It’s hard to beat the smell of garlic bread wafting through your home. Not only is it super easy and budget friendly, but also amazingly flavorful and perfectly crispy.
This baguette recipe transforms an ordinary store-bought French loaf into something much more special. Deliciously garlicky and buttery soft on the inside while satisfyingly crunchy outside.
Yes, you read that right, make Garlic Bread with a basic bakery baguette you can find at any local supermarket. A few simple ingredients like lots of butter, garlic, parmesan cheese, and fresh parsley if you want more flavor some herbs and gooey cheese if desired.
Some people like using olive oil for this recipe. However, for our family it is real butter all the way for the most delicious flavor.
It just takes a few minutes to prepare for baking
Just slice the baguette almost all the way through in 1-inch thick slices. Or a loaf of French bread slice din half. After it is baked, you can slice into smaller pieces.
Mix the butter, garlic, parmesan, and parsley.
Spread on the cut side of the slices.
Wrap in foil and bake for 15 minutes in a preheated oven at 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Pro Tip. You can bake this in a conventional oven or a toaster oven. They both work great. Read further below for making this toasty goodness in the air fryer.
Make Ahead and Freeze individual pieces for quickly meals. You can make your own and bake right away or freeze slices individually in a single layer on a baking sheet. Once frozen, wrap in aluminum foil and place in a heavy duty freezer bag.
How to Cook Frozen Garlic Bread
To bake from frozen, place on a parchment paper lined baking try or wrap in aluminum foil before placing on a baking sheet. Bake in an oven preheated to 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 minutes.
There is only one problem, sometimes store-bought bread can fall a bit short. It doesn’t have that crispy toastiness to it. That is unless you follow an easy cooking technique that’ll totally transform your garlic bread. Do you want to take your garlic bread over the top? We have a simple trick.
Tasting Table suggests grilling your garlic bread for a crispy exterior and a smokiness. That is a great idea, but we don’t always have a grill handy. So, we like to turn the broiler on for a few short minutes to get that crispy exterior. Keep an eye on it as it can quickly burn. It just takes 2-3 minutes to toast the edges and this imparts so much more flavor and crunch.
I love having a loaf or two of store-bought garlic bread or a box of the thickly sliced garlic Texas toast slices in my freezer. It is perfect for pairing with a quick meal. Often, I need to get dinner on the table in less than an hour. Baking garlic bread from frozen is a perfect side dish.
If you love garlic bread, another recipe for you to try is a Korean street food, Korean Garlic Bread. It’s a bread bun or roll that’s cut into wedges, filled with cream cheese and dipped in garlic butter. Yum! Here is a delicious recipe for homemade garlic butter.
Prepare the Bread Ahead of Time
If you are hosting a party or preparing in the morning for your evening meal. You can prepare your bread and wrap it in aluminum foil. When you are ready to bake it just preheat the oven, place the loaf wrapped in foil on a baking sheet and bake.
How do you store leftover garlic bread after cooking?
Wrap the bread in aluminum foil, paper bags, a beeswax wrap, or place in a bread box to prevent drying out.
The best way to store freshly baked garlic bread or any bread for that matter that will be eaten in a few days is at room temperature. It is safe to store the bread at room temperature for a day or two. After that, it is best to discard. It will be quite stale and dried out.
To reheat it, simply place the garlic bread in the foil bag on a baking sheet and heat it in a preheated oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 10 minutes.
Making Frozen Garlic Bread in the Air Fryer
Keeping a prepared loaf of garlic bread in the freezer is a great time saver. Just preheat the air fryer to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. It is best to get the frozen Texas Toast slices as you can separate just a few easily and place the bread in a single layer in the air fryer basket. Air fry 5-6 minutes. No need to flip.
To make more, continue to make batches in the same manner.
An air fryer is also a wonderful kitchen gadget to use for reheating garlic bread. If you wrapped your slices in foil for storage, you can keep right in your foil and place in your preheated air fryer.
Baguette Garlic Bread Recipe
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Kitchen Essentials
Ingredients
- 1 Loaf French stick Baguette, or Rustic Country Bread
- 2 Teaspoons Garlic 4 Cloves Fresh and Minced or Jarred Garlic
- 10 Tablespoons Butter softened at room temperature
- 3 Tablespoons Parsley chopped
- ½ Cup Cheese Grated can use Mozzarella or Parmesan
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
- If you have a larger load of French Bread, cut that in half lengthwise. If using a baguette, which is about 2-inches around, there is no need to cut in half lengthwise.
- Next, cut slices in the bread almost all the way through into about 1-inch slices. If you used the bread halves, you could keep those intact and continue mixing the garlic butter mixture below and spread on the bread halves. After it is baked, you can slice into smaller pieces.
- In a bowl, mix the softened butter, garlic, parmesan, and parsley.
- Use a butter knife or offset spatula to smear a generous amount of the garlicky butter mixture over the cut ends of each slice.
- If you have any butter mixture leftover, smear that on the top and sides of the bread.
- Wrap the bread in aluminum foil, and place on a baking sheet.
- Bake on the center rack for 15 minutes. You can remove your garlic bread at this point if you like yours soft and tender.
- If you like your slices golden brown on the edges with a crispy crust, open the foil on top and continue baking another 10 minutes.
Your Own Private Notes
Notes
How do you store leftover garlic bread after cooking?
Wrap the bread in aluminum foil, paper bags, a beeswax wrap, or place in a bread box to prevent drying out. The best way to store freshly baked garlic bread or any bread for that matter that will be eaten in a few days is at room temperature. It is safe to store the bread at room temperature for a day or two. After that, it is best to discard. It will be quite stale and dried out. To reheat it, simply place the garlic bread in the foil bag on a baking sheet and heat it in a preheated oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 10 minutes.Nutrition
What if I Don’t Have Fresh Garlic?
No fresh garlic. No worries. You can use jarred minced garlic. Additionally, you can substitute ½ teaspoon garlic powder for every fresh clove called for in this recipe.
Dinner Ideas with Garlic Bread
The first thing that comes to mind is a simple lunch with a great tomato soup, or tomato juice and a slice or two of the flavorful bread.
Any pasta dish goes so well with a garlicky slice. Creamy Lemon Butter Chicken Pasta
Simple Shrimp Scampi is loaded full of herbs and butter and just perfect for a side of bread.
Creamy Pork Chop and Vegetable Casserole
A quick homemade pizza or a frozen pizza depending on how much time and energy you have.
Culver’s Copycat Chili Like George’s
The Best Spaghetti Chili Recipe
As you can see, we can make just about anything fit with a side of this delicious bread. Even a salad!
Homemade Garlic Bread with Regular Bread
At our house, we call that garlic toast! Take out a few bread slices of your favorite loaf of bread. You can use any type of bread, even gluten free bread! Slather with softened butter, sprinkle on garlic powder, and fresh parsley or even Italian seasoning.
If you like cheese, add shredded cheese to each slice. We like parmesan or mozzarella for a delicious cheesy garlic bread.
Bake on a parchment lined baking sheet for 10-15 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
We have a few more delicious recipes for you to explore.
