Homemade garlic bread is a tried and true versatile bread recipe that pairs with many classics - from pasta to bruschetta toasts to dips for parties. This is a simple, fluffy and delicious homemade Bread Machine Garlic Bread recipe. It will make your house smell great and your tastebuds wishing for more!
Table Of Contents
A bread machine, and a good one at that, is a worthwhile kitchen investment for every baker. It takes the elbow grease out of making bread, dough, and jam.
Instead of kneading bread yourself, the bread machine does it for you. Instead of timing the resting stage of yeast breads, the bread machine does it for you. And instead of dirtying multiple bowls, the bread machine becomes a 1 pan mixer, riser, and cooker!
With the right recipe, bread machines bake bread perfectly and are a no-fail way to have successfully baked breads every time.
This homemade bread machine garlic bread was first created to go with Instant Pot broccoli cheddar mac and cheese on one of the first chilly nights of the season. This test run at making garlic bread in the bread machine was the only test run necessary.
It came out perfect. Fluffy and tender, not a bit dry or crumbly! It was so good that we ate almost half the loaf before dinner was even ready. It's the base recipe that I used to create this super fluffy and amazing classic white bread and 100% whole wheat bread.
Not to mention the smell of fresh garlic that made its way through the house as the bread machine worked its magic.
Bread Machine Recommendations
I own a well-loved Cuisinart Automatic Bread Maker with 3 loaf size options: 1, 1.5, and 2 pounds. It is a pricy bread machine but comes with 12 different functions and 3 crust colors as well.
I have made about half the recipes in the included recipe book, and I have virtually no complaints. The instruction manual is extensive and well-written.
So if you are in the market for a bread machine or looking for a new one to replace what you have, I highly recommend this Cuisinart machine. While it's the only bread maker I've owned, I imagine that other Cuisinart bread makers are comparable to this one.
Ingredients
The second best thing compared to freshly baked bread, is knowing that there are minimal ingredients in it. To make this bread machine garlic bread, you need just 5 ingredients:
- Bread flour
- Minced garlic cloves or roasted garlic: minced garlic cloves create less of a garlicky flavor than roasted garlic. For a lighter garlic flavor, use less garlic but if you really love garlic, feel free to add more than my recipe calls for. Or use my air fried roasted garlic or crockpot garlic confit.
- Yeast: you can use instant, active dry, or bread maker yeast.
- Olive oil: olive oil instead of butter cuts down on calories and creates a perfect, fluffy loaf.
- Salt: iodized table salt.
Tips
- Always test your yeast before starting. It's really important to make sure that your yeast is still "alive". If the yeast is dead, the bread won't rise and you'll have to start over. To test your yeast, add 1 teaspoon sugar and 2 ¼ teaspoon of yeast to ¼ cup of warm water. Wait 5 minutes. If it foams, then it's good to use! If not, you need new yeast.
- Use a thermometer to make sure your water is not too hot nor too cold. Water that is too cold will not activate the yeast and water that is too hot will kill your yeast. Both will cause your bread not to rise.
- The best type of flour to use in this recipe is bread flour. The difference between bread flour and all purpose flour is the protein content. Bread flour has a higher protein content. Therefore it will rise slightly more and absorb a little more water than all purpose flour. How does this affect homemade garlic bread? Using bread flour will give you a little more rise, fluffiness, and softness. Stick with bread flour for any yeast bread whenever possible.
Step-By-Step Directions
Bread machine garlic bread is a 1 step recipe. It doesn't get easier than that, and that is why I love using my bread machine!
First, put all of your ingredients in the bread machine in the order listed for Cuisinart machines. Then set the machine to the basic/white bread function, choose the 1.5 lb loaf size and preferred crust color. Select start. Now wait and let the machine do all the work!
For non-Cuisinart machines, put in the ingredients in the order suggested by your machine's instructions. Then choose the loaf size and crust color if your machine has these options.
Once the bread is finished, remove the pan from the machine using an oven mitt. Shake the bread out onto a wire rack and let cool for 10 minutes before slicing.
Serving
In addition to eating homemade garlic bread warmed with a little butter on top or dipped into your favorite pasta sauce on pasta night, it's great with these recipes:
- Toast and top with Balsamic Bruschetta
- A side for One Pot Ricotta Lemon Pasta
- A side for Creamy One Pot Pasta
- A dipping bread for Vegetable Soup with Noodles
- A dipping bread for Spinach Tortellini Soup with Parmesan
- Easy Instant Pot Chili (The Best Chili in 45 Minutes!)
