Pane Criminale

Back when I cooked monthly dinners at Tartine bakery, I tried to incorporate their extraordinary bread into every menu. At some point, I began scoring loaves destined to become garlic bread vertically rather than halving them horizontally. The brilliance of this small tweak is that it allows for a maximal ratio of garlic butter to bread. The resulting loaf was so laden with garlic, herb, and Parmesan butter that it was, well, criminally good. Friends soon started calling it pane criminale.

This recipe shines when made with a rustic loaf of country bread, but baguettes work well, too. Either way, use the most flavorful, crustiest bread you can find—it’ll make all the difference.