Aunt Loretta’s Garlic Bread

Garlic bread is one of those meal accompaniments that you can never have enough of.  And garlic bread isn’t just for spaghetti and Italian food.

This recipe comes courtesy of Aunt Loretta and she gave it to me when I was a brand new bride.  It’s very short and I’ve actually never written it down.  When our boys were growing up, I bought the giant french bread loaf and was lucky to get two pieces.  When camping, I buy the french sandwich rolls because it’s easier in the RV oven.  Now that it’s just Mark and I at home, I’ll cut the giant french loaf in half and freeze the other half for another meal.  This is the only way I’ll get an extra piece.

Stir together equal parts of soft butter and mayonnaise.  Yep, mayonnaise.  It makes for a rich texture and stays soft while the bread is nicely toasted all around.  Grabbing one stick of butter is easiest so I make it with 1/2 cup mayo and 1/2 cup butter.  Then you add as much minced garlic as you want.  If you don’t have garlic on hand, garlic powder will be just fine.  You can add some Parmesan cheese if you’d like as well.  Probably no more than 1/2 cup so it doesn’t burn.

Spread it all over your bread and pop it into the oven on broiler setting.  A word of caution here:  watch it closely or you’ll have burned up charcoal black garlic bread before you know it.  My oven has a high and low broil setting and I do this on low.  It takes a minute or two longer but is worth it.  Mark likes the bread to be warm, almost hot so I start with the oven at 400 and let the butter melt and fall into all the nooks and crannies of the bread.  Then I’ll turn it up to broil for the last little bit.

Our RV oven isn’t very tall inside with the flame underneath the one rack.  When we camp, I’ll let the sauce melt into the bread then move the cookie sheet to the very bottom of the oven, just under the flame and keep a close eye on it.

As you can see, I didn’t watch this batch as well as I could.  Looking at the pictures, I could have used more sauce as well.  Another mistake I made was at the grocery store.  Who knew whole wheat french bread was a thing?  I pick out loaves by gently squeezing the bag for the freshest and warmest loaf on the rack.  This time, the warmest loaf was whole wheat.  The taste was slightly off for me but we didn’t have any leftovers so it must have been fine for everyone else.

Our oldest son is home from grad school for Christmas and when he is home we eat well.  Chef Jeff is in the house!  Last night was bacon wrapped fillets, mushroom risotto and Aunt Loretta’s garlic bread.  I probably should have included a salad, but we were too busy enjoying the meal to think about it.  Jeff is a scientist through and through and is a fabulous cook; it’s all chemistry he says.  We have our list for baking and the kitchen is going to be a “buzz of activity” in a couple of days.  I can’t wait.

The garlic bread did not disappoint.  No burning it this time.  You’d think after making it for thirty years I’d be done burning it.  Like I said before, you need to keep a close eye on it or it will burn.

The taste is amazing and will surely be your new favorite way to make garlic bread.

And, the sauce freezes well, too!  I like to use the round Ziploc containers with the screw-top lid.  Open my freezer and you’ll find several of these containers filled with garlic bread sauce, pesto sauce, soups and more.

Print Recipe

Aunt Loretta’s Garlic Bread

• One loaf baked bread, sliced lengthwise
• 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• Minced garlic
• Shredded Parmesan, optional

Preheat oven to 450.  Stir butter, mayonnaise, garlic and Parmesan together in a bowl. Spread generously on the bread.  Bake until bread is bubbly.  Watch carefully to prevent burn.  Slice and enjoy!