Garlic Bread
november 9, 2015

Hot and steamy from the oven, what's not to love about a crispy-chewy slice of bread slathered in salty butter and garlic? Old school garlic bread is the perfect accompaniment to soup on a cold, wet, day. When I was a kid we ate it alongside a variety of things, including (gasp) spaghetti. A double dose of carbs like that would never fly in today's world of paleo starch rejection!

Which is why I'm serving it with a bowl of Fall Minestrone, instead of pasta. This soup ought to have enough fiber (from the vegetables) and protein (from the beans) to balance things out. Usually we  eat soup with bread and cheese, for even more protein, but tonight's chill calls for something warmer.

I thought for sure that a recipe for this was in Joy of Cooking, my mother's go to during the 1970s and 80s. But alas, it is not. Such a simple thing to make, maybe nobody has bothered to write it down.

 

Garlic Bread:

This recipe takes 5 minutes of prep, 15 in the oven.

A really good loaf of bread (not pre-sliced)
2-3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
Butter (sweet aka unsalted)
Salt

Preheat the oven to 350°.

A really good loaf of bread can mean many things. I've found that the best bread usually comes from neighborhood bakeries where it is made on site. Sour dough, white, wheat, whole grain - whatever. Just get your favorite and make sure it is fresh.

If you have to wait more than a day between purchasing and eating the bread, wrap it in tinfoil, drop it in a Ziploc bag and put it in the freezer. Then take it out to thaw a few hours before you plan to use it. The morning of the day you plan to have dinner is fine, too.

Using a bread knife, slice the bread all the way to the inner edge of the bottom crust, so that the slices will pull apart but the loaf still stays together. You can make the slices as thick as you like. 

Place a pat of butter and 2-3 pieces of garlic between each slice of bread. Sprinkle some salt between each slice.

Wrap the loaf tightly in tinfoil, warm it in the oven for 15 minutes. It can wait in there for longer, if you need it to.