The Best Ever Garlic Bread is the perfect combination of loads of roasted garlic, butter, olive oil, and a light sprinkle of Parmesan cheese.
Garlic bread was a regular part of my childhood. It always came wrapped in foil-backed paper and came from the bakery department of the grocery store. I loved it, and as I recall, so did my entire family. It was buttery, salty, and garlicky. I always took the softest piece I could snatch, and ate only the soft buttery part - never the crust. I was amused to find my children do the same thing.
I only made garlic bread for my kids the first time a few months ago. I was feeling nostalgic about the garlic bread from my childhood, and decided to make it myself. My kids loved it (who doesn't love garlic bread though?), and now I make Best Ever Garlic Bread on a regular basis. It's not uncommon for my family of four to polish off an entire loaf that's meant to feed 8 people.
I think it's the fact that the garlic is roasted before it's added to the butter mixture that makes it so good. It mellows the garlic out a little bit, and gives it a slight sweetness without being harsh. I cut down a little bit on the butter and added a little olive oil to help reduce saturated fat and to t make the butter easier to spread.
When I make this garlic bread, I like to make it in large batches. Since it takes awhile to roast the garlic, but it hardly takes any extra work to do a whole bunch of it at once, I will usually make 2-4 loaves at a time, and wrap and freeze any loaves that I'm not going to use right away. That way, there are always a few loaves ready to go in my freezer for any last minute supper side dish needs I may come across.
Best Ever Garlic Bread Nutrition Notes:
Although I made changes to the original recipe to help reduce the saturated fat content (replaced part of the butter with olive oil), there is still quite a bit of saturated fat in this recipe, not to mention total fat and Parmesan cheese. Eat in moderation, and note that one portion size is only 2 slices (the recipe is meant to serve 8 people).
Best Ever Garlic Bread
Ingredients
- 10 cloves garlic, unpeeled
- 3 Tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 2 Tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 pound good quality Italian bread (see note)
- freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Move oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 500°F.
- Heat a small skillet over medium heat and add garlic cloves. Toast the garlic, shaking pan occasionally until it is fragrant, and the cloves become browned and softened. Cool slightly until you are able to handle them.
- Peel the garlic and mince. Add the garlic, butter, olive oil, Parmesan, and salt to a medium bowl. Mash and cream the mixture together until it is smooth.
- Cut the bread in half horizontally. Spread the garlic butter mixture on both sides of the cut loaf and sprinkle with pepper to taste.
- Place both of the bread halves on a baking sheet. Watching it carefully to avoid burning, bake for 5-10 minutes, until the top is bubbling and beginning to brown, and the edges are golden, rotating the pan halfway through. Cut into slices with a serrated knife and serve immediately.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclaimer: I try my best to make sure the nutrition information I provide is accurate to provide you with the best information possible. However, due to ingredient discrepancies and other factors, the above nutrition information should be considered an estimation only.
*Note: Recipe adapted from The Complete America's Test Kitchen TV Show Cookbook
Leave a Reply