The Ultimate Home-Made Garlic Bread

For those who enjoy a classic garlic bread, made the old-fashioned way, this really ticks all the boxes. The trick is to make sure it's plenty garlicky but also add your favourite herbs to the mix. Good quality bread is obviously key; we like to use a bake-at-home sourdough bread although a classic baguette will also work.

Part of what makes garlic bread so moreish is the buttery juiciness and depth of garlic flavour complimenting the herbs. By using garlic butter as well as additional freshly crushed garlic, the full aromatic spectrum opens up. Introducing additional garlic toward the end of this recipe is what delivers a warming, aromatic 'top note'.

Alongside simple steamed or roasted seasonal vegetables, this dish is a meal in itself. Beware, it's extremely addictive!

Serves 1-4 Prep time 25 mins

INGREDIENTS

1 large or 2 small bake-at-home sourdough baguette or classic baguette
100g Garlic Butter with Parsley, Thyme and Black Pepper
2-3 large garlic cloves both our Lubasha Wight 'Easy Peel Rounds' (when in season) or Iberian Wight give a strong flavour hit when bread is cooking (see below)
A good handful of your favourite herbs, finely chopped. Choose from parsley, rosemary, basil, thyme
Paprika for sprinkling

METHOD

Preheat the oven to 200°C.
If your butter is not already room temperature, give it a soften in the microwave.
Pop butter and herbs (but not the garlic) into a bowl and either mash together by hand or whizz up in a food processor if you prefer.
Take your loaf and make diagonal slices nearly all the way through but leaving base attached.
Spread a generous amount of your butter mixture in the gaps.
Place the loaf on to a large piece of kitchen foil and wrap loosely sealing the ends and top. (break the loaf in half if it won't fit in the oven)
Bake for about 20 minutes, until all the filling is melted.
Chop and crush the garlic or use our Garlic Twist (the more you crush or mince, the stronger the flavour)
Open the foil, spoon in the fresh garlic between slices (being careful with heat and steam) then sprinkle on the paprika and pop back in the oven for 5-6 minutes to brown the top.
Serve on a board ready to be torn to pieces.