Roasted Garlic Oregano Sourdough Bread Recipe | Squirrelly Girl
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🧄 Roasted Garlic Oregano Sourdough Bread
Sweet roasted garlic. Fragrant oregano. Crispy sourdough crust.
If you love garlic bread, prepare yourself.
This Roasted Garlic Oregano Sourdough Bread takes everything you love about garlic bread and puts it inside a beautifully fermented artisan sourdough loaf.
Roasting the garlic transforms those sharp raw cloves into something completely different — sweet, buttery, mellow and deeply savory.
Add fragrant oregano, a chewy sourdough crumb and a deeply golden crust, and you've got a loaf that's almost impossible to leave alone.
Your kitchen is about to smell ridiculously good. 🐿️🧄🍞
🧄 Why You'll Love This Loaf
Roasting creates rich, buttery garlic flavor.
Herby flavor runs throughout the loaf.
Tangy flavor, chewy crumb and crisp crust.
More flavor and easier scoring the next day.
🥖 The Quick Version
4–6 hours
2–4 hours
8–16 hours
38–43 minutes
1 large loaf
🌾 Ingredients
The Dough
- 100 g active sourdough starter
- 500 g bread flour
- 350 g water
- 10 g fine sea salt
The Flavor
- 1 whole head roasted garlic
- 1–2 tbsp dried oregano
- 1 tbsp olive oil, for roasting the garlic
- Freshly cracked black pepper, optional
🧄 The Secret Is the Garlic
Don't rush the roasting process.
Properly roasted garlic should be golden, completely soft and almost spreadable.
Roasting mellows the sharpness of raw garlic and develops a naturally sweet, rich flavor.
Think buttery garlic instead of sharp garlic. That's what we're after.
1. Roast the Garlic
400°F / 205°C
Preheat your oven to 400°F / 205°C.
Slice the top off a whole head of garlic, exposing the tops of the cloves.
Drizzle approximately 1 tablespoon olive oil over the garlic.
Wrap loosely in foil.
Roast for 35–45 minutes.
The cloves should be deeply golden, soft and easy to squeeze from their skins.
The softer and more caramelized the garlic becomes, the better it will taste inside your sourdough.
Allow the garlic to cool before adding it to the dough.
2. Get Your Starter Ready
Your sourdough starter should be active, bubbly and showing strong fermentation.
Ideally, use it when it has recently reached its peak after feeding.
Look for:
- Noticeable rise
- Bubbles throughout
- Fresh fermented aroma
- Strong expansion after feeding
Learning how your starter behaves is one of the most important sourdough skills you can develop.
3. Mix the Dough
Add 350 g water and 100 g active sourdough starter to a large mixing bowl.
Stir until the starter is mostly dispersed.
Add 500 g bread flour.
Mix until no dry flour remains.
The dough will look shaggy and rough.
That's exactly where you want it.
4. Rest the Dough
30 MINUTES
Cover the dough and let it rest for approximately 30 minutes.
This allows the flour to hydrate and gives the dough a head start on gluten development.
5. Add the Salt
Add 10 g fine sea salt.
Wet your hands and gently work the salt through the dough.
Pinch and fold until the salt is evenly incorporated.
The dough doesn't need to feel perfect yet. The stretch-and-folds will transform it.
6. Build Dough Strength
Perform approximately 4 rounds of stretch-and-folds, about 30 minutes apart.
🔄 How to Stretch & Fold
- Wet your hand lightly.
- Grab one side of the dough.
- Stretch gently upward.
- Fold it over the center.
- Rotate the bowl.
- Repeat around all four sides.
Cover the dough between each round.
The dough should become progressively smoother, stronger and more elastic.
Build enough strength for the dough to hold the roasted garlic and oregano while still rising beautifully.
7. Add the Roasted Garlic & Oregano
Once the dough has developed some strength, it's time for the good stuff.
Squeeze the roasted garlic cloves from their skins.
Gently break the cloves into smaller pieces.
Sprinkle 1–2 tablespoons dried oregano over the dough.
Add the roasted garlic.
Gently stretch and fold the dough to distribute everything.
Don't completely mash the garlic into the dough. Leaving some larger pieces creates delicious roasted garlic pockets throughout the finished loaf.
8. Bulk Fermentation — 2–4 Hours
Cover the dough and let it continue fermenting at room temperature for approximately 2–4 hours after the stretch-and-fold stage.
This replaces the longer 4–8 hour bulk fermentation previously listed on this recipe.
Watch the dough rather than relying only on the clock.
Look for:
- Noticeable increase in volume
- Bubbles around the edges
- A lighter, puffier appearance
- A soft, elastic texture
- A dough that feels alive and aerated
Warm kitchens ferment faster. Cool kitchens ferment slower. Your dough's appearance and texture matter more than an exact number on the clock.
You do not need to wait for the dough to double.
9. Pre-Shape
Lightly flour your work surface.
Gently turn the dough out.
Form it into a loose round while trying to preserve as much fermentation gas as possible.
Let the dough rest for approximately 15–20 minutes.
10. Final Shape
Lightly flour the dough and flip it over.
Fold the dough toward the center, then roll it into a tight round.
Turn it seam-side down.
Use a bench scraper to gently pull the dough toward you across the counter.
Rotate and repeat until the dough develops a smooth, tight outer surface.
