1:3 ratio of polenta to bread flour (I used 1 cup polenta, 3 cups flour). This will ensure your bread is not too dense with polenta.
- Fold in any additions (in this case rosemary and garlic confit) to the bread after the first rise. This ensures that the bread rises properly, uninhibited by heavy additions.
- Use a very sharp knife or razor blade to make a few slashes on the top of the bread before baking. This not only looks nice, but will help steam and moisture from the polenta escape in the oven.
- Bake in a hot (425) oven. Your bread will get nice and crispy on the outside while remaining moist on the inside.
Garlic and Rosemary Polenta Bread
Ingredients
- 1 cup polenta
- 3 cups bread flour
- 2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 cup warm water
- 2 tbsp fresh rosemary, roughly chopped
- 2 heads of garlic confit* roughly chopped (see recipe, or sub roasted garlic)
- 2 tbsp olive oil
Instructions
- Mix yeast into warm water and let sit for 5 minutes to allow the yeast to bloom.
- While the yeast blooms, combine flour, polenta, salt and 1 tbsp olive oil (from the garlic confit if using) and mix well. Add the water with yeast and stir until a shaggy dough forms.
- If using a stand mixer, fit it with the dough hook and knead the dough on medium speed for 5 minutes. If kneading by hand, knead for 10 minutes. The dough should be dense but springy to the touch. If the dough is sticking to your hands or the dough hook, add a little more flour.
- Add 1 tbsp olive oil to a large bowl. Transfer the dough to this bowl and swirl it around to coat on both sides completely. Cover with a damp kitchen towel and allow to rise in a warm spot until doubled in size, 90 minutes.
- Once the dough has risen, punch it down. Add the rosemary and garlic to the dough and knead by hand until it is evenly distributed.
- Preheat the oven to 425. Spread a handful of polenta on a baking sheet. Transfer the dough to this baking sheet and use your hands to form it into a loaf shape about 4 inches tall, 6 inches wide and 8 inches long. Cover the dough again and allow it to rise for another 30 minutes.
- After the second rise, use a very sharp knife or razor blade to make a few slashes on the top of the dough.
- Bake in a 425 oven until the bread is golden brown and cooked through, about 40 minutes. You can check the doneness of the bread by tapping on the bottom of it – it should sound hollow.
You can’t possibly mean two heads of garlic. Two cloves maybe?
Yes two heads of garlic confit! when its cooked this way it becomes sweet and buttery and doesn’t have a strong garlic flavor.