Since we live so close to Gilroy, CA, the famed “Garlic Capital of the World,” garlic in our area is – shall I say – plentiful, to say the least. As such, garlic has become an absolute staple in my kitchen. I kind of freak out if I run out! 🙂 Needless to say, I love garlic and one of family’s favorite breads for me to make is a Garlic-Rosemary bread, topped with cheddar.

I used to mix the add-ins right along with the flour, water, salt, and yeast. And using a stand mixer, things would distribute evenly. But if any time I used raisins or cranberry, the dough hook would obliterate them! So before I made those loaves above, I decided to educate myself on adding things to my dough, and luckily, Proof Bakery had just posted this video on adding “inclusions” to dough.

Mind you, like all Proof Bakery videos, they tend to talk – a lot. But other than Bake with Jack, I look to this couple, especially Jonathan, to provide valuable insights into the bread making process. Here’s the video:

Having done this yesterday, allowing the dough to first build up some strength is the key. For my bread, I didn’t add my garlic and rosemary until I was ready to do my third stretch and fold (I did four in total, spread out by 1/2 hour). By that time, the dough had already developed plenty of strength to handle folding in the garlic and rosemary.