Garten’s garlic bread recipe
The cookbook author shares a slow-cooked method using Parmesan, lemon zest, and crushed red pepper for a richer snack.
By Takeshi Faure ·
Ina Garten recently shared her method for making what she calls Outrageous Garlic Bread.
The recipe serves eight people and requires one head of garlic, a 20 to 24-inch crusty French baguette, and 12 tablespoons of unsalted butter. The ingredient list also includes one cup of freshly grated Italian Parmesan cheese, two tablespoons of minced fresh parsley, two teaspoons of grated lemon zest, and a quarter teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes. Gardeners can prepare the garlic mixture up to three days in advance and keep it refrigerated. To serve, the mixture is warmed slightly in a microwave until spreadable.
Garten appears in the recipe notes to explain how to peel the garlic cloves. She suggests smashing each clove lightly on a board with a chef’s knife. Alternatively, she says cooks can place the cloves in a small pot of boiling water for 15 to 30 seconds to loosen the peels. The recipe notes attribute the method to her book Modern Comfort Food.
The cooking process involves melting the butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Cooks add the separated garlic cloves and stir them to coat in the butter. The mixture cooks covered for 20 minutes while stirring occasionally until the garlic becomes very tender. After cooling, the garlic is mashed in the butter with a fork. The cook then stirs in the Parmesan, parsley, lemon zest, red pepper flakes, one and a half teaspoons of kosher salt, and half a teaspoon of black pepper.
The baguette is sliced in half lengthwise and placed cut side up on a cutting board. Each half is scored diagonally in large serving-size pieces without cutting all the way through. The garlic mixture is spooned generously onto the cut sides. The bread is then cut crosswise along the scores to create four pieces. These pieces are arranged on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper.
The bread bakes in a preheated 450-degree oven for 5 to 7 minutes. The topping should be bubbly and starting to brown while the bread becomes crisp. Once removed from the oven, the pieces are cut along the scores and sprinkled with fleur de sel or sea salt before serving warm.
