Pull-apart wild garlic bread filled with herbs, butter, cheese, and pine nuts. A soft and flavorful loaf perfect for spring meals and sharing.
This wild garlic bread is soft, buttery, and full of flavor, making the most of wild garlic season. It's a rich loaf meant for sharing, perfect for spring meals or when you have guests over.
Two of the things I love most are bread and wild garlic. Combined with butter, cheese, and herbs, this becomes a loaf that disappears very quickly once it comes out of the oven.
If you have extra wild garlic, have a look at my Wild Garlic Pesto or Wild Garlic and Potato Soup. You can also read my guide on what to do with wild garlic.
Ingredients: 14 + salt & pepper | Prep Time: 40 minutes | Rising time: 1 hour 30 minutes | Cook Time: 40 minutes | Servings: 15 slices | Difficulty: Easy
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Why this bread works
This is a pull-apart loaf, so there is no slicing needed. Just tear and eat.
It is:
- soft and fluffy
- full of herb and garlic flavor
- rich with butter, cheese, and pine nuts
- perfect for sharing
It works well for picnics, grill parties, or served with a light soup in spring. If you like this kind of bake, you might also enjoy Apple Bread or Plum Bread.
What is wild garlic?
Wild garlic (also called ramsons, bear's garlic, or wood garlic) is a spring plant with a strong garlic smell and a milder taste. It grows in shaded woods and has a short season from April to June in Germany.
When foraging, always be absolutely sure you can identify it correctly. It can be confused with toxic plants like lily of the valley. If unsure, it is better to leave it or buy it in season.
For more details, see my guide on What to Do with Garlic.
Recipe ingredients
Dough ingredients
Filling ingredients
Dough: I use instant yeast, flour, eggs, sugar, olive oil, salt, and herbs. Active dry or fresh yeast also works, but needs activation first.
Filling ingredients: Mixed fresh or frozen herbs, butter, wild garlic, pine nuts, mozzarella, and Parmesan.
Can I replace the wild garlic?
Yes. If you don't have wild garlic, use a mix of fresh herbs. You can also add a little spinach for volume. Check out this Garlic Bread Baguette; it's amazing!
How to make wild garlic bread?
Step #1: Prepare the yeast dough and knead until smooth and soft.
Step #2: Let it rise until doubled in size.
Step #3: Toast the pine nuts in a pan.
Step #4: Cream the butter, add finely chopped wild garlic and herbs, grated garlic, salt, and pepper. Reserve 1 tablespoon of the herb butter and 1 tablespoon of the Parmesan.
Step #5: Roll the dough onto a lightly floured surface. You should have a rectangle of about 18x13 inches/ 45x32 cm.
Step #6: Spread the remaining butter on the rolled dough.
Tip: Place small heaps all over and use a tablespoon or your hands to spread them evenly. Using your hands is messy, but the warmth of your hands will help to spread the butter properly.
Step #7: Sprinkle the dough with pine nuts and both cheese sorts.
Step #8: Cut into strips, then into squares. You will now have 15 squares.
Step #9: Form 3-4 piles by stacking the pieces on top of each other. Keep one last piece to close the loaf once it's in the pan.
Step #10: Carefully lift the piles and arrange them in the tin. Place the last piece at the end with the filling facing inside, so that you close the loaf. Cover and let rise for 30 minutes.
Step #11: Bake for 10 minutes at 430°F/220°C. Turn the heat down to 340°F/ 170°C and bake for another 10 minutes.
Step #12: Dot with reserved butter and sprinkle with reserved Parmesan. Bake for 17-20 minutes until cooked through and deeply golden.
How to serve?
Serve warm straight from the oven or at room temperature.
It works well:
- at a grill party
- for a picnic
- with soup
- as a shared starter
How to store?
Best eaten on the day it is baked. It stays soft for up to 2 days if wrapped well.
It can also be frozen for up to 2 months.
