Garlic Bread

Method 1 - Toasted Garlic Bread

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Cut the bread in half, horizontally.
2. Mix the butter, garlic, and parsley together in a small bowl. Spread butter mixture over the two bread halves.
3. Place on a sturdy baking pan (one that can handle high temperatures, not a cookie sheet) and bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes.
4. Remove pan from oven. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese over bread, if desired. Return to oven on the highest rack. Broil on high heat for 2-3 minutes until the edges of the bread begin to toast and the cheese (if you are using cheese) bubbles. Watch very carefully while broiling. The bread can easily go from un-toasted to burnt.
5. Remove from oven and let cool a minute. Cut into 1-inch thick slices. Serve immediately.

Method 2 - Soft Garlic Bread

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Make the butter, garlic, parsley mixture as above.
2. Cut 1-inch thick slices into the bread, but do not go all the way through, just to the bottom crust. Spread a teaspoon or two of the butter mixture between each slice, or between every other slice if you only want the garlic mixture on one side of the bread.
3. Wrap the bread in aluminum foil and bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes.

Trivia

1. Garlic bread is derived from the Italian bruschetta, a thickly sliced bread rubbed with olive oil and garlic cloves. It was originally considered peasant food, and most likely a tradition passed down from the Ancient Romans.
2. It is common to find ready-made garlic bread, frozen or refrigerated, sold at supermarkets, so that it is only required to be heated at home.
3. Garlic bread was likely brought to America by Italian immigrants, originally as bruschetta, but due to the lack of olive oil and other ingredients, butter was substituted and later adapted to make a different dish.