I had my eye on this mix for awhile and when it went on sale on Amazon I knew I had to grab it. I don’t typically like making bread but with the ease and convenience of a box mix it usually isn’t too bad and who doesn’t love garlic bread? Of course we have to try this and see how it turns out. We haven’t tried any of King Arthur’s products here but I have tried some of their flours and gluten free products and enjoyed them in the past so I’m eager to try their baking mixes.
This mix contains nearly everything you need for bread, including a packet of yeast. All you need to include is hot water and melted butter. They give the option to mix in half a cup of shredded mozzarella cheese as well but I didn’t go this route, I stuck with regular garlic bread, not cheesy. To start this mix, you combine the bread flour, yeast, hot water, and part of the melted butter. Once it is almost fully combined or a “soft, shaggy dough” as the box says, you dump it out onto a floured surface and knead until it is smooth.
When you have a smooth round dough, you then need to divide it into 24 pieces. I thought I was so smart shaping it like a circle and cutting it like a pizza but it was clear that my pieces were not even in size or shape so I went a different route and weighed out the dough into 24 balls each at 28 grams. Now each of these dough balls goes into your greased baking pan side by side. The box says you can use a 8 inch square, 9 inch round, or 10-cup bundt pan. I went with the 8 inch square pan.
Next you cover your pan and let the dough balls rise for 15 minutes. I have to be honest, waiting for dough to rise is my least favorite part of making bread because I have to stop everything, wait, and then come back and finish it. Despite being in the baking mood, I have to stop baking for however long and find something else to do and hope I don’t get too distracted and forget my bread (I had to set timers). Luckily, this mix only had two short rise steps, both at 15 minutes, so it wasn’t too bad unlike those recipes that call for an hour multiple times.
While the dough rises, you can move onto the next part and make the garlic topping by combining the seasoning packet with the rest of the melted butter. Once the rise is over, you brush the garlic topping onto the bread rolls and then, much to my sadness, you cover it back up and let it rise for another 15 minutes. Finally, after they have risen the pan goes into the oven. The box calls for 375 degrees for 22-24 minutes. Unfortunately I found my bread was fully baked at 20 minutes. My first impression of this box mix company and I am hurt but not surprised that they have lied to us and given us an inaccurate bake time that would result in an overbaked product if you blindly trusted it.
Overall, this was a really easy mix to make and smells phenomenal. King Arthur’s pull apart garlic bread rolls are pillowy soft, pull apart easily, and the salt levels are insanely perfect. I couldn’t come up with a single detail that would make these better. The flavor profile is fantastic, just the right amount of buttery and the right amount of garlicy. I ate so many of these warm but they were just as good when they cooled down. I even found myself dipping these in a homemade soup dinner and it was so good. If you can get your hands on this mix, I highly recommend doing so. I found it on Amazon, originally for $5.99 which is a bit high for a box mix, but when I purchased it, it was on sale for only $3.99 which is a good price for this.
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