Garlic Bread Baguette
This Garlic Bread Baguette is the answer to all your garlic bread prayers. That’s because a whole head of roasted garlic magically transforms your baguette into a garlic bread with the sweetest and most mellow flavor. It’s the perfect accompaniment to spaghetti and meatballs braised in tomato sauce or this cheesy white bean tomato bake.
Read more to learn tricks how to make the best garlic bread from a baguette and some variations to make it your own way. Or just grab your butter knife and a box of aluminum foil, jump to the recipe, and let’s make a garlic baguette!
Jump to:
Ingredients
- baguette – we prefer making garlic bread from a soft baguette over an authentic French baguette because the French baguette crust gets too crisp.
- garlic – buy a head of garlic that feels firm, and don’t use one that has sprouted! This garlic bread recipe uses roasted garlic to give a sweet, mellow flavor.
- butter – any good butter will work in this recipe. It’s important to soften the butter to room temperature to make it easy to mix the compound garlic butter and spread it on the baguette.
- Parmesan – a little bit of Parmesan rounds out the garlic flavor. See variations below if you’re looking for a cheesy garlic bread.
- honey – honey is optional but its sweetness works well with the roasted garlic.
Please see the recipe card below for complete information on ingredients and quantities.
Variations and alternatives
- Raw garlic can be used for an in-your-face garlic taste. Smash two to three medium-sized garlic cloves in a garlic press or mortar and pestle and add to the softened butter.
- Add chopped herbs like parsley or a bit of basil pesto to the roasted garlic butter or sprinkle the herbs over the broiled garlic bread as garnish before serving.
- Add mozzarella or another melty cheese during the broiling step.
- Instead of your oven, turn this recipe into a grilled garlic bread.
- Make your own baguette!
Quick baguette recipe
If you would like to make your own quick baguette, Food52’s 4-hour baguette is a straightforward recipe. They are worth the effort if you want to make your garlic bread from baguettes completely from scratch!
Recipe tips and tricks
Making the roasted garlic butter
Step 1: Peel the outer papery skin off the outside of the head of the garlic. If you can, try to keep the garlic cloves attached to the base.
Step 2: Slice the top off the head, exposing the tops of each clove. Drizzle olive oil on the garlic, and sprinkle salt on top.
Step 3: Wrap the garlic head in aluminum foil and roast it, base-side down, in the oven for 40 to 50 minutes until the cloves are extremely soft when poked with a knife or toothpick. Let cool slightly so the butter doesn’t melt.
Step 4: Add the roasted garlic, softened butter, Parmesan cheese, and optional honey to a small bowl and mash together until smooth – the consistency reminds me of mashed potatoes. Taste your garlic butter, and add additional salt and pepper as desired.
Making the garlic bread baguette
Step 5: If your baguette is very long, slice it in half cross-wise to make it easier to work with. Stand the baguette on end, and slice it lengthwise (downward) in half.
I don’t know about you, but recipes that call for slicing your bread crosswise take more time, are messier to make, and more challenging to eat. I hate when you pull garlic bread apart and you get a half piece of bread that’s only partially covered in garlic butter!
Step 6: Smear the roasted garlic butter thickly over the cut faces of the baguette.
Step 7: Put the cut faces back together, wrap the baguette tightly in aluminum foil, and bake it in the 400℉ oven for 15 to 20 minutes. The garlic bread should be warm, and the garlic butter will have fully melted into the bread.
Step 8: Remove the garlic bread baguette from the oven and turn the oven from bake to broil. It’s easiest and less messy to slice the baguette at this stage before you’ve gotten it all crispy!
On a cutting board, slice the baguette into inch-wide slices and carefully transfer it all back to the foil. If you want to add mozzarella or another cheese, now is the time to do it!
Step 9: Broil the garlic bread slices a few inches from the broiler until it’s as brown as you like. Be sure to keep a close eye on it because it will toast quickly.
Serve wrapped in foil to keep it warm. Enjoy!
What to serve with a garlic bread baguette
Make garlic bread from a baguette to accompany:
- Other pastas like sausage ragù, cavatappi alfredo, pink sauce pasta, or one-pan eggplant lasagna.
