How to Make Garlic Bread from Scratch

Garlic bread is one of those things that most people assume comes from a foil packet in the freezer aisle. The supermarket versions are convenient, yes, but they rarely match the depth of flavour you get from making it yourself — particularly when you start from a proper homemade loaf rather than a shop-bought base. Learning to make garlic bread entirely from scratch, dough included, is a genuinely rewarding project for any home baker. It combines two skills — bread making and flavoured butter — into one satisfying result that is far more impressive than the sum of its parts.

This guide covers everything you need to know: choosing your flour, making the dough, preparing the garlic butter, and baking the finished loaf. Whether you have never made bread before or you have tried a few times with mixed results, this is a practical, step-by-step resource designed to give you a strong foundation and a brilliant end product.

Why Make Garlic Bread from Scratch?

It is a fair question. Garlic bread is cheap to buy, widely available, and takes thirty seconds to pull from the freezer. So why bother making it yourself?

The honest answer is flavour. Homemade bread has a structure and taste that processed alternatives simply cannot replicate. When you slice into a loaf you have made yourself, the crust has genuine crunch and the crumb is soft and yielding. The garlic butter, made with real butter and fresh garlic rather than garlic powder and palm oil, soaks into that crumb in a way that shop-bought versions never quite manage.

There is also the matter of ingredients. Most supermarket garlic breads contain a surprisingly long list of additives, stabilisers, and emulsifiers. Making your own means you know exactly what goes into it: flour, water, yeast, salt, butter, garlic, and herbs. That is it.

From a cost perspective, a homemade garlic loaf is also very economical. A 500g bag of strong white flour from a UK supermarket typically costs between 70p and £1.20. A bulb of garlic costs around 40p. Butter, yeast, and herbs are all storecupboard staples. You can make a large, generous garlic bread for under £2, which compares very favourably with premium versions at the chilled counter.

The Flour You Need

Bread flour in the UK is sold as strong white flour or strong bread flour. The word “strong” refers to the higher protein content compared with plain flour — typically around 12 to 13 percent protein versus 9 to 10 percent in plain flour. That extra protein is what allows gluten to develop properly, giving bread its structure and chew.

For garlic bread, strong white flour is the best choice. It produces a light, open crumb that absorbs garlic butter without becoming stodgy. Wholemeal strong flour works too if you prefer a nuttier flavour, but the texture will be denser and the rise slightly lower.

Good flour brands widely available in UK supermarkets and independent shops include:

Allinson’s Strong White Bread Flour — a reliable, affordable choice found in most major supermarkets including Tesco, Sainsbury’s, and Asda.
Doves Farm Strong White Bread Flour — widely available in Waitrose, Ocado, and health food shops; also available in an organic version.
Marriage’s Strong White Bread Flour — a traditional British miller based in Essex; excellent quality and available online and in independent retailers.
Shipton Mill flours — a Gloucestershire-based mill producing high-quality stone-ground flours, available via their website and many independent farm shops.

Store your flour in a cool, dry cupboard, ideally in an airtight container. Flour absorbs moisture and odours from its surroundings, so a sealed container makes a notable difference to the quality of your bread.

Yeast: Fresh, Dried, or Instant?

Yeast is what makes bread rise, and there are three common forms available in the UK.

Fresh yeast — sold in small blocks, usually from the bakery counter at larger supermarkets (Morrisons and Waitrose often stock it) or from independent bakers. It has a short shelf life of one to two weeks in the fridge but gives excellent flavour.
Dried active yeast — sold in tins or sachets. Needs to be activated in warm water before use. Brands like Allinson’s Dried Active Yeast are widely available.
Fast-action (instant) dried yeast — the easiest option for beginners. It can be added directly to flour without pre-activating. Allinson’s Easy Bake Yeast and Doves Farm Quick Yeast are two popular examples.

For this recipe, fast-action dried yeast is recommended. It is forgiving, widely available, and produces consistent results. A standard 7g sachet is enough for 500g of flour.

Ingredients for Garlic Bread from Scratch

The recipe below makes one large garlic baguette-style loaf or two smaller ones, serving approximately six to eight people as a side dish.

For the dough:

500g strong white bread flour, plus extra for dusting
7g fast-action dried yeast (one sachet)
1 tsp fine sea salt
1 tsp caster sugar
300ml lukewarm water
2 tbsp olive oil

For the garlic butter:

100g unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
4 to 6 cloves of garlic, finely minced or pressed
A large handful of fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
½ tsp fine sea salt
Optional: a small pinch of chilli flakes, a squeeze of lemon juice, or a tablespoon of finely grated Parmesan

Step-by-Step Method

Step 1: Make the Dough

Combine the flour, yeast, salt, and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Keep the salt and yeast on opposite sides of the bowl initially, as direct contact can slow yeast activity.
Make a well in the centre of the flour mixture. Pour in the lukewarm water and olive oil.
Mix with a wooden spoon or your hands until a rough, shaggy dough forms. It will look messy at first — that is perfectly normal.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 10 minutes by hand, or 6 to 7 minutes in a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook on medium speed. The dough is ready when it is smooth, elastic, and springs back when you press a finger into it.
Shape the dough into a ball and place it in a lightly oiled bowl. Cover with a clean tea towel or cling film and leave to prove in a warm spot for 1 to 1.5 hours, or until doubled in size. A turned-off oven with just the light on works well, as does a warm kitchen or an airing cupboard.

