Roasted Garlic and Parmesan Sourdough Loaf

Course: dinner, lunch, Snack

Cuisine: American, French

Keyword: parmesan cheese sourdough, roasted garlic and parmesan sourdough, garlic sourdough bread, parmesan sourdough bread, roasted garlic sourdough, sourdough with garlic and cheese, savory sourdough bread, roasted garlic sourdough

Total Time: 1

Servings: Loaf

A light and airy sourdough loaf layered with roasted garlic, Parmesan cheese, and rosemary. Comforting, flavorful, and simple enough for any baker to make.

Print Recipe

Equipment

1 Kitchen Scale
1 Medium/ Large Mixing Bowl
1 Dough Whisk
1 Bowl cover
1 Bench Scraper
1 sheet of foil for roasting garlic
1 Knife to cut garlic
1 sheet of parchment paper
1 Banneton Basket (or towel-lined bowl)
1 Dutch Oven or Bread Oven
1 Bread Lame

Ingredients

Dough

100 g active sourdough starter fed and bubbly
375 g warm filtered water
450 g unbleached bread flour
50 g whole wheat flour
10 g fine sea salt

Inclusions

1 head garlic to roast
1 drizzle olive oil for roasted garlic
50 g Parmesan cheese freshly grated
1-2 tsp dried rosemary optional

Instructions

Mix the Dough: In a bowl, stir together 100g starter and 375g warm water until dissolved. Add 450g unbleached bread flour, 50g whole wheat flour, and 10g salt. Mix into shaggy dough. Cover and rest 1 hour.
Roast the garlic while dough is resting:
Oven: Preheat 400°F (204°C). Slice top off garlic head, drizzle with olive oil and a sprinkle of salt, wrap in foil, roast 35–40 min. Cool, squeeze cloves.
Air Fryer: Preheat 380°F (193°C). Prep same way, wrap in foil, air fry 20–25 min. Cool, squeeze cloves.
While that is roasting, grate your parmesan cheese and set to the side.
Stretch & Fold: Do 4 rounds of folds spaced 30 min apart.
On the 2nd round, gradually incorporate the roasted garlic cloves, 50g grated Parmesan cheese, and, if using, 1–2 tsp dried rosemary.
To do this, sprinkle a portion of the garlic, cheese, and herbs over the dough before each stretch-and-fold motion. Stretch, fold, add more, and continue until they are layered throughout the dough. This method helps distribute the flavor evenly throughout the loaf.
Bulk Fermentation: Let the dough rise, covered, until it’s roughly doubled, jiggly, and bubbly. Warmer kitchens move faster; cooler ones take more time.
I like to use this chart as a guideline, but I use the visual cues (mentioned above) to know when my dough is done. This may take some practice to get down if you’re new to baking sourdough.
Dough Temp vs. Typical Bulk Time
80°F / 27°C ~ 5–6 hours
75°F / 24°C ~ 7–8 hours
70°F / 21°C ~ 11–12 hours
65°F / 18°C ~ 15–16 hours
*Time starts from the initial mix in step 1.
Be careful not to let this stage go too long—overfermentation can make dough overly sticky and hard to shape.
Shape: Turn out, shape into round or oval loaf, place seam-side up in floured banneton. (see blog post for video tutorial if needed)
Final Proof: Now it’s time for the proof (or second rise). You have two options:
Cold Proof (recommended): Best for beginners- Cover and refrigerate dough overnight (I find 14-18hrs the sweet spot, but this can stay up to 24 hours).
Room Temperature: Faster option. Cover and let it proof at a warm room temperature for about 2 more hours, until the dough has puffed up and filled the banneton. Then, bake immediately.
Bake: Preheat oven with Dutch oven inside to 450°F (232°C).
Take dough out of the refrigerator (if cold proofed) and flip dough onto parchment, score, place in Dutch oven.
Bake 30 min covered, 15 min uncovered.
Cool 1–2 hours before slicing. Enjoy!

Video