This is one of the simplest recipes in the world, and its a big hit at parties.
Ingredients
- An entire baguette (long thin French bread), preferably whole grain.
- ¼ cup of butter. Margarine doesn’t come out as well
- ½ - 1 full bulb of garlic, depending on taste.
Preparation
- Slice the bagette diagonally into oval rondelles, between ¼ and ½ inch (1–2 cm) thick. Be careful not to lose the order of the pieces, as you’ll need to reassemble the loaf later.
- Mince the garlic (I use a small food processor for this) and place in a microwavable container. Add the butter on top.
- Heat the mixture in the microwave until all the butter has melted. It helps to stir it occasionally while its melting.
- Some folks like to add a pinch of parsley or similar spices to the garlic butter when its done heating, but I never bother.
- Using a basting brush, paint both sides of each slice of bread, reassembling the loaf as you go. Don’t worry if you have trouble picking up the garlic bits with the brush. Do your best.
- By the time you get to the end of the loaf, there should be nothing left of the butter but some garlic sludge at the bottom of the container. Don’t waste it! Use a spoon and spread some on every slice (or every other slice) until its all gone.
- Wrap reassembled loaf in aluminum foil. If the baguette is rather long, you may wish to wrap two half-loaves instead.
- At this point you can freeze the garlic bread and it stays good in the freezer for months.
- When its time to cook the bread, put it in a 400°C oven for roughly 20 minutes. Do if for 40 if the bread starts out frozen. Note that cooking times vary depending on the type of bread used, and the thickness of the loaf.
- When nicely toasted on the outside, and warm through, take the baguettes out of the oven and serve.
Alternatives
One variant that I’ve also had success with is to take ¼-inch thick (1cm) pitas that are 4-inches (20cm) in diameter and slice them in two “the hard way” so that you end up with a pair of 4-inch diameter half-thickness pitas.
Coat what was the insides of the pita with the garlic butter and toast in a toaster oven or large oven on broil for 3–5 minutes until crisp. When they come out, cut them into small wedges of garlicky goodness and serve.
I find that the amount of garlic butter this recipe makes is enough for 3 full pitas which generates 48 wedges. For any real party you’ll find that just isn’t enough, and you may have to make multiple batches.