Make the Dough

1. Measure out the sugar, then sprinkle a pinch of it into a small bowl with the warm water and yeast. Stir to dissolve, then set aside for about 5 minutes until the yeast is foamy.
2. Heat the milk in a small pan until you see bubbles at the edges. Cut up the 2 tablespoons of butter, then stir it into the hot milk to melt along with the rest of the sugar. When the butter is melted, crack in the egg and beat everything into a smooth mixture.
3. Measure the flour into a large mixing bowl or a stand mixer, then make a well in the center. Pour the milk/butter mixture into the well, then the yeast mixture.
4. Stir the ingredients with a wooden spoon to make a shaggy dough.
   

   

5. For kneading, by machine, switch to the dough hook on a stand mixer and let the mixer run on low speed until you get a smooth, sticky, elastic dough, about 5 minutes To knead by hand: Scoop under the dough with a flexible dough scraper

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   .  Fold the dough from the bottom of the bowl over itself towards the center of the bowl.  Turn the bowl and repeat this step about 15-20 times to create a smooth, slightly sticky dough.  Don’t be afraid of the stickiness of the dough.  Most of the stickiness will go away after the dough has risen.
   

   

6. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and set aside to rise for 1 hour.  Alternatively, you can cover the dough and place it in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.  It’s actually easier to work with the dough when it’s cold!

Make the Garlic Butter

1.  Smash the garlic in a mortar & pestle

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   or grate it with a fine Microplane

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   grater. Smoosh the garlic and olive oil together along with the rest of the garlic butter ingredients. You can do this with either a fork or a hand mixer.

Prep the Pan

1. Line the bottom and sides of a loaf pan with a piece of parchment

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   .
2. Smear a tiny bit of the garlic butter along the short sides of the pan.

Shape the Garlic Bread

1. Scoop out the dough onto a lightly floured surface.
2. Divide the dough into 16 pieces.
3. Flatten the top of each piece into a rough triangle.
4. Dip each piece of dough into the garlic butter and stand it up inside the pan. Alternate the points of the triangles from side to side so that the bread isn’t lopsided when it bakes.  When you’ve placed all the pieces, fan out the pieces so that they cover the bottom of the pan. They will look like an accordion’s bellows.
5. Top the dough pieces with cheese, paprika, and Italian seasoning. 
6. Save any extra garlic butter. Cover the bread for 30 minutes.

Bake the Bread

1. Towards the end of the 30 minutes, preheat the oven to 375 F (190 C).
2. Bake the bread for 30-33 minutes until it is golden brown and starting to get crusty around the edges. You’ll notice close to being done that almost all the butter will have absorbed into the loaf. If you have an instant read thermometer

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   , the center of the bread should read 195-200 F when it’s done.
3. Brush the bread with any extra garlic butter when it comes out of the oven.
4. Serve hot with marinara sauce.