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The secret to the 'best garlic bread ever' is 4 whole heads of garlic! :-)

The Count of Merkur Cristo

B&B's Emperor of Emojis
Yes, that's right...four (4), HEADS of garlic — not cloves (mmmm...love me some garlic bead)! :thumbsup:

By Erica Wida - TODAY - 28 Oct 21

"When a recipe circulates the internet claiming to have the secret to "the best garlic bread," I am obviously going to be compelled to test it out.

For bestselling cookbook author and TikTok food star Jake Cohen, the secret is using four full heads of roasted garlic. I grabbed the ingredients and got to cooking on a dreary afternoon just days before Halloween — luckily for me because, with the amount of garlic I used, vampires don't stand a chance.

I make compound butters all the time to keep in my fridge and freezer to step up meals. I had a gorgeous baguette so decided to make the garlickiest garlic bread there was," Cohen told me about his recipe's genesis. "It's definitely taken off because people love garlic bread as much as I do."

Since they were posted this summer, his supremely satisfying garlic bread videos have been viewed nearly 70 million times combined, with many viewers entranced by the Dr. Pimple Popper-style garlic-squeezing (try not to lose your appetite).

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That roasted garlic squeeze is so satisfying.

Let me break down some garlic content before we get to the good stuff (and by that, I mean eating). One average-sized garlic bulb has between 10 and 12 cloves of varying sizes inside. That means this recipe uses 40 to 48 cloves smothered onto one skinny baguette. I've used similar amounts of garlic before in a meaty stew, where the jus and about a liter of red wine make the number feel less daunting. But 48 cloves?! I was a little skeptical.

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To make Jake Cohen's garlic bread, you just need a handful of ingredients — most of them being garlic.

Garlic bread is easy to make and the perfect accompaniment to a range of delicious pasta dishes, salads, soups and stews. It typically consists of a handful of kitchen staples I happen to love: a crusty baguette, basil or oregano, butter, salt, olive oil and, of course, garlic. It can be as low-maintenance as buttered bread sprinkled with dried garlic.

In Cohen's recipe, he uses a mixture of room temperature butter, roasted garlic, fresh basil, crushed red pepper and salt. Here's how to make it:

Before roasting the garlic, trim off each bulb's pointed tip with a knife so all the cloves are exposed. This makes it easy to squeeze the meat out once it's soft.

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Each garlic bulb should look like this, so you can see the exposed cloves inside.

Next, toss them into a sheet of aluminum foil, drizzle with olive oil, close the aluminum pouch and bake for 1 hour in the oven at 400 F. This hour of roasting is ideal because by the time the garlic is done, that warm, savory scent wafts through the kitchen, getting everyone in the mood for dinner.

Once the timer goes off, remove the garlic from the oven. I unfolded the foil and waited at least 10 to 15 minutes to let the garlic cool down a bit before adding it to my butter mixture.

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When the roasted garlic is done, it should be golden-tan, a bit shiny and easy to squeeze.

The satisfaction of feeling that warm, tender mush ooze out of its paper-like shell is well worth the wait. I let my 6-year-old do some squeezing, and it was just the kind of tactile activity he needed to decompress after school.

After pinching all the meat out of each garlic bulb, I mixed and mashed it into the butter until thoroughly integrated. Finally, it was time to spread the garlic butter onto the bread, which I'd halved lengthwise. Cohen brushed his on, but a butter knife or back of a flat spoon also works well. Bake the bread on a baking sheet again at 400 F for 15 minutes and, when it's done, slice it up.

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Just look at those golden edges, that leafy basil and smooth garlic butter.

Cohen's secret to "the best garlic bread" had promising results: Each slice was wonderfully crunchy on the outside but soft and warm on the inside. The basil leaves added a welcome sweetness and a fresh factor that can sometimes get lost in garlic bread recipes. The the red pepper was just subtly spicy. The garlic was just strong enough that I capped out at two slices paired with my eggplant Parm but not overwhelming. My favorite bites were those where I'd get an extra browned fleck of garlic that maximized the warm, earthy flavor that distinguishes Cohen's recipes from others.

I'd make this garlic bread again using all four bulbs. I do think, however, it would stand up to being an equally successful recipe with just two or three — just as long as you get that long roasting time in there. Plus, I don't need to ward off all the vampires.
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Works Cited: Best garlic bread ever

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"Good bread is the most fundamentally satisfying of all foods; and good bread with fresh [garlic] butter [is] the greatest of feasts". James Beard
 

FarmerTan

"Self appointed king of Arkoland"
Yes, that's right...four (4), HEADS of garlic — not cloves (mmmm...love me some garlic bead)! :thumbsup:

By Erica Wida - TODAY - 28 Oct 21

"When a recipe circulates the internet claiming to have the secret to "the best garlic bread," I am obviously going to be compelled to test it out.

