You know how you read everywhere to never, ever put anything in your ear? Well, have you ever had an ear infection as an adult? It makes that rule really, really tempting to break, especially when your ear is all plugged up, even after antibiotics, steroids, yawning, plugging your nose and blowing, and jumping up and down with your ear pointed up to the ceiling. Last week, I started reading online for ideas to help pop my ear and lots of people were recommending heating a pressed fresh clove of garlic in some extra virgin olive oil. So I tried it. It might have helped a little, but mostly, I just wanted to lick myself because I smelled like an Italian restaurant. I ended up using the rest of the garlic olive oil for dipping some Ciabatta bread, which didn’t help my ear, but it did make me think of different ways I could use garlic olive oil that didn’t involve my orifices.
I’m going to include lots of variations with this recipe, but for pictures, I’m using pesto because that is what I was craving at the time. Oh, and because my garden has not failed, despite my very best efforts, and I had a whole bunch of basil I needed to use up.
You’ll need a loaf of crusty bread (a good loaf of sourdough works great), about 1/2 c. of pesto, and 8 ounces of mozzarella.
Preheat your oven to 350. Place a sheet of aluminum foil on a baking sheet and then place the bread on top of the foil. Slice the bread every 1 1/2 inches, not quite through to the bottom.
Flip it around so the cuts are horizontal and then slice the bread again, 1 1/2″ wide, not through to the bottom, so you have 1 1/2″ pieces that are still attached at the bottom of the loaf of bread.
Spread the pesto in between the cracks. It doesn’t have to be perfect and you can even just spread it on one direction of cuts (as opposed to doing it on all four sides of each little piece) because it will soak in.
Then gently stuff the cheese into the cracks. Brush a little pesto on top and sprinkle with a little additional cheese. 
Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the top of the bread is crispy. The top of the bread should fan out, kind of like an Awesome Blossom (extra awesome). Allow to stand for about 5 minutes and then serve. With a fork, some wet wipes, and a little bit of guilt.
Cheesy Garlic-Herb Bread
Recipe by Our Best Bites
1 loaf (16-24-oz.) crusty bread (we recommend sourdough)
8 oz. mozzarella*
1 of the following toppings:
–1/2 c. pesto
–1/2 c. extra-virgin olive oil mixed with 3-4 cloves pressed garlic (allow to stand for at least an hour before brushing onto the bread)
–1/2 c. extra virgin olive oil mixed with 3-4 cloves pressed garlic and 3 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
–1/2 c. butter mixed with 3 tablespoons Garlic Bread Seasoning
–1/2 c. butter mixed with 2 cloves pressed garlic, 1 tablespoon each fresh, chopped basil, rosemary, and parsley
*If you want to lighten things up a little, you can leave out the cheese and sprinkle to top of the bread with kosher salt and a little freshly ground black pepper.
Preheat oven to 350. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Slice bread into 1 1/2″ slices, not cutting through to the bottom. Rotate the loaf 90 degrees and slice the bread again every 1 1/2″ so you have 1 1/2″ pieces that are still attached to the bottom of the bread.
Place the loaf on the prepared baking sheet. Gently spread the desired filling into the cracks. Gently stuff the cheese into the cracks (you can just put the cheese going in one direction rather than on all four sides of each piece). Brush a little of the remaining filling on top of the loaf and sprinkle with a little remaining cheese. Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes or until the bread is toasted on top and the cheese is melted. Allow to stand a few minutes before serving.
Questions & Reviews
i have got to say, this is amazing i have just made this for my flat to go with some chicken and pasta and they all love it, so easy to make thank you so much your website has given me so many ideas for things to cook 🙂
I took one loaf of pesto and one of your cheese garlic to a party last month and have been asked to make them twice more for the same group! They not only taste wonderful but the presentation is great! Thanks!!
this is my husbands favorite thing now- he even LOVES (and he’s a picky eater) me to prepare this on a slice of sourdough for a sandwich (and this comes from a guy who, when he’s asked how the food was, says “good” or “ok”. So when I got an enthusiastic “really good!” from him about this, it made me feel special!)
I am pretty sure I’m in love.
I’m in the midst of preparing this for Father’s Day. I’ve already gone through one loaf of bread. It’s probably common sense to everyone but me to use a serrated bread knife! I ran out to the store to buy another loaf and a serrated knife after I botched the first one. It sliced up much easier (and prettier). I can’t wait to see how it turns out!
Made this for dinner tonight with chicken cordon blue and restaurant style smashed potatoes and green beans. It was WONDERFUL! All that lovely butter dripped through the cracks and the cheese was nice and melty. I use your garlic bread seasoning on a regular basis. Thank you for all your great ideas! I’m a total food blogaholic.
I made this and my pants were angry with me the next day. Holy cow.
I spread the pesto and sprinkled cheese on homemade french baguette (thanks to my neighbor) so there wouldn’t be any waste for a smaller portion size. Amazing!
Tried this at a get together this weekend and it was a huge hit! We loved it and will be making it again! I’m telling everyone about this wonderful, newly found website. Thanks Sara and Kate!
I made this last night with plain spaghetti sauce since my basil isn’t up yet, (okay, I really killed it) and your rosemary foccacia bread. I live in nowhere utah and we don’t have artisan breads. It was VERY good. I would just skip the rosemary next time in the bread so I could actually taste the sauce. I can’t wait to try it with some pesto.
My dinner menu last night was planned around this bread. It was SO good! I am having some friends over for a game night soon and this will be one of the appatizers I set out while we play.
oh I love this cheese bread idea what a fun idea for a dinner party- thanks
I made this last night and it was awesome. I used one of the small round loaves as there are only 2 of us. Now on to the other variations. Thanks.
Looks delish! I had something very similiar at a restaurant in California… theirs was stuffed with gruyere, paremessan, swiss, garlic, butter, chives, and served with balsamic vinegar and olive oil. OMG! It was amazing, but so rich we could only eat a little bit. We meant to make it at home but I had forgot all about it until now. Thanks for the reminder!
This looks like the perfect use for pesto that I just made. I will need to invite friends over though, otherwise my husband and I are likely to consume a loaf of bread 🙂
This looks amazing! How’s your ear love?
WOW! That looks AWESOME!!!
This will be great with spaghetti tonight! I can’t wait!!
I made this last night and it was FABULOUS!
Happy weekend! Don’t forget to come over and share a recipe at Savory Sunday!!
Hi! I love your blog! I am currently going to pastry school and just finished up my breads class and I had fresh sourdough bread to try this today! IT WAS AMAZING. Thanks for the idea!
http://ashley-and-john.blogspot.com/2011/05/ultimate-carb-loading-experience.html
Are you kidding me with this? WOW! I could eat this whole thing.
This looks great. There is a restaurant in Canada called ‘Swiss chalet’ that has a Garlic bread similar to this, except once it is finished cooking (minus the pesto, and instead mounds of butter I presume) they cover it with freshly diced tomatoes and green onions. It is delicious. I have never thought to make it at home, but maybe I will thanks to your site. Oh, and as a side note, your creamy-lime cilantro salad dressing is my favorite salad dressing ever! 🙂
I need this. It’s not a want it’s a need.