Sourdough Cheese and Garlic Cob Loaf Dip

This sourdough cheese and garlic cob loaf dip is a rich, creamy appetizer baked right inside a crusty sourdough boule. Filled with melted cheese, garlic, herbs, and topped with golden bread cubes, it’s made for sharing. Serve it warm for a wonderful party centerpiece that never lasts long.

Course Appetizer

Cuisine American, Australian

Keyword Condiment

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 40

Total Time 50

Servings serves

Calories 122kcal

Author Kate Freebairn

Ingredients

Cobb Loaf

1 Sourdough Boule (round sourdough loaf, I've used my simple sourdough bread recipe).
1 Garlic Clove (peeled)

Garlic and Cheese Dip

250 g Cream Cheese (softened at room temperature)
240 g Sour Cream
100 g Mozzarella Cheese (shredded)
100 g Sharp Cheddar Cheese (shredded)
4 g Garlic Granules
2 g Onion Powder
3 g Salt
3 g Pepper
1 tablespoon Fresh Herbs (finely chopped - I've used chives and flat leaf parsley)
1 tablespoon Chives (finely chopped to serve)

Garlic Butter Topping

30 g Butter (melted)
15 g Olive Oil
2 g Garlic Granules
2 g Salt

Instructions

Place your round sourdough loaf on a cutting board and, using a serrated knife, cut a neat circle out of the top, removing the "lid". Pull out the soft bread from the centre, tearing it into bite-sized chunks, and set the pieces aside for dipping later.
Rub the inside of the hollowed out loaf with a clove of garlic and set this aside while you make the dip.
At this stage, you'll also want to preheat your oven to 180°C (350°F).

Making the Dip

Before you start making the dip, prepare the garlic butter mixture and set aside as you'll need this when you fill the loaf.
Add the softened cream cheese and sour cream to a medium sized saucepan and melt over medium heat, whisking to combine.
Once the cream cheese and sour cream is combined, add the shredded mozzarella cheese, cheddar cheese, garlic granules, onion powder, salt and pepper and whisk until the cheese is melted and the mixture is starting to bubble. Stir through the fresh herbs.
Pour the hot dip into the sourdough loaf.
Using a pastry brush, brush the garlic butter all around the outside of the loaf, ensuring you cover every surface. You can pour any leftover garlic butter mixture over the top of the dip.
Grate some fresh parmesan over the top and bake the sourdough cobb loaf for around 20 to 30 minutes at 180°C (350°F). You want the dip to be golden and bubbling when you remove it from the oven.
While the dip is baking, chop up the lid you took off the loaf into cubes and arrange on a baking tray with the soft pieces of bread you removed from the middle of the loaf. If you're expecting a crowd, it's a good idea to chop up some extra bread cubes too (see my notes on this). Drizzle these bread cubes in olive oil and salt (a little garlic powder is nice too). Bake these in the oven while the dip is cooking to make them all golden and toasted.
Remove everything from the oven oven and place the sourdough cheese and garlic cobb loaf dip into the centre of a serving platter, arranging the toasted sourdough bread cubes around it.
Sprinkle the dip with fresh chives and serve while warm.

Notes

Cheese - you can use sharp cheddar cheese, or any cheese you like to eat. I've made this dip with cheddar cheese, colby cheese and monteray jack, as well as combining all of them. It's a great way to use up bits and pieces in the fridge and turn them into something delicious.

Bread Cubes - when making this dip, I always chop up a second sourdough loaf to ensure there's enough bread for dipping. I usually have a few in the freezer for this purpose. If you don't want to use extra bread, you can serve this dip with crackers and veggie sticks.

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