Braided Garden Herb Bread is a beautiful homemade bread with amazing flavor! Herb bread recipe made with rosemary and thyme for a delightful savory loaf.
This braided herb bread is packed with delicious herbs and is one of the easiest and most delicious breads you will ever make. Using simple ingredients that you most likely have in your kitchen, you can whip up this braided bread so easily.
What is Braided Garden Herb Bread?
I absolutely love making fresh homemade bread! I found this recipe and could not wait to try it out, it has great flavor and texture. It is a simple bread dough that has been braided up to look incredible and with practice and patience, it could even become a centerpiece at your next gathering! With herbs inside it tastes like a savory and fluffy bread that anyone would love to get a slice of. Also, if you have any leftovers, it is fabulous in a Ham & Cheese Strata. Serve this bread up to dinner guests or the family and it is sure to disappear quickly. It is too tasty to resist!
Braided Herb Bread ingredients
-Flour: Use 4 ½ cups of all purpose flour for the base of this dough. Or do like I did and use 50/50 of all purpose and whole wheat flour.
-White Sugar: Just 3 tablespoons of sugar will help to feed the yeast and get it working properly.
-Milk: You will need ¾ cups warm milk to add moisture and soft texture to the dough.
-Yeast: Using 2 packets of yeast will help get the dough to rise. Be sure to check the expiration date and it is still good. If measuring the yeast from a container, this is 1 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons.
-Salt: Adding in 1 ½ teaspoons of salt will help flavor the dough and make everything taste mouth wateringly good.
-Seasonings: You are going to need 1 teaspoon each of dried marjoram, dried thyme, dried rosemary, and onion powder.
-Water: Use ½ cup of water, bread needs a good liquid to dry ratio to turn out just right.
-Butter: You will need ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons of melted butter and it will be divided up throughout the recipe.
-Egg: Use 1 large egg for the dough as this bread does not use an egg wash to get the golden brown color.
How to make Braided Garden Herb Bread
Activate yeast
In a small bowl, combine the warm milk and sugar.
Then, add in the yeast and let it sit for 5 minutes until the mixture is bubbly and frothy.
Make the dough
Next, in a large bowl, combine the salt, all the seasonings, ¼ cup of melted butter, and the water. Stir to combine.
Then, add the milk/yeast mixture to the bowl of seasonings.
Proceed to mix in the flour 1 cup at a time and mix together well.
After that, add in the egg and then mix until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
Knead and rise
Now is is time to knead the dough. You can do this using a mixer on medium speed for 7 minutes or by hand until the dough is elastic and smooth.
Then, cover and let the dough rest in a warm area for 10 minutes.
Braiding the dough
Next, divide the dough into 3 equal sized portions.
Then, roll each piece out into a 30 inch long rope and then braid the ropes together.
Pinch together the ends of the braided dough to seal them together.
Place the bread loaf on a greased baking sheet and cover. Let rest until doubled in size, about 20-40minutes.
Bake
Remove the top rack from the oven and then bake the bread at 375 F degrees for about 30-35 minutes.
During the last 15 minutes of baking, cover the bread with foil to prevent browning.
When the bread is finished baking, melt the remaining butter and then brush it over the top of the loaf.
Sprinkle with any additional herbs if desired.
Then, remove from the baking sheet and let the bread cool on a wire rack.
Slice, serve and enjoy!
Braided Garden Herb Bread
Ingredients
- 4 ¼ cups all-purpose flour {I used half whole wheat flour}
- 3 tbsp white sugar
- ¾ cup warm milk
- 1 ½ TBSP instant yeast
- 1 ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp dried marjoram
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1 tsp dried rosemary
- 1 tsp onion powder
- ½ cup water
- ¼ cup butter +2tbsp, melted
- 1 large egg
Instructions
Activate yeast
- In a small bowl, combine the warm milk and sugar.
- Then, add in the yeast and let it sit for 5 minutes until the mixture is bubbly and frothy.
Make the dough
- Next, in a large bowl, combine the salt, all the seasonings, ¼ cup of melted butter, and the water. Stir to combine.
- Then, add the milk/yeast mixture to the bowl of seasonings.
- Proceed to mix in the flour 1 cup at a time and mix together well.
- After that, add in the egg and then mix until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
Knead and rise
- Now it is time to knead the dough. You can do this using a mixer on medium speed for 7 minutes or by hand until the dough is elastic and smooth.
- Then, cover and let the dough rest in a warm area for 10 minutes.
Braiding the dough
- Next, divide the dough into 3 equal sized portions.
- Then, roll each piece out into a 30inch long rope and then braid the ropes together.
- Pinch together the ends of the braided dough to seal them together.
- Place the bread loaf on a greased baking sheet and cover. Let rest until doubled in size, about 20-40minutes.
Bake
- Remove the top rack from the oven and then bake the bread at 375 F degrees for about 30-35 minutes.
- During the last 15 minutes of baking, cover the bread with foil to prevent browning.
- When the bread is finished baking, melt the remaining butter and then brush it over the top of the loaf.
- Sprinkle with any additional herbs if desired.
- Then, remove from the baking sheet and let the bread cool on a wire rack. Slice, serve and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
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How do you store garden herb bread?
After your bread has completely cooled, wrap it well in plastic wrap and store it in an airtight container until ready to eat. Store it at room temperature to prevent it from drying out.
How long is herb bread good for?
Homemade yeast herb bread is usually good for up to a week depending on the situation. Hotter weather, colder weather, humidity and more all come into play on extended or reducing the shelf life of homemade bread. Store bread in a bread bag to keep it fresh longer!
How can I tell if yeast is bad?
If you want to know whether or not your yeast is bad then you are in luck because it is not too hard to figure out. When you let your yeast sit in the warm liquid for a few minutes during the beginning of the recipe, you know right away if it is good or not. Simply watch its reaction. If the mix does not bubble or hardly bubbles at all within 10 minutes, toss it out and buy new yeast and try again. As long as your warm liquid wasn’t too hot (not above 110F degrees and wasn’t too cold) there should have been a reaction.
Can I freeze herb bread?
Yes, Herb breads are great for the freezer! Simply let the bread cool completely and then wrap it well in plastic wrap or a bread bag before storing it in an airtight container and moving to the freezer for 3 months or less. Then let it thaw on the counter for a few hours before serving and you’re good to go!
More Savory homemade bread recipes:
- Soft and Buttery Potato Bread
- BUTTERY CHEESE AND HERB BREAD
- SWEET IRISH SODA BREAD
- Cheesy Breadsticks
- Fabulous French Bread
- No Yeast Wheat Bread
- Lion House Wheat Rolls
- No Yeast Dinner Rolls
Braided Garden Herb Bread is a simple and beautiful bread, serve it up at your next family function and watch how quickly it disappears!
Lois Luckovich says
This sounds wonderful and I have all the herbs in my garden. As soon as I get in fresh baking supplies I’ll be making it
Jessica says
I’m jealous of your garden! Mine’s still buried under snow!