Ingredients
Method
Make Garlic Butter
- Preheat oven to 200°C (400°F). In a bowl, mix 115g softened butter with 18g garlic, 20g parsley, 5g basil, 3g salt, 1g black pepper, 2g red pepper flakes (optional), and 30g Parmesan until fully uniform. Make sure the butter is truly soft so it spreads easily without tearing the bread.
Prepare the Bread
- Cut the 450g sourdough loaf in half horizontally for two large pieces. For pull-apart style, slice into 2.5cm slices without cutting through the bottom crust so the loaf holds together.
Spread and Wrap
- Spread garlic butter generously over cut surfaces, all the way to the edges, and between slices if using the pull-apart method. Wrap the bread loosely in foil—loose enough to allow a little steam circulation, but sealed enough to keep the interior soft and prevent drying.
Bake and Serve
- Bake foil-wrapped bread on a baking sheet 10 minutes so the butter melts and soaks in. Unwrap and bake 2–3 minutes more until edges are golden and crisp and the butter is bubbling. Slice/portion and serve immediately while hot.
Notes
Softened butter is what makes even flavor distribution possible. Cold butter spreads unevenly and leads to dry patches and overly garlicky clumps. If you forgot to soften, warm briefly until spreadable (not melted).
The foil stage is for softness; the unwrapped stage is for crisp edges. If you bake unwrapped the entire time, sourdough can dry out before the butter fully penetrates. Two-stage baking gives you a soft interior and a toasted rim.
Garlic burns easily. Because the garlic is in butter and near the surface, the final unwrapped bake should be short and monitored. If your oven browns aggressively, reduce the final crisping to 1–2 minutes.
Storage: wrap and refrigerate up to 3 days. Reheat at 180°C for 8–10 minutes, unwrapping for the last 1–2 minutes to restore crisp edges.