THE BEST GARLIC
BREAD
There’s not much to great garlic bread. As with marinara
sauce, the key is to use a mixture of olive oil and butter.
The milk solids in the butter help the bread brown evenly.
Rather than spreading a butter mixture onto the bread,
it’s far easier to cook the garlic (along with some oregano
and pepper flakes) in the butter and oil in a skillet large
enough that you can dip the bread directly into the
fragrant mix, giving it an even coating with no fuss.
Luckily for your garlic bread, it takes about 10 minutes
to bake, which is exactly the same amount of time it takes
a pasta bake to cool. Don’t you just love it when things
work out so nicely?
SERVES 8 TO 10
2 loaves soft deli-style Italian bread, about 1 pound each
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
12 medium cloves garlic, minced or grated on a
Microplane (about ¼ cup)
2 teaspoons dried oregano
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
Kosher salt
2 ounces Parmigiano-Reggiano (optional)