- Chicken or eggplant parmigiana or Parmesan-crusted chicken muffins.
- An easy shakshuka recipe.
- Simple grilled or roasted meats. Think sausages, cast iron chicken breasts, or one-pan pork tenderloin with bourbon apples.
- Hearty soups like this garbanzo bean soup or 4-ingredient potato soup.
- A one-bowl rainbow salad dinner.
Recipe FAQs
Yes. It’s best frozen before baking. Just foil wrap the baguette halves together after spreading on the roasted garlic butter, then place the foil package in a freezer bag for up to three months. To serve, heat the garlic bread in its foil package until the bread has warmed, about 30 to 40 minutes, then proceed with the recipe.
If you have leftovers of your garlic bread baguette, you can re-wrap it in foil and gently reheat it the next day. Or chop the baguette into cubes, toss them in a tablespoon of olive oil, and toast them in the oven at 375 degrees or so for 15 minutes. Use them as croutons in a watermelon panzanella or simple green salad.
Roasting a second head of garlic at the same time takes only the slightest bit more effort! Add roasted garlic cloves as a topping in your favorite pizza recipes, or use it to replace the raw garlic in a sumac sauce.
Related recipes
Check out other Ugly Duckling Bakery bread recipes like:
Love this recipe? Please leave a 5-heart 💜💜💜💜💜 rating in the recipe card below. Let me know how much you loved it, or any problems you had, in the comments section further down.
Recipe
Garlic Bread Baguette
Ingredients
- 1 head garlic
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ teaspoon salt plus more, as desired
- 1 stick (½ cup, 4 ounces, or 113grams) butter softened
- ¼ cup Parmesan grated
- 1 tablespoon honey optional
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper optional
- 1 baguette or Italian bread
Instructions
Roasted Garlic Butter
- Heat your oven to 400℉.
- Peel the outer papery skin off the outside of the head of the garlic, being careful to keep the garlic cloves attached to the base.1 head garlic
- Slice the top off the head of garlic, exposing the tops of each clove. Drizzle the garlic with the olive oil and sprinkle the salt on top.1 tablespoon olive oil, ½ teaspoon salt
- Wrap the garlic head in aluminum foil and roast base-side down in the oven for 40 to 50 minutes until the cloves are extremely soft when poked with a knife or toothpick. Let cool slightly.
- Add the roasted garlic, softened butter, Parmesan cheese, and optional honey and mash together until smooth.1 stick (½ cup, 4 ounces, or 113grams) butter, ¼ cup Parmesan, 1 tablespoon honey
- Add additional salt and optional pepper to taste.¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
Garlic Bread Baguette
- If your baguette is very long, slice it in half cross-wise. Stand the baguette on end, and slice lengthwise (downward) to get two equal, long halves.1 baguette
- Put the baguette crust-side down and smear the roasted garlic butter thickly over the cut faces.
- Put the cut faces back together, wrap tightly in aluminum foil and bake in the 400℉ oven for 15 to 20 minutes until the bread is warm and the garlic butter has fully melted into the bread.
- Remove the garlic bread baguette from the oven and turn it to broil. On a cutting board, slice the baguette into inch-wide slices and carefully transfer them back to the foil.
- Broil the garlic bread slices a few inches from the broiler until it is as brown as you like. Be sure to keep a close eye on it because it will brown quickly!
- Serve immediately, wrapped in foil to keep warm.
Notes
Nutrition
This garlic baguette was originally posted for the 2021 reddit 52 weeks of baking challenge: week 7 (new tool).
Looking for inspiration?
Sign up to get recipes full of kitchen tips and tricks.
Previous challenges:
Week 1: New Year new recipe – blueberry galette
Week 2: seasonal – Smitten Kitchen’s grapefruit pound cake
Week 3: Great British Bake Off – Kate’s sticky toffee apple caramel cake
Week 4: Australia – sausage rolls
Week 5: bite sized – bite-sized cookies
Week 6: Chinese New Year – mushroom bao
Next week: chocolate!