Ina Garten's Garlic Bread Recipe Calls for 450-Degree Oven and Slow-Cooked Garlic

Food writer Cathy Thomas published a new recipe from Ina Garten titled "Outrageous Garlic Bread" on November 2, 2026.

Most home cooks prepare garlic bread by slicing a baguette, spreading it with garlic butter, and placing it in a hot oven. Garten’s version, which appears in her book "Modern Comfort Food," uses a different technique to build flavor before baking. She calls the dish "Outrageous Garlic Bread" because it moves beyond the standard smearing of butter. The method involves a long cooking process for the aromatics before they touch the bread. Thomas notes that the approach offers more imagination than the typical quick toast.

Garten first melts 12 tablespoons of unsalted butter in a saucepan over low heat. She adds one head of garlic, with the cloves separated and peeled, to the pan. The garlic cooks covered for 20 minutes, with occasional stirring, until it becomes very tender. Once cooled, she mashes the garlic in the butter with a fork. She then mixes in one cup of freshly grated Italian Parmesan cheese and two tablespoons of minced fresh parsley. The mixture also includes two teaspoons of grated lemon zest and one quarter teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes. She seasons the blend with 1.5 teaspoons of kosher salt and half a teaspoon of black pepper. Thomas advises that readers can prepare this mixture up to three days in advance. It should be kept in the refrigerator and microwaved briefly until just spreadable before use.

To prepare the bread, the baker slices one 20- to 24-inch crusty French baguette in half lengthwise. The halves go cut side up on a cutting board. The baker scores each half diagonally into large serving pieces without cutting all the way through. The garlic mixture is spooned generously over the cut sides. The two halves are then cut crosswise at a score mark to create four pieces. These pieces are placed on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper.

The oven is preheated to 450 degrees with the rack in the middle position. The bread bakes for 5 to 7 minutes. The topping is ready when it is bubbly and starting to brown, and the bread is crisp. The baker transfers the pieces to a board and cuts them along the existing scores. The final step is to sprinkle the warm bread with fleur de sel or sea salt. The recipe yields 8 servings. Thomas, who has written three cookbooks including "Melissa's 50 Best Plants on the Planet," suggests smashing garlic cloves with a knife or boiling them for 15 to 30 seconds to ease peeling.