Well, I don’t know about you, but neither Mr. C nor I can think of anyone who doesn’t love garlic bread. I mean really, what’s not to love? It’s savory, garlicky, and crunchy. Well, at least it should be crunchy! (In my humble opinion.) Because I don’t appreciate soft garlic bread as much as I do garlic bread with a bit of substance to it. I want garlic bread that can be dunked in something like soup or broth from steamed mussels and not melt before I get it to my mouth. And I know, picky, picky. And no, I wouldn’t turn down a piece of garlic bread if it were soft. But, given a preference, I like my garlic bread to be crisp.
Anyway, the other evening I offered to bring garlic bread to a dinner party being given by a neighbor for another neighbor who was moving away. (Always hard to lose great neighbors.) And as I was looking for garlic bread on my blog, I realized I had never posted the whole enchilada. OK, not an enchilada, but the term applies. I had inadvertently failed to provide my readers with my favorite way to build really great garlic bread. And frankly, there is an art to making garlic bread. Especially at a reasonable price.
It all starts with four simple ingredients. Water, yeast, flour, and salt. After that, the compound butter had better be really, really tasty! And there are as many recipes for garlic butter as there are blackberry bushes. And every good cook has their own secret formula. Maybe more than one. But I have found that this recipe really works for me. And people seem to love it, thus this post!
And I know what you are thinking. Patti, can’t you come up with a recipe for something a bit more exciting than garlic bread? But frankly, for this lover of all things bread like, no I can’t.
Well, that’s it for today. We have a JazzVox concert here this Sunday. And that means, appetizer, main dishes, sides, and dessert for 39 people at 1:00 pm. And I can’t serve anything that requires a knife because unfortunately some people end up with plates on their lap. And there must be at least one crunchy dish. (Two would even be better.) Plus, I try really hard to fix enough dishes for people who are gluten intolerant, vegetarian, allergic to nuts, etc. etc. so that they don’t go hungry. I try my best to fill everyone up, but at some point, I just set my menu and stick to it. You would probably be surprised if I were to write that in all the work of putting on a meal for a large group, it’s the menu that causes me the most stress. The actual food preparation is the easy part. But that would be the truth.
But lest you think I am complaining, rest assured – I love feeding people. It makes me happy.
On that happy note, as always, peace and love to all.
EASY OVERNIGHT BAGUETTES
1½ c. warm water
2¼ tsp. instant yeast
1¼ tsp. kosher salt
3¾ c. bread flour (more or less)
extra virgin olive oil (for greasing the mixing bowl)
Combine the water and yeast in your stand mixer. Add the salt and enough flour to make a shaggy dough. (The dough shouldn’t be sticky. But tacky is perfect. A small amount of dough stubbornly sticking to the bottom of the mixing bowl.)
Pour some olive oil in the bowl (anywhere from 2-3 teaspoons) and using your hands and a stiff spatula, roll the dough into a lightly greased ball. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
The next day, remove the dough from fridge, punch it down, and let it rest for about 10 minutes. Divide the dough into 4 equal portions.
Shape each piece into about an 8-10-inch log, rounded on each end. Place on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Cover with a piece of plastic wrap that has been lightly greased with cooking spray. Let the dough rise again until it is almost doubled in size, about 60 minutes.
Lightly spray baguettes with water and place in a pre-heated 450-degree oven for 10 minutes. Then spray again and let bake for about 8-10 minutes more. (The bread is done when it reaches 205-degrees when tested with an instant read thermometer.)
Remove from oven and let cool completely before slicing.
GARLIC BUTTER
¾ c. (1½ sticks) unsalted butter, room temp.
1 T. extra virgin olive oil
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
¼ tsp. granulated garlic
¼ tsp. kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper
¼ c. finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or Parmesan cheese
2 T. finely chopped fresh parsley
Mix the butter, olive oil, minced garlic, granulated garlic, salt, pepper, Parmigiano-Reggiano, and parsley together until smooth and creamy.
On a cutting board, cut the loaves (from the recipe above or your favorite purchased baguette) in half lengthwise. Then lay the bread cut sides facing up. Spread the garlic butter mixture evenly over the open surfaces of the bread. Then cut the pieces into individual portions.
Place on a parchment paper lined baking sheet.
Bake in a pre-heated 400-degree oven for about 15 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown and crispy.
Serve hot or at room temperature.