Equipment
Ingredients
Roasted Garlic Base
- 1 garlic, whole head
- 15 ml olive oil
- 2 g sea salt
Garlic Butter and Bread
- 100 g unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 baguette
- 5 g fresh parsley, finely chopped
- 1 g flaky sea salt
Nutrition (per serving)
Nutrition is estimated per serving. Nutrients without complete source data are omitted.
Full nutrition
- Calories
- 133 kcal
- Protein
- 3 g
- Carbohydrates
- 12 g
- Fat
- 9 g
- Fiber
- 1 g
- Sugar
- 1 g
- Sodium
- 224 mg
- Saturated Fat
- 5 g
- Monounsaturated Fat
- 3 g
- Polyunsaturated Fat
- 1 g
- Cholesterol
- 18 mg
- Potassium
- 44 mg
- Calcium
- 20 mg
- Iron
- 0.9 mg
- Magnesium
- 8 mg
- Phosphorus
- 30 mg
- Zinc
- 0.3 mg
- Vitamin A
- 59 mcg
- Vitamin C
- 2 mg
- Vitamin E
- 0.4 mg
- Vitamin K
- 8 mcg
- Vitamin B6
- 0.1 mg
- Vitamin B12
- 0.0 mcg
- Thiamin
- 0.16 mg
- Riboflavin
- 0.10 mg
- Niacin
- 1.0 mg
- Folate
- 27 mcg
- Water
- 11 g
Sources: USDA FoodData Central
Method
Preheat your oven to 200 degrees Celsius or 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
Slice the top quarter off the head of garlic to expose the raw cloves inside.
Place the exposed garlic head on a square piece of aluminum foil. Drizzle the olive oil evenly over the exposed cloves and sprinkle with the sea salt. Wrap the foil tightly around the garlic to seal it.
Roast the wrapped garlic in the preheated oven for 45 minutes.
Remove the garlic from the oven and carefully open the foil to let steam escape. Let it cool for 10 minutes until safe to handle. Leave the oven on.
Squeeze the roasted garlic cloves out of their skins directly into a small mixing bowl. Mash them into a smooth paste using a fork. Add the softened unsalted butter and finely chopped fresh parsley. Mix until completely combined.
Using a serrated knife, slice the baguette in half horizontally, keeping the top and bottom pieces as intact as possible.
Spread the roasted garlic butter evenly over the cut surfaces of both baguette halves, spreading all the way to the edges. Place the halves cut-side up on a baking sheet.
Bake in the 200 degree Celsius or 400 degree Fahrenheit oven for 10 to 12 minutes.
Remove from the oven, sprinkle lightly with flaky sea salt if desired, slice into individual portions with a serrated knife, and serve warm.
Chef's Notes
- Roasting the garlic completely mellows its pungent bite, allowing you to use a whole head to achieve deep flavor without overwhelming the palate.
- For a softer crust, wrap the buttered garlic bread completely in aluminum foil before baking. Open the foil for only the last three minutes to gently crisp the top.
- This roasted garlic butter freezes beautifully. Consider roasting two heads of garlic, doubling the butter, and rolling the excess into a log using parchment paper. Freeze for up to three months to use on steaks, pasta, or future batches of bread.
- Using a serrated knife with a gentle sawing motion is crucial when cutting crusty baguettes to avoid crushing the delicate interior crumb.
Storage
Refrigerator: 3 days — Wrap tightly in aluminum foil to prevent drying out.
Freezer: 1 month — Freeze prepared but unbaked bread tightly wrapped. Bake straight from frozen, adding 5 minutes to the baking time.
Reheating: Wrap in aluminum foil and bake at 175 degrees Celsius for 8 to 10 minutes until warmed through.
Troubleshooting
Garlic burned and turned bitter during roasting
Cause: Foil was not sealed tightly enough, allowing steam to escape and drying out the cloves
Fix: Cut away any blackened tops. If the entire head is dark brown and rigid, it must be discarded and restarted
Prevention: Ensure the aluminum foil is tightly crimped shut around the garlic head to create a steam pocket
Baguette is unpleasantly hard and dry after baking
Cause: Bread was baked too long or the baguette was already quite stale before starting
Fix: Cannot be fully reversed, but can be crushed into delicious croutons for soup or salad
Prevention: Watch closely during the last few minutes of baking. For stale bread, wrap the assembled loaf loosely in foil for the first 8 minutes of baking
Cultural Context
Garlic bread traces its roots back to bruschetta, a classic Italian antipasto created to salvage stale bread by rubbing it with raw garlic and olive oil. As Italian immigrants adapted to the ingredients available in the United States, plentiful dairy butter replaced olive oil, giving rise to the rich, indulgent side dish prominently featured in Italian-American cuisine today.
