Roasted Garlic Bread

Name: Roasted Garlic Bread
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 1 h
Total time: 1 h 10 min
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 1 loaf (16 ounces) ciabatta bread or crusty French bread; 4 heads roasted garlic; 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened**; 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt; 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, or a light sprinkle of dried oregano

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My grandma Virginia makes the best garlic bread. It’s soft and buttery in the middle, irresistibly garlicky, and we all love it. Amongst a family of picky kids, the garlic bread was always a winner.

This garlic bread recipe brings back warm memories, although it’s quite a bit different. This bread is crisp and crusty with deep roasted garlic flavor. Since roasted garlic is inherently buttery in flavor and texture, I was able to cut the amount of butter in half.

I’ve had this recipe in my back pocket since sharing my tutorial on how to roast garlic. I second-guessed publishing it, since this recipe takes longer to make than your average garlic bread. On the other hand, it’s a simple, comforting side dish that goes well with many homemade meals.

If you’re making some saucy pasta tonight, how about a side of garlic bread? I’m working hard on a pantry resource guide for you and will be back soon.

Roasted Garlic Bread Ingredients

Roasted garlic

The length of time required to roast garlic varies from 40 to 70 minutes, depending on the garlic’s age, quantity used, etc. You can roast the garlic in advance and refrigerate it for later (see recipe notes), or give yourself plenty of time to make this bread.

Butter

We’ll need half as much butter as usual, so four tablespoons. The recipe calls for unsalted butter plus some salt—if you’re using salted butter, omit the salt.

Bread

I’ve made this garlic bread with Whole Foods’ ciabatta as well as Ibis bakery bread (local to Kansas City). Both were good, but local sourdough was definitely better!

Fresh parsley or dried oregano

We’ll finish off the bread with a light sprinkle of green garnish—fresh parsley if you have it, or dried oregano from the pantry. Typically, when you’re substituting dried herbs for fresh, you’ll want to use one-third of the amount suggested. I’m suggesting dried oregano over dried parsley because dried parsley is practically tasteless (or is that just my dried parsley?).

If you don’t have either option on hand, just skip the garnish.

What to Serve with Roasted Garlic Bread

This crusty bread would offer some nice contrast to hearty Italian soups and creamy bisques.

It would also be delicious with a big salad, or of course with saucy pasta and just about any Italian entrée.

Please let me know how your bread turns out in the comments! I love hearing from you. Please also tell me what resources will be helpful for you during this time.

Roasted Garlic Bread

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Author: Cookie and Kate
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
Yield: 1 loaf 1x
Category: Side
Method: Baked
Cuisine: Italian
Diet: Vegetarian

★★★★★

4.8 from 10 reviews

This garlic bread recipe is made with roasted garlic, which takes it to another level! This buttery garlic spread is made with half the butter, too. Keep in mind that roasted garlic requires 40 to 70 minutes in the oven, and you’ll need to roast the garlic first*. Recipe yields one loaf of garlic bread (about 12 slices).

Scale

Ingredients

1 loaf (16 ounces) ciabatta bread or crusty French bread
4 heads roasted garlic
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened**
¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, or a light sprinkle of dried oregano

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Using a serrated knife, slice through the loaf of bread horizontally to make two evenly-sized slabs. Place them on a large, rimmed baking sheet (lined with parchment paper for easy clean-up, if desired).
Remove the cloves of roasted garlic from the heads. In a shallow bowl or plate, mash the cloves with a fork until mostly smooth. Add the butter and salt and mash it all together until evenly combined. Scoop half of the mixture onto the cut side of one piece of bread, and spread it evenly across with a butter knife or spatula. Repeat with the remaining garlic on the remaining bread.
Bake for 5 minutes (for softer bread) or 10 to 12 minutes, until golden at the edges and crisp enough to resist a gentle squeeze (for toasted bread as shown in photos).
Sprinkle with parsley. Once cool enough to handle, slice into pieces about 2 to 3 inches wide with a serrated knife. Serve promptly. Bread should be consumed or refrigerated within 2 hours.

Notes

*Prepare in advance: You can roast the garlic up to 3 days in advance. Remove the cloves when they’re cool enough to handle and promptly refrigerate.

**If you forget: I always forget to pull the butter out of the fridge in advance. Cut the butter into 1-tablespoon segments. Microwave it in a bowl for 10 to 15 seconds, just until softened. Also, if you’re using salted butter, omit the added salt in this recipe.

Make it dairy free/vegan: You could try substituting extra-virgin olive oil for the butter! Vegan butter is also an option. Miyoko’s Creamery butter would be my pick.

▸ Nutrition Information

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Roasted Garlic Bread