Step 2: Prepare the Garlic Butter

While the dough is proving, make the garlic butter. Place the softened butter in a bowl.
Add the minced garlic, chopped parsley, and salt. Mix thoroughly until everything is evenly combined. Taste it — this is the time to adjust seasoning or add any optional extras such as chilli flakes or Parmesan.
Set aside at room temperature if using within a couple of hours. If making ahead, roll it into a log in cling film and refrigerate; bring it back to room temperature before use so it spreads easily.

Step 3: Shape the Loaf

Once the dough has doubled, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knock it back gently by pressing it down with your knuckles. This releases the trapped gas and relaxes the gluten.
Shape the dough into a long, oval baguette shape, roughly 30 to 35cm in length. You can also divide it into two shorter loaves if preferred.
Place the shaped dough onto a baking sheet lined with baking parchment.
Cover loosely and leave for a second prove of 30 to 45 minutes at room temperature. The loaf should puff up noticeably.
Preheat your oven to 220°C (200°C fan) / Gas Mark 7 during this second prove.

Step 4: Bake the Base Loaf

Just before baking, use a sharp serrated knife or bread lame to score the top of the loaf with diagonal cuts, about 1cm deep. This controls how the bread expands in the oven and gives it a professional appearance.
For a crispier crust, place a small roasting tin of boiling water on the bottom shelf of the oven as it preheats. The steam helps the crust develop properly.
Bake the loaf for 20 to 25 minutes until it is golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom. Remove from the oven and allow it to cool for at least 10 to 15 minutes before slicing. Cutting too early releases steam and makes the crumb gummy.

Step 5: Add the Garlic Butter and Finish

Once the loaf has cooled enough to handle, use a bread knife to cut diagonal slices about 2cm apart, cutting almost all the way through but leaving the base intact so the loaf holds together.
Using a butter knife or small palette knife, spread a generous amount of garlic butter into each cut. Be liberal — this is not the moment for restraint.
Wrap the loaf loosely in foil, leaving the top slightly open to allow steam to escape.
Return it to the oven at 180°C (160°C fan) / Gas Mark 4 for 10 to 12 minutes.
For the last 3 to 4 minutes, open the foil and allow the top to crisp up and take on a little colour.
Serve immediately.

Tips for Getting It Right

Bread making is largely about understanding a process rather than following a recipe rigidly. The following tips will help you get consistent results.

Water temperature matters. The water for your dough should feel just warm to the touch — around 35 to 38°C. Too hot and it will kill the yeast; too cold and the yeast will be sluggish. If you do not have a thermometer, mix equal parts cold water and freshly boiled water for a rough approximation.
Weigh your ingredients. Baking is a precise craft. Using scales rather than volume measures gives much more reliable results, especially with flour, which can vary enormously depending on how tightly it is packed into a cup.
Do not rush the prove. A longer, slower prove at a cooler temperature develops more flavour. If you have time, you can even refrigerate the dough after the first prove and let it rise slowly overnight before shaping and baking the next day.
Use real butter. Margarine or low-fat spreads will not give you the same flavour or texture in the garlic butter. A good quality unsalted British butter such as Yeo Valley, Anchor, or Kerrygold is ideal.
Fresh garlic is essential. Garlic powder or garlic paste from a tube will
not deliver the same depth of flavour. Use fresh cloves, finely minced or crushed with a flat blade and a pinch of salt to form a smooth paste. This method releases the natural oils far more effectively than chopping alone.
Season generously. Garlic bread should be bold. Do not be timid with the salt, pepper, or fresh parsley. Taste the garlic butter before spreading it — it should be well seasoned on its own, as the bread will absorb and mellow the flavour during baking.
Wrap in foil for the first bake. Baking the assembled loaf wrapped tightly in foil for the first ten to fifteen minutes traps steam, which keeps the inside soft and allows the butter to soak through fully. Unwrapping it for the final five minutes gives you that lightly crisped, golden crust.

Conclusion

Making garlic bread from scratch is a straightforward and deeply satisfying process. With a well-proved dough, quality unsalted butter, and fresh garlic, the result is far superior to anything you will find pre-packaged on a supermarket shelf. It works equally well alongside a bowl of soup on a cold evening, served as part of a sharing spread, or simply eaten warm from the oven with nothing else required. Once you have made it this way, it is difficult to go back to the shop-bought version. Take your time with the dough, be generous with the garlic butter, and the results will speak for themselves.