This one takes a little more elbow grease than "cheater garlic bread," but it is absolutely worth it. Use FRESH garlic too, not the one that's already peeled and minced. Fresh.
Use your favorite bread, whether homemade or store-bought. This recipe is enough to cover 2 halves of a loaf of French bread. You could do slices as well, if that's what you fancy.
I used:
About 3/4 of a stick of unsalted butter. Or you can go ahead and use all 8 Tbsps. Either way, leave the butter out until is softens. Spreadable, but still firm. (It works better this way instead of melting the butter. It's more of a PITA if you melt it, let's just put it that way. Melting is great for spreading the butter, but the minced garlic has to be shoveled on with a spoon & won't spread evenly. So...no. Don't melt it.)
Garlic...I used an entire bulb for this. Use a garlic crusher if you have one. It makes life easier. I also used one of the tubes made for peeling garlic. Otherwise, you'll have to peel one by one with your knife, or smash them to release the peel.
S&P - I seasoned with Kosher salt & some pepper
Oil - I used 2-3 tsps. of avocado oil
1 tsp. of garlic powder (not garlic salt). Because...why not?
Mix & mash together until well combined, then slather it on your favorite bread.
You can add other things too: herbs, your favorite cheese or cheeses, red pepper flakes, (or even more fresh garlic, if an entire bulb isn't enough for you). I was just itching for some good garlic bread, and that was the goal here.
Toast the halves or slices in your oven until they reach your desired doneness. I let it get a little toasty on the edges, but that was it. I didn't want the garlic to burn. Alternatively, you can put the halves back together and just bake for a bit, but the results are better if you toast the halves, so the yummy garlic butter can melt into the bread.
A great accompaniment for any meal, but it can also be a meal by itself. That is up to you. All I know is that I really enjoyed the chunk I had for breakfast the next morning. 😀
