Crispy Garlic Bread

By jeckert

Crispy Garlic Bread
We wanted garlic bread that was crunchy from edge to edge with a balanced garlic flavor that wasn’t too overpowering. Here’s what we discovered:

Test Kitchen Discoveries

•Nothing beats hearty Italian loaf when your goal is thick, crunchy slices. Sandwich bread was too wimpy and baguette slices were too dainty.
•Melted butter soaked into the bread too rapidly and made it soggy. Instead we spread slices of softened butter onto both sides of the slices.
•Preheat the baking sheet before you line up your garlic bread slices and pop them into the oven. This starts the cooking process immediately and eliminates soggy bottoms.
•Precooking garlic tames its flavor, but it’s an additional and unnecessary step. A touch of sugar to the butter mixture helped tame the raw garlic’s bite.

Ingredients

• For the smoothest texture, grate the garlic cloves on a rasp-style grater.
• 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter , softened
• 4 cloves garlic , grated (see note) or minced
• 1/4 teaspoon sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 12 (1-inch) slices Italian bread

Preparation

Step 1

1. MAKE PASTE Adjust oven rack to middle position, place rimmed baking sheet on rack, and heat oven to 425 degrees. Using fork, beat butter, garlic, sugar, salt, and pepper in small bowl until combined. Spread butter mixture evenly over both sides of bread.

2. TOAST BREAD Arrange buttered bread on heated baking sheet and bake until golden brown on first side, 8 to 10 minutes. Flip and bake until golden brown on second side, about 5 minutes. Serve.

Freezer-Ready Garlic Bread After spreading the bread with the butter mixture in step 1, freeze the slices on a large plate until firm, about 15 minutes. Transfer bread to zipper-lock freezer bag and freeze for up to 1 month. To serve, bake as directed, adding 2 to 5 minutes to cooking time.