recipe needed for the squidgy kind of garlic bread I see in the shops

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Mine always comes out like normal bread! I'm looking for a bread which stays soft and can be torn at the table to share, with maybe a garlic or cheesy something running through it. Does anyone have the faintest idea what I'm talking about? . I tried a pizza dough base today but it went too hard and crunchy. Also, how do I get the garlic not to burn in the oven?

I thank you, oh wise mumsnetters!!

Oh sorry and I don't mean a baguette sliced and put back into oven with garlic butter - I need a proper bread recipe which comes out like the 'Tear and Share' stuff in the supermarkets. Ta

you could try using a part baked baguette and baking it until it done how you like it. slice and spread with garlic butter and then wrap in foil before you put back in the oven to stop it crisping up further and the garlic burning

happysmiley, thanks but the whole test for me (and enjoyment!) is making it from scratch. You know the kind of stretchy consistency of a really good naan bread, still slightly chewy? But not rolled flat like a naan or flat bread. That's what I'm searching for ........... not that I'm being fussy

Oh, just found this which I might try later today ......

White bread dough (risen once), Butter, Crushed garlic, Herbed salt (or mix of dried herbs and salt)
Method
Melt the butter (in the microwave) with the crushed garlic. Take balls of the dough and drop into the butter and arrange in a dish so all pieces are touching. Sprinkle over herbed salt and cover with cling film and leave to rise. Put in oven and cook until golden, basting with more garlic butter throughout cooking.

Maybe with a bit of mozzarella poked in the middle?

Try using 00 flour rather than bread flour? - I've found it makes a much softer textured flatbread, more like shop-bought focaccia.

To achieve what you're after I would try making a focaccia using 00 flour, with lots of olive oil poured onto/into the dents you make with your finger in the top. I think that happysmiley is probably right that you should add the garlic after the bread is basically done, and cover with foil to avoid crisping the bread and burning the garlic.

Just posted a thank you aquavit and it disappeared. Will try that at the weekend and report back!

I think you're thinking of foccaccia; you use a wetter dough for this than for normal bread.

Hi seth, I've tried loads of foccacia recipes before without much sucess as they always go too hard. Will try again with the 00 flour and a wetter dough. Any other tips?

what about keeping the oven lower than normal? IME if you bake hot you get a crisper crust so if you want it soft it should be cooler. Also that means the garlic won't burn.

I think I did a recipe like this that involved pouring loads of olive oil onto the bread after it came out of the oven but when it was still hot.

I think wetter dough would help. It may be easier to use a dough hook on mixer than knead by hand if you want a wetter dough. (I find I'm always adding flour when I do it by hand.)

I have a bread machine with a dough setting. Would that help do you think?

I don't know, sorry, never used a bread machine. Always do it by hand or use my Kitchenaid for a wet dough (eg brioche).

you could use a machine, would make kneading the wet dough easier (though you would still need to shape it and that's the tricky bit).

Just want to second the suggestion of using OO flour. I have switched to using this for pizza and it gives a much stretchier dough that doesn't goes as crispy round the edges.

What is OO flour may I ask?

It's an Italian grade of flour which is used for pasta; you sometimes see it in the UK sold as sauce flour.
It has two characteristics: it is high gluten (like our strong flour) so it is good for bread, but it is also very finely ground (hence the usefulness for sauces because the floury taste cooks out quickly.

I don't know what the chemistry is behind why it makes better pizza than normal strong flour, but it definitely does make a difference.

Doves Farm do a 00 pasta flour which is quite easy to get in health food shops/delis/big supermarkets. Allisons do a 00 flour that you can sometimes find in smaller supermarkets that don't sell pasta flour.

You definieyl need to be using a focaccia recipe rather than baguette.

Okay, my dough is proving - used half 00 flour, half strong plain flour and am planning to top the focaccia with green olives and red onions. Am thinking of heating crushed garlic with olive oil in a pan for a few moments to cook it slightly/take away the 'rawness'. Then I will cool this and use it as the oil to drizzle over the top. This way, I'm hoping to avoid the burned garlic which I usually end up with.

Will report back in a couple of hours!

have you looked on the recipes section of KingArthurFlour.com? They have the most delicious looking breads on there; I browse the site when I'm 'off' bread, and it nearly drives me mad with longing.

Will look there now thanks. The focaccia was very good indeed and the 00 flour made the world of difference. My recipe needed more salt but apart from that was perfect, soft, garlicky. Mmmmmmm