Garlic and Herb Dough Balls Recipe: Soft Pull-Apart Bites

🍴 Why you will love this recipe

Who doesn’t love dough balls? These are simple to make at home and bake together in a round tin to create a shareable, tear-and-share centrepiece. They come out light and tender with a pronounced garlic aroma when brushed with garlic and herb butter.

Serve them warm alongside extra garlic butter for dipping — they make a fun starter, side or party snack. Although the total time includes proving, the hands-on work is short (about 15–20 minutes), so you can prepare them while you cook the rest of your meal.

📝 What you need

Strong white (bread) flour: Use strong white flour for the gluten structure needed to achieve light, fluffy dough. Avoid plain or self-raising flour for best results.

Dried fast-action yeast: Fast-action yeast keeps the process quick and reliable. Typical sachets are 7g, so you may have a little left over if measuring precisely.

Olive oil: Adds softness and tenderness to the dough. Regular olive oil is fine — extra-virgin is not necessary.

Vegan butter / block margarine: For the garlic butter, choose a good-quality block margarine for flavour and texture. Use at room temperature so it mixes easily with garlic and herbs.

👩🏽‍🍳 How to make your dough balls

Full printable recipe is included below in the Recipe section.

Combine the flour, yeast and salt in a large bowl. Add warm water and olive oil, mixing until a soft dough forms. You may not need all the liquid; stop when the dough is soft but not sticky.

Knead the dough for 3–4 minutes until smooth, then return it to the bowl, cover and leave to prove for about 45 minutes or until doubled in size. Divide the dough into 16 equal pieces, roll each into a ball and arrange them in a lightly oiled round tin (approximately 23cm / 9 inches).

Allow the dough balls a second prove in the tin for 30–45 minutes. Bake at 200°C (fan) / 400°F / Gas Mark 6 for 12–15 minutes until golden. While they bake, combine softened vegan butter with crushed garlic and chopped parsley to make the garlic butter. Brush the warm dough balls generously with the garlic butter and serve the remainder for dipping.

🔪 Top tips & FAQs

Measure liquid carefully: Flour absorption varies, so add only as much water and oil as needed to make a soft, non-sticky dough.

Slow the proving in the fridge: If you want to prepare ahead, you can slow fermentation by chilling the dough. Do the first prove overnight in the fridge or chill the shaped balls for 4–6 hours before baking. Bring them back to room temperature before baking for even rise.

Yes. Part-bake the balls for 9–10 minutes, cool, then freeze in an airtight container. To finish, bake from frozen for 4–5 minutes until golden and heated through.

For even dough balls, weigh them out. With this recipe (16 balls), aim for about 30–35 g of dough per ball.

Flavour the butter with sun-dried tomato paste, olive tapenade or a mild chilli paste, or skip the garlic and make a simple herb butter instead.

🍽 If you liked that…

You might also enjoy these vegan bread recipes and sides:

Dough Balls with Garlic and Herbs

Kate Ford | The Veg Space

Soft, fluffy dough balls brushed with garlic-and-herb vegan butter. Easy to make and ideal for sharing.

Rating: 4.94 from 16 votes

Ingredients

Instructions

1. Mix the flour, yeast and salt in a large bowl. Add most of the warm water and the olive oil and mix to form a soft dough. Add only enough liquid to make the dough soft but not sticky.
2. Knead the dough for 3–4 minutes, stretching and folding until smooth. Return to the bowl, cover and leave to prove for 45 minutes or until doubled in size.
3. Lightly oil a round baking tin (about 23 cm / 9 inches). Divide the dough into 16 equal pieces and roll each into a ball. Place them in the tin with a little space between each ball.
4. Cover the tin and allow the balls to prove for a further 30 minutes.
5. Preheat the oven to 200°C (fan) / 400°F / Gas Mark 6.
6. Bake the dough balls for 12–15 minutes until risen and golden.
7. Meanwhile, make the garlic butter by mixing the softened vegan butter with crushed garlic and chopped parsley.
8. When the dough balls are out of the oven, brush them generously with the garlic butter. Serve warm with the remaining butter on the side for dipping.

Notes

• Only use as much liquid as needed: different flours absorb water differently, so adjust to achieve a soft but non-sticky dough.
• To prepare ahead, slow the proving by chilling the dough. You can do the first prove overnight in the fridge, or chill the shaped balls for 4–6 hours. Return them to room temperature before baking.

Nutrition (per serving)

• Serving: 1 dough ball with garlic butter
• Calories: 116 kcal
• Carbohydrates: 14 g | Protein: 3 g | Fat: 5 g
• Sodium: 143 mg | Fiber: 1 g | Sugar: 1 g