Dinner Party Worthy Garlic Bread
Recipe video below. All garlic bread is good, but this garlic bread is fantastic. The garlic butter-to-bread ratio is spot on, so every slice is coated in flavor. My method of covering the bread until it's warmed through, and then uncovering it for a few minutes, creates a wonderfully soft loaf with deliciously crispy edges - just how it should be!
Ingredients
- 1 loaf unsliced sourdough bread, see notes
- ½ cup butter, softened
- 6 cloves garlic, grated with a microplane
- ½ cup grated parmesan cheese
- ¼ cup finely minced parsley
- ¼ teaspoon EACH: sea salt and pepper
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Slice your loaf of bread into 1-inch pieces, but DON'T cut all the way through - leave a little of the bottom intact.1 loaf unsliced sourdough bread
- In a bowl, mix the butter, garlic, parmesan cheese, parsley, salt, and pepper.½ cup butter, 6 cloves garlic, ½ cup grated parmesan cheese, ¼ cup finely minced parsley, ¼ teaspoon EACH: sea salt and pepper
- Spread the butter mixture evenly inside the bread on all of the slices. Make sure each slice is well-coated on both sides all the way to the bottom.
- Wrap the bread in a piece of foil and place it on a baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes, until the bread is hot in the middle.
- Open the foil (but keep the bread on it) and return the bread to the oven. Bake for about 5 minutes, until the bread is golden and a little crisp.
- To serve, either use a serrated knife to cut the pieces or (my favorite) serve it as is and let everyone tear off pieces of the best garlic bread ever.
Notes
Make a small batch of garlic bread: Sometimes, a whole loaf is too much for dinner. To make a smaller batch, cut thick bread slices and coat them with garlic butter. Lay them on a baking tray and cover them with foil. Once they're hot and the butter has melted (about 10 minutes), remove the cover for 2-3 minutes to ever-so-slightly crisp them.
Bread: Garlic bread is often made with French bread, but I think it tastes much better with a good sourdough loaf. For the best garlic bread, visit your local bakery and pick up a crusty sourdough loaf.
Slicing: I like the rustic approach of slicing almost through the loaf but leaving the bottom intact. This way, you get an extra crunchy, butter-soaked piece at the bottom where all the slices were torn off—it's the best. But if tearing off slices of buttery bread isn't your idea of fun, you can slice through the loaf after it's baked.
Garlic: If you don't have a microplane, use the small holes on your grater and then use your knife to chop it into a paste. You don't want big chunks of overwhelming garlic.
Butter: I like salted butter, but I like things salty. If you don't, choose unsalted butter.
Serving: 1 serving, Calories: 229kcal, Carbohydrates: 25g, Protein: 7g, Fat: 12g, Saturated Fat: 7g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 3g, Trans Fat: 0.4g, Cholesterol: 29mg, Sodium: 492mg, Potassium: 80mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 2g, Vitamin A: 453IU, Vitamin C: 3mg, Calcium: 76mg, Iron: 2mg