Recipes

Serves 6-8

Ingredients

1 round or oval loaf of sourdough bread

1 stick (8 tablespoons) butter

2 cloves garlic, finely minced

½ teaspoon salt, omit if using salted butter

3 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

In a small saucepan over low heat, melt butter with garlic and salt if using. Remove from heat. Alternatively, you can melt the butter and garlic in a microwave-safe bowl in the microwave oven.

Using a serrated bread knife, cut the bread into 1-inch slices, without cutting through the bottom. Turn the bread a ¼-turn and cut the bread at 1-inch intervals to create small diamonds or squares, again, without cutting through the bottom of the loaf of bread.

Brush the inside cut surfaces of the bread with the melted garlic butter. If you don’t have a pastry brush, you can simply drizzle the melted garlic butter with a small spoon. Reserve about 2 tablespoons for the top.

Using your fingers, stuff shredded cheese into the cut surfaces of the bread. The cheese does not have to fit inside perfectly.

Brush the top of the stuffed bread loaf with the remaining garlic butter. Place the loaf on a baking sheet and cover with aluminum foil. Bake until the cheese has melted, about 20 minutes. Remove the aluminum foil and bake until the top of the bread gets toasted, about 5 minutes.

Sprinkled top of bread with chopped parsley. Serve immediately, with a lot of napkins.

Leftover Cheesy Garlic Pull Apart Bread will keep tightly wrapped in plastic wrap or a zip-top bag in the refrigerator for three days.

Notes and Substitutions

Monterey Jack is our cheese of choice because—what else?—it originates from California! However, any meltable cheese like mozzarella or mild cheddar will work.