- As the bread on top of Traditional French Onion Soup
How To Store
Homemade garlic bread is freezer-friendly and can be stored for up to 6 months in an airtight plastic bag. It keeps well at room temperature for around 3 days and in the fridge for around 5.
Recipe
Bread Machine Garlic Bread
Equipment
- bread machine
- bread knife
- bread storage bags
- wire cooling rack
Ingredients
- 1 cup warm water approximately 110°F
- 3 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 cups bread flour
- 8-10 garlic cloves minced or use roasted garlic
- 2 tsp yeast instant, active dry, or bread maker
Instructions
- Add the ingredients in the order listed to the bread maker pan. Select the basic/white bread setting, choose the 1.5 lb loaf size and your prefered crust color. These are instructions for a Cuisinart bread maker. For other brands, refer to the instruction manual for the correct order to add ingredients.
- Optional: At the end of the third kneading cycle, signaled with 6 beeps, remove the kneading paddle. If you miss this step, remove the paddle using oven mitts after the bread cools.
- When baking is complete, remove and cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes before slicing.
Notes
Nutrition
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Amanda
If I wanted to make a smaller loaf (1 lb), would reducing all of the ingredients by 1/3 work? So instead of 3 cups of flour, I'd use 2, etc?
Kristina Tipps
Hi Amanda. That should work, but keep an eye on the dough while it's kneading. You may need to adjust the water or flour amounts as it kneads to get it just right.
Tahnee
If baking in the oven do I need to let it rose again in my loaf pan or can it go straight from the bread machine to the oven?
Kristina Tipps
Yes, you should punch down the down and put it in the loaf pan, cover and let rise for about 20-40 minutes until the dough has nearly doubled or at least rose to almost the top of the loaf pan.
Jessica Ashley
My mother was not a Baker. I wanted to learn to make bread. I bought a bread machine. Hmmm, you are the first person to EVER tell me you are supposed to remove the mixer before you bake the bread! Must solved! Thank you! P.S. Do you spray the pan when you remove the paddle? My bread never releases easily!?
Kristina Tipps
Hi Jessica- I am glad to have helped you! I do not spray the bread pan, although you can if your bread is hard to remove. Just be careful though, the crust and outside of the bread may become darker than you'd like, or even burn. You could run a knife between the bread pan and the finished loaf to remove it and then turn the bread pan upside down so that it slides out.
Kate
I don't know what I did wrong but this was horrible! Hardly rose at all, very very dry & heavy, not white/lite colored but brown. Awful! Any thoughts?
Kristina
Hi Kate- I would try again with all fresh ingredients (particularly yeast and flour). I've never had a loaf turn brown, especially in a dough where all of the ingredients are white or cream. So why your bread turned brown, I cannot speak to. If it didn't rise, the yeast likely was bad, which would have then produced a small, dense loaf. Also, make sure to watch the mixing process for the first 10-15 minutes to see if your dough is too dry or too wet and add water or flour as necessary if it is. The dough should be springy to the touch. There are many conditions that can affect whether you need to adjust the water or flour amounts in a recipe, and many of these are out of our control (such as humidity, altitude, temp of your kitchen, defective machine). You may find that one day the loaf turns out perfect and the next day it needs more water. I hope this helps!
Anonymous
A thought occurred to me...I made this gluten free. Maybe that's the issue?
Kristina
That would be the reason it didn't turn out. Bread flour cannot be replaced with gluten-free flour in this recipe, as the gluten in the bread flour is what gives it structure, rise and texture. I do have a gluten-free bread recipe that you could add garlic to if you need to make gluten-free loaves.
Chilly in Canada
Here’s my suggestion to anyone asking about APF … go spend $10 for a 10lb bag of bread flour because you will want to make this over and over again! It’s delicious! My family loves garlic so I added 2 additional cloves and it was perfect! Thank you for this recipe! So, so good!
Linda
No sugar??
Kristina Tipps
There is no sugar needed in this recipe.
jean
can we use regular all purpose flour?
Kristina
Yes, you can.
Kathleen
Can you make the garlic bread with just garlic powder?
Kristina
I don't see why not! Start with 1 teaspoon of garlic powder per clove of fresh garlic, and see how you like it.