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Bear’s garlic, or wild garlic, is one of the first spring herbs we can harvest. It grows in light forest glades but you can also cultivate it in a shady part of your garden. Apart from its benefits for our health, what I like most about bear’s garlic is that IT smells quite like real garlic but YOU won’t after eating it 😊. In this recipe, I’ve used bear’s garlic in a light yeast dough to make a savoury and eye-catching bear’s garlic knot.

You can harvest the bear’s garlic in the woods if you know a place where it grows wildly but please: make absolutely sure you know your plants! Bear’s garlic can be confused with lily of the valley which is toxic! If you’re not sure, buy it or try to grow it in your garden.

Bear’s garlic knot

Ingredients

Makes one large knot or braid

700 g four (I like spelt but you can use wheat)

20 g fresh yeast or 7 g dried yeast

1 tsp sugar

250 ml lukewarm water

5 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp milk

Instructions:

1. If you use fresh yeast, dissolve it in a bite of lukewarm milk, add some sugar and stir until becomes a uniform mass. Let it rest for 20 minutes until the liquid has visibly risen.

2. Wash the bear’s garlic, dry it and chop it roughly.

3. For the yeast dough, put the flour and salt into a bowl. If you use dried yeast, add it, too.
Add the water and 2 tbsp oil (and yeast water in case of fresh yeast) and knead these ingredients into a smooth dough. Put the dough into a bowl and let it rest for about one hour (it should double its volume).

4. Thoroughly knead the dough on a floured surface and divide it into four parts. Roll each part to a string and plait a knot. First, lay the strings crosswise (see drawing) and then put the lower string across the string next to it. In the following pictures, you’ll see how to do it:

In the end, it’ll look like that:

Ready for baking

5. Cover a tray with baking parchment, put the bear’s garlic knot onto the tray and let it rest and rise for 15 minutes. Preheat the oven to 175°C (350°F). Mix the milk and remaining olive oil, brush the knot with it and let it bake in the oven for 45 minutes.

Enjoy your bear’s garlic knot with salted butter and chopped bear’s garlic on top.

If you liked this bread, you may also want to try this recipe for a braided bear’s garlic brioche braid.