This bread may look simple and unassuming, but don’t underestimate it’s deliciousness.
The flavor power that sets this bread apart from other garlic breads made with garlic salt/powder lies in the five cloves of fresh garlic that are steeped in butter and slathered on the bread before baking. The bread is baked in foil to allow the butter and garlic to totally and completely overwhelm the basic french bread with buttery garlic goodness. Then, to top it all off, you literally top the bread with freshly grated cheese and let it broil.
Oh. My. I served this with the lasagna I posted yesterday (incidentally this bread recipe was also given to me by my amazing Aunt Marilyn) and after eating more helpings of lasagna than I’m willing to admit, I still couldn’t stop eating this bread. I even forewent dessert in order to have another slice of this dreamy bread. I’m, like, totally all about calorie conservation.
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Ingredients
- 5 garlic cloves, finely minced (click here for a tutorial on working with fresh garlic)
- 8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, softened
- 1/2 teaspoon water
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1 18-20-inch baguette or loaf of french bread, sliced in half horizontally
- 1 1/2 cup shredded cheese (I used a blend of Parmesan and mozzarella and my aunt uses just Parmesan – you can tailor this to what you have on hand but I think a mix of white cheeses would be best)
Directions
- Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 400.
- In a small nonstick skillet, cook the garlic, 1 tablespoon of the butter and water over low heat, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is straw colored, 7-10 minutes. It is important to keep the heat low or the garlic will burn and turn bitter. The garlic should be lightly browned but not burned!
- In a small bowl, place the remaining 7 tablespoons softened butter and the salt and pepper. Mix in the hot garlic mixture and stir to combine. Using a rubber spatula, spread the butter mixture on the cut sides of bread. Sandwich the bread back together and wrap the loaf in foil. Place the wrapped loaf on a baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes.
- Remove from the heat and turn the oven to the broil setting.
- Sprinkle the bread with the shredded cheese. Broil until cheese has melted and bread is crisp, 1-2 minutes. (As my Aunt Marilyn points out, don’t take your hand off the oven door while the bread is broiling – it can burn quickly!) Transfer the bread to a cutting board with the cheese side facing down. Cut into angled pieces and serve. Please try to exert self-control and share the bounty with others at the table.
Recipe Source: from Aunt Marilyn
This looks so delicious! I really love your other recipe for garlic bread: Make-Ahead Crispy, Buttery Garlic Bread. But I will for sure be trying this one as well! Can't resist CHEESY garlic bread!!! Thanks~
oooooo bravo !!
Looks great to me. The garlic butter I already do…but adding the cheese, now that´s a step in the right direction. Yummy!
test2
EVERYTHING is better with cheese!
“I’m, like, totally all about calorie conservation.”
clearly.
this is garlic bread taken to the next level–completely awesome. even i, the most ardent of all dessert-lovers, may go for the extra bread instead.
I’m so hungry right now, and this looks just delcious!
I am a garlic bread addict! I can not have anything with red sauce without a big hunk of garlic bread!
I should NOT have been reading this right before lunch! I mean, that bread is steeped in garlic. I would love a piece of that right now. I can smell it, I swear.
There really is nothing better than cheesy carbs and this looks like it does not disappoint!
Good garlic bread is such a treat, this one looks fantastic!
And I went and did what you said not to do…left it in too long and burned it!
Just wanted you to know that I made this bread tonight with Cannelloni and it was wonderful. I don’t usually take the extra step of using real garlic, but I am glad I did because it made such a difference. Wonderful!
Stacie – glad you liked this bread! I agree that using real garlic makes all the difference.
I made this, sans the cheese, to go with your Mom’s Lasagna recipe and my husband and I loved it so much, we ate 3/4 of the entire loaf between us! It’s all your fault I couldn’t breathe all evening. I was full all the way up until I went to bed at 1 AM (we ate at 6 PM) and I still was full when I woke up and skipped breakfast for the first time in….probably ever. I never skip breakfast! But wow, it was so worth it. Next time I will include the cheese, but even without it, it was incredible. Thanks!
Veronica – glad this was a hit (although I think I already knew this based on your other comment!). Thanks for posting again here to let me know…
Hi Mel, I love this recipe! I wanted to tell you a change I tried…I did the butter/garlic mixture the same but instead of the shredded cheese I sprinkled the King Arthur Flour’s Vermont Cheese Powder then followed it with fresh parmesan. I baked both halves of the loaf face up at 400 for 5-8 min then followed with the broiler to brown and melt it a bit more. My family raved! If you haven’t tried the cheese powder I highly recommend it! Thanks for all the great recipes!
Tammy – yum! I should get my hands on some of that cheese powder from KAF!