Surface tension helps the loaf rise upward instead of spreading outward.
Don't crush the dough. You're organizing it — not kneading it.
11. Into the Banneton
Place the shaped dough seam-side up into a well-floured banneton.
No banneton?
Use a bowl lined with a generously floured kitchen towel.
Cover the dough well.
12. Cold Fermentation — 8–16 Hours
Overnight is ideal.
Place the covered dough directly into the refrigerator.
The cold fermentation develops:
- More complex sourdough flavor
- Better dough structure
- Improved scoring
- More convenient baking the next day
You go to bed. Your bread develops flavor. Everybody wins.
13. Preheat Your Dutch Oven
450°F / 232°C
Place your Dutch oven inside the oven and preheat for at least 30–45 minutes.
A properly heated Dutch oven traps steam and gives your loaf the intense initial heat it needs for excellent oven spring.
14. Score the Loaf
Take the dough directly from the refrigerator.
Turn it onto parchment paper.
Score the top using a bread lame or very sharp knife.
Beginner-Friendly Score
One confident slash across the top is all you need.
Don't worry about complicated designs. Your loaf will still look fantastic.
Score cold dough. It is firmer, cleaner and much easier to control.
15. Bake
Carefully place the dough into your preheated Dutch oven.
🔥 Covered
450°F / 232°C — 28 minutes
Keep the Dutch oven covered.
🔥 Uncovered
Remove the lid.
Reduce the oven temperature to:
425°F / 218°C
Continue baking uncovered for approximately 10–15 minutes.
The crust should be deeply golden brown.
Deeply browned sourdough crust means deeper flavor. Don't pull it too early.
16. 🌡️ Cool Before Slicing
WAIT AT LEAST 1 HOUR.
Transfer the loaf to a cooling rack.
Let it cool completely before slicing.
The crumb continues to set as the bread cools.
Cutting too early can result in a gummy interior.
Patience now = beautiful slices later. 🧄🍞
🔪 The Big Reveal
Slice into that beautiful loaf and look for:
🧄 sweet roasted garlic pockets
🌿 fragrant oregano throughout
🫧 a chewy artisan crumb
🔥 a crisp golden crust
Then add butter to a warm slice and try not to eat the entire loaf.
🍽️ What Should You Do With It?
This loaf is ridiculously versatile.
- 🍝 Serve beside pasta.
- 🥣 Pair with soup.
- 🧄 Make garlic toast.
- 🧀 Build an incredible grilled cheese.
- 🍗 Serve alongside roast chicken.
- 🧈 Toast it with butter and Parmesan.
- 🥪 Use it for sandwiches.
Toast a thick slice, brush it with olive oil, sprinkle with Parmesan and let the roasted garlic do the rest.
🌿 Want to Change It Up?
🧀 Garlic Parmesan
Add 40–50 g grated Parmesan during the filling stage.
🧀 Garlic & Cheddar
Add approximately 100 g cubed sharp cheddar.
🌿 Garlic Herb
Combine oregano with a little rosemary and thyme.
🌶️ Spicy Garlic
Add red pepper flakes or finely chopped fresh jalapeño.
🚨 Sourdough Troubleshooting
My dough is too sticky.
Sticky dough is normal. Resist adding large amounts of flour. Use wet hands during folds and allow the dough to develop strength naturally.
My loaf spread instead of rising.
This can happen from over-fermentation, insufficient dough strength or weak shaping. Pay close attention to your bulk fermentation cues.
My garlic disappeared into the dough.
Try leaving some larger roasted garlic pieces next time. They'll create beautiful pockets throughout the loaf.
My crust isn't dark enough.
Give the uncovered portion of the bake a few additional minutes. Sourdough generally benefits from a deeply browned crust.
My crumb is gummy.
Make sure the loaf is completely cooled before slicing. Also verify that the loaf was fully baked.
👩🍳 Squirrelly Girl Baker's Tips
🧄 Roast It Properly
Golden, soft garlic gives you the sweetest and richest flavor.
🌿 Don't Overdo the Herbs
Oregano is powerful. Start with 1 tablespoon and increase if you want a stronger herbal flavor.
🌡️ Watch Fermentation
Your kitchen temperature can dramatically change how quickly dough ferments.
❄️ Score Cold Dough
Refrigerated dough is firmer and easier to score cleanly.
🔥 Preheat Properly
Give the Dutch oven plenty of time to become fully heated.
⏳ Let It Cool
The hardest step is waiting, but the crumb will thank you.
Baker's Warning
Once this loaf comes out of the oven...
You may suddenly decide every meal requires roasted garlic sourdough.
Breakfast? Garlic sourdough.
Lunch? Garlic sourdough.
Dinner? Obviously garlic sourdough.
You've been warned. 🧄😆
📚 Continue Your Sourdough Journey
New to sourdough? These Sourdough Academy guides will help you understand your starter and bake with more confidence.
Ready to Make Better Sourdough?
Every great loaf starts with an active, healthy sourdough starter. Squirrelly Girl Sourdough Starter makes getting your starter ready to bake simple and beginner-friendly.
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One starter. Endless possibilities.
🧄 Save This Recipe
Save this recipe for the next time you're craving something savory, aromatic and seriously satisfying.
Roasted garlic + oregano + sourdough.
It's hard to beat. 🐿️🍞