Cheesy Garlic Plantain Bread | Easy Vegan Recipe

When that craving for garlic bread hits, you just have to follow suit. I was minding my business one morning when I saw a recipe video for garlic bread pop up on my feed. Recipe videos are my guilty pleasure; I could spend hours watching them and that is no exaggeration. This particular video caught my eye because of the shape and construction of the garlic. Although a non-vegan recipe, I sat through the whole thing and resolved that a vegan version needed to be made. Even better if I could put my own spin on it and use up some old, neglected plantain we had lying around in the kitchen. 

I hope you enjoy this recipe. If you make it and like it, please share your photos with me on Instagram. I love seeing your creations and I love reposting them to my stories.

Recipe notes

• I used a similar dough recipe as the one I used in my steamed buns recipe. Worked out pretty great, with a focaccia-style crumb. For a more chewy dough, you could use bread flour instead of regular plain flour. 
• If you do not have access to vegan margarine, coconut oil is a fantastic substitute. Imagine the flavour if the oil is scented and coconut-ty too...yum!
• I bought my vegan cheese from a local supermarket, but if you really cannot find any then you can make your own at home (there are so many amazing vegan cheese recipes online these days) or leave it out completely.

Ingredients

For the dough

- 3/4 cup vegan milk

- 2 tbsp caster sugar

- 2 tsp instant yeast

- 2 tbsp vegan margarine (melted)

- 2.5 cups plain/all-purpose flour

For the toppings

- 50g vegan cheese (cut into thin batons)

- 1 heap tbsp vegan margarine (melted)

- 1/4 red onion (finely chopped)

- 1 tsp dried parsley

- 10 cloves garlic (finely chopped or minced)

- 1/4 tsp salt

Method

To make the dough, add the vegan milk, sugar, yeast and margarine to a large mixing bowl. Add the flour and mix to form a sticky dough. Knead the dough inside the bowl for a few minutes until it is smooth and less sticky (see video above for results).

Place the dough on a lined baking tray and use your fingers to flatten it into a thick, round shape. Cover with a clean cloth and leave to stand for 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 180C.

After an hour, gently press down the dough to remove any excess air bubbles. 

Cut deep lines along and across the length and width of the dough. Press the vegan cheese batons into the lines.

Make the "garlic butter" by combining the melted margarine with red onion, parsley, garlic and salt. Mix well then brush over the cheesy dough, making sure to cover the edges as well.

Bake for 30 minutes, then place under a grill for another 5 minutes for extra browning on top.

Serve warm and enjoy!