Preheat and Prepare: First things first, preheat your oven to 180°C (160°C fan). Line a large baking tray with parchment paper to catch any buttery, cheesy drips.

Slice the Bread: Place your loaf on a cutting board. Using a serrated bread knife, slice the bread diagonally in a criss-cross pattern, making cuts about 2cm apart. Be careful not to slice all the way through – you want the base of the loaf to remain intact.

Make the Garlic Butter: In a small bowl, melt the butter in the microwave or a small saucepan. Stir in the minced garlic and half of the chopped parsley.

Prepare the Creamy Cheese Filling: In a separate, medium-sized bowl, combine the room-temperature cream cheese, grated mozzarella, grated Parmesan, the remaining parsley, salt, and pepper. Mix until everything is well combined.

Fill the Loaf: This is the fun part! Place the bread on your prepared baking tray. Using a pastry brush or a teaspoon, carefully drizzle the garlic butter down into all the cuts you made. What works best for me is gently prying open each gap to ensure the butter gets right down to the bottom.

Add the Cheese: Next, take small spoonfuls of the creamy cheese mixture and carefully stuff it into the cuts. Be generous! You want every slice to be loaded with that cheesy goodness.

First Bake (Wrapped): Loosely wrap the entire loaf in a large piece of aluminium foil. This traps the steam and melts the cheese without burning the top. Bake for 10-12 minutes.

Second Bake (Unwrapped): Carefully remove the foil from the bread. Return the loaf to the oven and bake for another 3-5 minutes, or until the top is beautifully golden brown and the cheese is visibly bubbling and melted.

Rest and Serve: Let the bread rest on the tray for a couple of minutes before serving. This allows the molten cheese to set just a little. Serve warm and let everyone tear off their own piece.