Wild Garlic Bread
Ingredients
Dough:
- 1 sachet of instant yeast 7 g/ 0.24 oz, Note 1
- 500 g all-purpose flour Note 2
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 200 ml lukewarm water
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 50 ml olive oil
- 2 tablespoons dried parsley
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
Filling:
- 120 g butter at room temperature (Note 3)
- 30 g pine nuts
- 1 bunch wild garlic 30 g/ 1 oz
- 4 tablespoons mixed herbs finely chopped, Note 4
- 4 garlic cloves
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 125 g mozzarella 1 ball
- 50 g Parmesan
Instructions
Dough:
- Dry ingredients: Mix flour and yeast in a large bowl or the bowl of the food processor. (If using active dry or fresh yeast, see Notes).500 g all-purpose flour + 1 sachet of instant yeast
- Add wet ingredients: Add sugar, lukewarm water, eggs, salt, olive oil, dried parsley, and garlic powder.1 teaspoon granulated sugar + 200 ml lukewarm water + 2 large eggs + 1 teaspoon fine sea salt + 50 ml olive oil + 2 tablespoons dried parsley + 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- Knead in a stand mixer until the dough is smooth and doesn't stick to the walls of the bowl anymore. You might add 1-2 tablespoons of extra flour when kneading, but don't overdo it; the dough should remain soft.Or knead by hand for about 5-7 minutes with the hands until the dough is smooth and no longer very sticky.
- Let dough rise: Turn the dough onto the working surface and form a ball. Grease a bowl with olive oil, turn the dough ball in it to coat it all over. Cover and let rise in a warm place for about 1 hour until doubled in volume (Note 5).
Filling:
- Soften butter: Make sure that the butter is soft, at room temperature.120 g butter
- Toast pine nuts: Heat a large pan and toast the pine nuts. Shake the pan often; the nuts will burn quickly if unattended. Immediately transfer to a large plate and let cool.30 g pine nuts
- Prepare wild garlic: Rinse and dry the wild garlic very thoroughly. Chop finely. Chop the other herbs very finely as well. Grate the garlic cloves. Set aside.1 bunch wild garlic + 4 tablespoons mixed herbs + 4 garlic cloves
- Mix the filling: Beat the butter with a hand mixer until creamy, about 1 minute. Add wild garlic and herbs. Add salt, pepper, and grated garlic. Mix well.½ teaspoon fine sea salt + ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper + wild garlic + herbs + garlic
Form:
- Prepare the pan: Butter a loaf tin of about 30 cm/ 12 inches, butter the edges as well, the dough will rise, and it tends to stick there. Set aside.
- Roll the dough onto a lightly floured surface into a rectangle of about 45x32 cm/18x13 inches.
- Grate the mozzarella and the Parmesan. Reserve 1 tablespoon of the grated Parmesan. Reserve about 1 heaped tablespoon of the herb butter as well. Set aside.125 g mozzarella + 50 g Parmesan
- Spread the herb butter on the rolled dough. Place small heaps all over and use a tablespoon or your hands to spread it evenly; the warmth of your hands will help to spread the butter properly.
- Add nuts and cheese: Sprinkle the dough with pine nuts and grated cheese.
- Cut the dough into 3 even slices lengthwise. Cut across into 5 slices, each slice should be about 9 cm/3.5-inch wide, providing you rolled the dough as instructed above. You will now have 15 squares.
- Form 3-4 piles by stacking the pieces on top of each other. Keep one last piece to close the loaf once it's in the loaf tin.
- Fill the pan: Carefully, lift the piles and arrange them in the prepared tin. Place the last piece at the end with the filling facing inside, so that you close the loaf. The pan will look very crowded now, with the pieces all crowded on one side. Very gently arrange the pieces so that they snuggly fit into the loaf tin and fill it completely.
- Cover and let rise in a warm place for about 30 minutes. In the meantime, preheat the oven to 220°C/430°F.
Bake:
- Bake the wild garlic bread in the preheated hot oven for 10 minutes.
- Turn the heat down to 170°C/ 340°F and bake for another 10 minutes.
- Add butter and cheese: Take the bread out of the oven and dot it with the reserved butter. Sprinkle with the reserved Parmesan.
- Bake for about 17-20 minutes more until cooked through and deeply golden.
- Leave to rest for 5 minutes in the pan, then transfer to a wire rack. If the edges of the loaf stick to the tin, release them gently with a small knife.
Notes
- Yeast: You can also use 1 sachet active dry yeast (it weighs the same as instant) OR ½ cube/20 g/ 0.7 oz fresh yeast. If using active or fresh yeast, you will have to proof it. Sprinkle or crumble it in a bowl, add the teaspoon of sugar and the lukewarm water needed to make the dough. Cover and leave for about 5 minutes until foamy. Add the rest of the ingredients and knead the dough.
- Measurements: I recommend using a digital kitchen scale when baking, it guarantees for best results.
- Butter: Salted or unsalted. If using salted, add a bit less salt to the filling.
- Herbs: Either fresh mixed herbs or a frozen mixture.
- Rising time: If you used fresh yeast, the dough would probably rise quicker; keep an eye on it. The rising time also depends on the temperature in your kitchen.
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