Confit garlic bread

Garlic bread is something I have never made using a recipe.  In my family we have always mixed a bit of raw garlic, herbs and butter, slathered it over a partly sliced baguette and then baked in foil until soft, buttery and garlicky.  But when Sylvia brought me a Tik Tok recipe to me to try, not only was I interested in trying it with roast garlic, but I also was surprised to see their way of cooking the garlic bread is quite different to mine.

This recipe is different to ones I have made because of the roasted garlic.  It has less of the bite of raw garlic but is full of flavour.  Actually Sylvia decided that she needed a bit of raw garlic paste too.  And I love the extra colour and flavour that is imparted by fresh herbs.

But Sylvia was not done with making changes.  The TikTokker @intothesauce surprisingly cut her baguette into rounds that could be cooked under the grill.  Sylvia has enjoyed eating garlic bread from Crust Pizza which is baked in a soft melty baguette but has a peekaboo top where the foil is peeled back on top, a sprinkle of parmesan on top and baked to be a bit crispy.  This results in a garlic bread that is both soft and crisp in places.

It was fun to make the garlic bread but I don't really make it often at home as I think of it as something to make for a crowd.  I am watching the Australian Tennis Open on the telly as I write this and surprised to hear them say it is the first time this tournament has had a full house since 2020.  So much change over the past few years.  It makes me hopeful that perhaps there is more entertaining in my future!

More recipes using bread on Green Gourmet Giraffe blog:
Bread and butter pudding
Choc-berry bread pudding
Panzanella (v)
Ribollita (v)
Vegan cheese on toast (v) 
Welsh Rarebit with leeks

Confit Garlic Bread
Adapted from Into the Sauce

1 x 30cm baguette
1-2 bulbs garlic
drizzle of olive oil
100g butter
1/4 bunch parsley, finely chopped
Parmesan or cheese, grated (optional)

Cut enough of the top of the bulbs of garlic so the cut tops of the cloves peep through.  Take a large square of foil (about 15x15cm) for each bulb and make it into a bowl.  Place each bulb into a foil bowl.  Drizzle olive oil over the top so it touches each of the exposed cloves.  Twist the corners of the foil together to seal the garlic in the foil.  Bake on a baking tray for 30-40 min at 180 C or until soft.

Squeeze roasted garlic out of the skin.  Mash garlic and mix with butter and parsley.  Add some cheese or parmesan if desired.

Slice baguette three quarters of the way down, keeping each slice attached to the baguette.  Place baguette on a piece of foil that has a border around the bread of about 10cm.

Gently prise each slice apart and spread the garlic butter thickly over each slice.  There should be enough in there that when you then push the slice against the next slice it should ooze a little butter.  Spread a little butter over the top and sides of the baguette.

Wrap the foil over the top of the baguette and seal.  Bake at 200 C for about 15 minutes until all the butter is melted.  Serve hot as a side dish.

NOTES:

• If you want a crispy top, keep the top of the foil open when you bake it - perhaps sprinkle with parmesan or cheese.
• Sylvia added a squirt of a tube of garlic paste because she needed more garlic. 
• This can be made vegan with a vegan butter (and omit the cheese)
  
• I would freeze this but haven't done it yet.
  

On the Stereo:
What the world needs now is love/Abraham, Martin and John (historic mash-up): Tom Clay