Garlic Bread from Italy

Garlic bread goes with so many different dishes and is so easy to make yourself.  There is no reason to buy shop-bought garlic bread.  You can make up quite a few garlic breads and keep them in your freezer until you need them as they freeze really well.  You can pile on the garlic, add in more herbs, personalise it.  When you make your own, you have the power.

1 large baguette
100g butter softened
10 cloves garlic finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
tin foil
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.  Divide the baguette into 20cm pieces if very long.  I used a large baguette that I made into three garlic breads.  Add the softened butter, finely chopped garlic, thyme, salt and pepper together.  Using a butter knife, mix it all together so that you have a spreadable paste.  Make 2.5cm slices into the bread but don't go all the way through.  Put a generous dollop of the butter mixture between each slice.  Spread a little of the butter mixture on the top of your garlic bread.  Wrap the bread in the tin foil and heat in the oven for 15-20 minutes.  Serve hot and crispy on the outside, soft and buttery inside.  This is a perfect accompaniment to soups, pastas and barbecues.
Cindy Vine is a South African currently living and working in Kyiv Ukraine.  She is the author of The Colorful Art of Pain, Hush Baby and Defective.  All her books are available on Amazon in both print and Kindle format.  http://cindyvine.com