I have always said that the key to great garlic bread is just having the courage to use the obscene amount of butter that results in garlic bread greatness. But maybe I was wrong. Maybe the key is actually stuffing that herby-garlicky-butter down into every nook and cranny you can, so the bread is positively imbued with that wonderful flavor. Yeah, that works pretty darn well too, and that’s just what our Stuffed Garlic Bread does.
You can use a baguette, ciabatta, a batard… but what you’ll want to do with any of them is slice into the bread but stop about a half inch from the bottom. In other words, the bottom of the bread stays connected, while you create lots of slits for stuffing with yumminess.
And while I’ve often claimed that a lot of butter is necessary, this actually only has one stick which seems rather reasonable for an entire loaf of bread. That’s mixed with garlic, parsley, plenty of Parmesan cheese, and a bit of olive oil to make it more spreadable.
You stuff that down into every available space – it’ll seem like too much but go ahead and use it all – and then wrap the whole thing in foil and bake it until the butter has melted and saturated the entire loaf with delicious garlic flavor.
It’s a surefire way to get garlic bread with maximum flavor, since every slice is coated with that flavored butter on both sides. It really permeates through the whole crumb. And if you like your garlic bread toasty? No problem. Just pop the slices apart and give them a little broil before serving. Enjoy!
Stuffed Garlic Bread
Yield(s): Serves 6
5m prep time
30m cook time
Ingredients
- 1 large loaf ciabatta bread
- 1/2 (1 stick) butter, chopped, at room temperature
- 5 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 cup Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
Preparation
- Preheat oven to 425°F.
- Cut bread into thick slices without cutting all the way through. Leave above 1/2-inch uncut at the bottom.
- In a medium bowl, stir together butter, garlic, parsley, olive oil, salt, pepper, and Parmesan cheese.
- Stuff filling into the bread slices evenly. Filling might seem to be too much, but use it all!
- Wrap bread in aluminum foil and place on a baking sheet. Bake 25 minutes.
- Uncover and continue baking until outside is lightly golden brown, about 5 minutes. Enjoy!
Recipe adapted from Cookies and Cups.