Garlic bread is a huge favorite to make. In the past, I’ve had some mixed results with different methods until I stumbled upon a Cook’s Illustrated recipe for garlic bread. That set me straight in several respects, and I can turn out some pretty good ones usually and fairly cheaply as well. The two most important things are oven heat and roasting the garlic first!

Garlic Bread

1/2 loaf french bread (1/2 of $1.19 large loaf) — $0.60
8 medium cloves garlic (about 1 head) — $0.33
Parmesan cheese (1/4 oz of $3.50 8oz can) — $0.11
Butter (2 tbsp of $1.00 4 oz stick) — $0.26
Parsley (1/4 cup chopped from $0.69 bunch) — $0.06
Kosher Salt / pepper — negligible

Total: $1.36

Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Yes, that’s right 500 degrees. You need blastingly high heat to make it, otherwise the tops will be soggy.

Mince up parsley and set aside. Cut up the butter in small bowl and allow to come to room temperature. Meanwhile, separate head of garlic into cloves, no need to peel the papery skins off! Toast them in small skillet, shaking pan frequently about 8-10 minutes on low heat, or until small burnt marks appear on outside.

Allow to cool, then peel and mince finely. Add to butter, and add in Parmesan cheese, about 1/4 tsp of pepper and about 1/8 tsp (or less) of kosher salt. (You may not need the salt at all, because Parm cheese is salty). Mix well. You should have a paste, but the butter should still be semi-solid.

Cut bread in half (or, you can use the whole loaf, just double the rest of the ingredients). Now slice the bread down the center so you have a top and bottom half. Spread garlic butter mixture on top of both sides. Place on cookie sheet and bake in oven for 10-12 minutes. Cut the bread crosswise with a sharp knife into finger food sized pieces. Sprinkle parsley on top.

Roasting the garlic is important because it takes away the bitterness and makes it less strong. If you’ve ever had garlic bread with chunks of semi-raw garlic on top, you know what I’m talking about.

It can take some practice to get your particular garlic bread the way you want it. For instance, depending on your Parm cheese, adding salt may not be necessary. Particularly true of “canned” Parm cheese. I would leave it out first, and then increase as you go. Same with the butter… you may find that 2 tablespoons is too much or too little. I definitely think that 8 cloves of garlic isn’t too little, though some may disagree. =)

You can get loaves of french bread at most supermarkets, they are halfway decent. Maybe cheaper and better at local bakeries. I’ve tried wheat and white and they bake up the same. I don’t know about other types of bread, i.e. Italian or artisan bread, but they will probably work too. You might have to adjust the time on the oven as well, if the bread comes out too crispy. I would stick with the 500 degrees though, it seems the dry high heat cooks the garlic bread without giving the butter a chance to make the bread too soggy.

One of the best things is that if you don’t finish up the bread, you can save it for the next day! Wrap the chunks in aluminum foil and put them in the fridge. Then, to resuscitate, put it in the toaster oven and bake it. Comes back pretty well!

Cheap Eats Score: 7/10