Garlic bread stops being a side dish the moment you cut it crosswise instead of lengthwise. Every slit becomes a pocket that traps butter and cheese, so the loaf steams from the inside while the crust stays crisp, and it comes apart in the hand without a knife.

Two details matter. Use butter that is genuinely soft, not melted, or the dill and garlic slide off instead of suspending in it. And keep the foil on for the first stretch: uncovered from the start, the crust darkens long before the cheese in the deepest slits has melted.

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Ingredients

  • 1 large baguette
  • 120 g butter, softened to room temperature
  • 4 garlic cloves, finely grated or crushed
  • Small bunch of fresh dill, finely chopped
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 150 g hard cheese, coarsely grated

Method

  1. Make the garlic butter. Mix the softened butter with the chopped dill, garlic, and salt. Stir it all together well and set it aside so the garlic perfumes the butter while you prepare the bread.
  2. Slice the baguette. Slice the baguette crosswise at roughly 2 cm intervals, cutting most of the way down but not all the way through. The base must stay intact so the loaf holds together and pulls apart at the table.
  3. Butter every surface. Brush the garlic butter over the top of the baguette, then work it into each slit with the back of a spoon. Be generous; this is where all the flavour lives.
  4. Fill with cheese. Push the grated cheese down into each slit until the loaf is packed. Any that lands on top will brown into crisp lacy edges, so do not be tidy about it.
  5. Bake covered, then uncovered. Wrap the loaf in foil and bake at 180°C for 15 minutes so the cheese melts through without the crust burning. Open the foil and bake a further 8 to 10 minutes until the top is golden and bubbling.
  6. Pull apart and serve. Rest for 2 minutes so the cheese sets just enough to stretch rather than run, then pull the pieces apart and serve straight away while the cheese still pulls.