Cheese Garlic Bread

The smell of garlic bread in the oven is one of those things that makes a house feel like home. It is the side dish that disappears first at every dinner I serve, whether it is next to a bowl of pasta, a plate of soup or just on its own as a snack. And the cheesy version — the one where the mozzarella bubbles and stretches when you pull a slice apart — is the one my family asks for by name.

I used to buy garlic bread from the supermarket, the kind that comes wrapped in foil and tastes mostly of butter. Then one evening, with a stale baguette and a few cloves of garlic in the kitchen, I made my own in fifteen minutes — and I have never bought it again. Soft butter, plenty of garlic, a good handful of cheese and a hot oven. That is all it takes, and the result is so much better than anything from a packet that I still cannot quite believe it.

Prep time: 10 minutes | Cook time: 15 minutes | Servings: 6 slices

Watch: Cheese Garlic Bread

Ingredients

• 1 large baguette or French stick (about 300 g)
• 100 g unsalted butter, softened
• 4 garlic cloves, finely minced or crushed
• 100 g mozzarella, grated
• 30 g Parmesan, finely grated
• 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, finely chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano (optional)
• 1/4 teaspoon chilli flakes (optional, for a little warmth)
• Salt and black pepper, to taste
• Extra parsley, to serve (optional)

Method

1. Heat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan) and line a baking tray with baking paper. Cut the baguette in half lengthways, so you have two long halves — or cut it into thick slices if you prefer individual pieces.
2. Put the softened butter in a small bowl with the minced garlic, half of the parsley, the oregano and chilli flakes if you are using them. Season with a little salt and pepper, then mash everything together with a fork until it is a smooth, fragrant garlic butter.
3. Spread the garlic butter generously over the cut sides of the baguette, right to the edges. Do not be shy — the butter is what keeps the bread soft inside while the top goes crisp and golden.
4. Sprinkle the mozzarella evenly over the buttered bread, then scatter the Parmesan on top. The mozzarella gives you that lovely stretch, and the Parmesan crisps up into a golden, savoury crust.
5. Place the bread on the lined tray, buttered side up, and bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until the cheese is melted, bubbling and golden at the edges, and the bread is crisp underneath.
6. If you like the top extra golden, switch the oven to grill for the last minute or two — but watch it closely, because garlic bread goes from golden to burnt in seconds.
7. Take the bread out of the oven and let it rest for two minutes — the cheese needs a moment to settle, and the bread is far too hot to cut straight away.
8. Cut into thick slices, scatter over the remaining parsley, and serve straight away while the cheese is still stretchy and the bread is warm and crisp.

Serving and Storage

Serve this garlic bread hot, straight from the oven, with pasta, soup or a salad — or just on its own as a snack, which is how half of it disappears in my house. It is best eaten fresh, but leftovers keep for a day wrapped in foil, and they warm up nicely in the oven at 180°C for five or six minutes. Do not microwave it — the bread goes soft and chewy, and the crisp top is the whole point.

Tips

A few things I have learned along the way. Use properly soft butter, not melted — melted butter soaks straight through the bread and makes it soggy. If your baguette is very crusty, wrap it loosely in foil for the first ten minutes, then open the foil for the last five so the cheese can brown. And for a richer flavour, roast the garlic first: wrap a whole head in foil, bake it at 180°C for 30 minutes, then squeeze the soft cloves into the butter — it is a small extra step that makes it taste wonderful.

That is cheese garlic bread: ten minutes of prep, fifteen minutes in the oven, and a tray of golden, cheesy, garlicky bread that makes any dinner feel like a treat. It is the side dish I make when friends come over, the snack that vanishes from the table in minutes, and the recipe that proves the simplest food is often the best. If you want to turn it into a light meal, top the bread with sliced tomatoes before the cheese, or add a few mushrooms. It also works beautifully with a different cheese — a little grated Gruyère or a crumble of feta on top gives it a completely different character, and I sometimes stir a spoonful of sun-dried tomato paste into the butter for a richer colour and flavour. Give it a try this week — and make sure you save yourself a slice, because it will not last long.