American Garlic Bread

….because sometimes you just want a good old-fashioned buttery American-style garlic bread!

I was inspired by a recipe that appeared in Cook’s Illustrated a few years ago. Roasting the garlic cloves takes the harshness out of the garlic for a mellower, but still garlicky, flavor.

A small (4 oz) Demi Baguette from La Brea Bakery is the perfect size for 2 or 3 servings.

I found I had more garlic butter than I needed, so I saved the rest and it was a great accompaniment to baked potatoes the next night.

You can double the amount of ingredients for the garlic butter if you want to use a larger loaf of bread. With double the amounts, Cook’s Illustrated suggested a 1 pound loaf.

American Garlic Bread

(printable recipe)

(Adapted from a Cook’s Illustrated recipe.)

Serves 2 – 3 (double the ingredients for the garlic butter for a 1 pound loaf of bread)

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5 medium garlic cloves, skins left on (I only used 4; should have used 5)
3 Tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 Tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 (4 oz) La Brea Bakery Demi Baguette

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1. Heat the oven to 500 degrees.

2. Put the garlic in a small pan and toast, stirring often, until fragrant and the cloves are starting to brown (about 8 minutes). Remove from pan.

3. Mash the butter, cheese, and salt together with a fork.

4. Take the skin off the garlic cloves and use a garlic press to add the garlic to the butter. Mix well.

4. Cut the bread in half and spread the garlic butter on each side. (You’ll probably have too much garlic butter, so save the rest for another use.)

5. Put the bread on a baking sheet and sprinkle with salt. Bake for 8 – 10 minutes, until golden brown and toasted.

Here’s the finished garlic bread, shown with Flat Pasta with Chickpeas.