Check out this delicious garlic bread recipe with lots of butter and fresh herbs that is perfect for any indulgent occasion.
Whilst it does have Italian roots, I think garlic bread is a classic in any British household. Growing up, we always had some with our ‘British’ spaghetti bolognaise or pasta bake. It even makes the perfect snack after a night out. When you hear garlic bread, you might think of a garlic baguette that lives in the freezer and is oven ready in 15 minutes. Whilst I love convenient garlic bread, I think this homemade garlic bread sourdough recipe is simply incomparable. The homemade garlic butter will take this to ANOTHER LEVEL. Plus I promise it actually doesn’t take that much longer to prepare.
Garlic Bread is Very Indulgent
Whilst this isn’t exactly a healthy side dish, it is sooooo delicious. This is very much a pick-me-up on a low day. This recipe is quite buttery already, but if you are feeling even more indulgent, you can add a small sprinkling of cheese (or large sprinkling) before cooking. I am a huge fan of cheese and I would recommend an extra strong mature cheddar.
If you are on a vegan diet then just swap out the butter (and optional cheese) for vegan alternatives such as a vegan spread and vegan cheese.
What Bread is Best for Garlic Bread?
The first thing you need to do is select your bread. I decided to use sourdough as I love its crunchy texture, especially when baked.
There are so many options of bread for making your own garlic bread. Focaccia, ciabatta, baguette, sourdough etc. I recommend just picking something you enjoy. You could top the garlic bread with olives, fresh basil, fresh or sundried tomatoes (or any salad vegetable for that matter) to create more of an antipasto. Be as creative as you like. Or simply enjoy the garlic bread in all its crunchy yet buttery goodness on its own.
Create even slices
Use a sharp bread knife to create even slices. I must admit I find this very difficult. It takes me a lot of time and concentration when I slice bread, even though it’s so simple.
When I made this batch of garlic bread, I actually did not use the two end pieces in the recipe. Instead, I ate them as a snack whilst I was frying the bread because it smelt so fresh and delicious. I couldn’t resist, I just love carbs too much! I
f on the other hand, you have more self-restraint than I do then I recommend skipping the first section of frying on one side as the outer crust is already crunchy and doesn’t need to be crisped up in the same manner. I also would suggest you drizzle these pieces in extra garlic butter as they might require some of that extra beautiful buttery-ness.
So, are we are frying? Or are we baking? Both?!?
After all your bread is sliced, then you need to butter one side. This is to ensure that the bottom of the garlic bread slices is nice and crispy. I have labelled these garlic bread slices as extra crunchy! Whilst this does make them have a nice crunch, they also retain a little bit more of that buttery flavour as well. This is what makes them extra special. If you are short on time, then this step is totally optional.
Try to use as little butter as possible in this step because we are using tons of butter later on. Once buttered, these slices will be crisped up in a frying pan to get a lovely golden glow in only a few minutes.
At this point they kind of look like they have just been toasted but by adding the butter and frying you are making them crispy as well as also adding a touch of that buttery goodness without drying them out. Trust me, this step makes all the difference!
The slices are then drenched in the garlic butter and baked in the oven. So yes, we are frying and baking. Double the cooking, double the taste!
How much butter is too much?
In this recipe I have included matching 1 clove of garlic to 1 tablespoon of butter. I LOVE garlic, and this is a good ratio for me. You may find that you want to add more or less garlic, but really the level of garlic can be quite subjective.
It is also difficult to truly suggest how much garlic butter to prepare as you may be using a smaller loaf of bread. I suggest coating the slices generously before baking and again after baking. If you still have lots of leftover butter, may I suggest using this to fry onions in it. Delicious!
Make sure to butter all the way to the edges and definitely reserve some butter for serving afterwards. If on the other hand you find that 3 tablespoons is not sufficient because you are using a large baguette, then it is so simple to quickly whip up some more whilst the bread is baking in the oven, just stick to 1 tablespoon to 1 clove ratio.
This garlic bread goes excellently with some of my other recipes, including my roasted vegetable tagliatelle bake and my celeriac vegetable medley.
Extra Crunchy Garlic Bread
Ingredients
- 1 Loaf Sourdough (Or any bread of your choice)
- 1 Handful Fresh chopped Parsley
- 3 tbsp Salted Butter
- 3 Cloves Garlic
- 1 Lemon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200 Celsius
- Slice the loaf of bread into even chunky slices
- Using a butter knife, spread a very thin layer of butter onto one side of each slice of the slices of bread and place into a large frying pan on medium-high heat until the buttered side is crispy
- Whilst the bread is in the frying pan, crush the garlic and mix together with the rest of the butter and place into the pan on low heat for 2-3 minutes
- Remove the garlic butter from the heat and mix together with a handful of freshly chopped parsley and a squeeze of lemon juice
- Remove the bread from the frying pan and spread the garlic butter mix evenly across the slices of bread on the other side leaving a small amount of butter to brush on top laterOptional: add a sprinkle of grated cheese on the top of each slice
- Bake for 10 minutes or until the edges look golden brown, keeping a close eye on the bread after 5 minutes
- Remove the bread from the oven, brush gently with the remainder of the butter and sprinkle over some chopped parsley. Serve hot and enjoy.