For bestselling cookbook author and TikTok food star Jake Cohen, the secret is using four full heads of roasted garlic. I grabbed the ingredients and got to cooking on a dreary afternoon just days before Halloween — luckily for me because, with the amount of garlic I used, vampires don't stand a chance.

I make compound butters all the time to keep in my fridge and freezer to step up meals. I had a gorgeous baguette so decided to make the garlickiest garlic bread there was," Cohen told me about his recipe's genesis. "It's definitely taken off because people love garlic bread as much as I do."

Since they were posted this summer, his supremely satisfying garlic bread videos have been viewed nearly 70 million times combined, with many viewers entranced by the Dr. Pimple Popper-style garlic-squeezing (try not to lose your appetite).

proxy.php

That roasted garlic squeeze is so satisfying.

Let me break down some garlic content before we get to the good stuff (and by that, I mean eating). One average-sized garlic bulb has between 10 and 12 cloves of varying sizes inside. That means this recipe uses 40 to 48 cloves smothered onto one skinny baguette. I've used similar amounts of garlic before in a meaty stew, where the jus and about a liter of red wine make the number feel less daunting. But 48 cloves?! I was a little skeptical.

proxy.php

To make Jake Cohen's garlic bread, you just need a handful of ingredients — most of them being garlic.

Garlic bread is easy to make and the perfect accompaniment to a range of delicious pasta dishes, salads, soups and stews. It typically consists of a handful of kitchen staples I happen to love: a crusty baguette, basil or oregano, butter, salt, olive oil and, of course, garlic. It can be as low-maintenance as buttered bread sprinkled with dried garlic.

In Cohen's recipe, he uses a mixture of room temperature butter, roasted garlic, fresh basil, crushed red pepper and salt. Here's how to make it:

Before roasting the garlic, trim off each bulb's pointed tip with a knife so all the cloves are exposed. This makes it easy to squeeze the meat out once it's soft.

proxy.php

Each garlic bulb should look like this, so you can see the exposed cloves inside.

Next, toss them into a sheet of aluminum foil, drizzle with olive oil, close the aluminum pouch and bake for 1 hour in the oven at 400 F. This hour of roasting is ideal because by the time the garlic is done, that warm, savory scent wafts through the kitchen, getting everyone in the mood for dinner.

Once the timer goes off, remove the garlic from the oven. I unfolded the foil and waited at least 10 to 15 minutes to let the garlic cool down a bit before adding it to my butter mixture.

proxy.php

When the roasted garlic is done, it should be golden-tan, a bit shiny and easy to squeeze.

The satisfaction of feeling that warm, tender mush ooze out of its paper-like shell is well worth the wait. I let my 6-year-old do some squeezing, and it was just the kind of tactile activity he needed to decompress after school.

After pinching all the meat out of each garlic bulb, I mixed and mashed it into the butter until thoroughly integrated. Finally, it was time to spread the garlic butter onto the bread, which I'd halved lengthwise. Cohen brushed his on, but a butter knife or back of a flat spoon also works well. Bake the bread on a baking sheet again at 400 F for 15 minutes and, when it's done, slice it up.

proxy.php

Just look at those golden edges, that leafy basil and smooth garlic butter.

Cohen's secret to "the best garlic bread" had promising results: Each slice was wonderfully crunchy on the outside but soft and warm on the inside. The basil leaves added a welcome sweetness and a fresh factor that can sometimes get lost in garlic bread recipes. The the red pepper was just subtly spicy. The garlic was just strong enough that I capped out at two slices paired with my eggplant Parm but not overwhelming. My favorite bites were those where I'd get an extra browned fleck of garlic that maximized the warm, earthy flavor that distinguishes Cohen's recipes from others.

I'd make this garlic bread again using all four bulbs. I do think, however, it would stand up to being an equally successful recipe with just two or three — just as long as you get that long roasting time in there. Plus, I don't need to ward off all the vampires.
proxy.php


Works Cited: Best garlic bread ever

proxy.php
"Good bread is the most fundamentally satisfying of all foods; and good bread with fresh [garlic] butter [is] the greatest of feasts". James Beard
The bats flying around did not help the garlic bread look appetizing! Yuck. Reminds me of ants at a picnic. But I will DEFINITELY be trying this....but maybe not as much garlic!
 

FarmerTan

"Self appointed king of Arkoland"
I think you will. I love it, but I love everything Breakfast
Same. We used to eat breakfast for supper all the time. Now we have been so busy we have been lousy at meal plans. Hopefully winter will change things. We eat a LOT of soups made from roasts in the cold months!
 
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