Authentic Garlic Bread

I first tried this when Judah was a brand-new baby. I was nursing, and Judah had developed quite an intolerance for dairy--in fact, I couldn't so much as butter a piece of toast without having to endure hours of uncomfortable wailing (and that was from Abe). Well, Giada di Laurentiis showed me how to do this, and while I was dubious about its "amazing flavor," I decided to give it a try.

Its only ingredients are bread, oilve oil, and a whole garlic clove, so I doubted it would taste as good as its butter-soaked couterparts. It is, indeed, a very different breed, but no less tasty. And as testament to that fact, I am happily enjoying a couple of slices of this toasty beauty for breakfast this morning.

Authentic Garlic Bread

Good, crusty bread
Olive Oil
1-2 whole garlic cloves, peeled

Preheat the oven to 375.

Slice the bread about 1/4-1/2 in. thick. Arrange on a baking sheet. Brush both sides of the bread with olive oil. Bake for about 7 minutes, then flip the bread so both sides will have a chance to get crusty. Bake for another 7 minutes, or until the bread has reached your desired level of toastiness.

Remove from the oven, and immediately begin rubbing the garlic cloves on the toasted bread.

Then devour.

It's that easy! For an even easier trick, I have also found the rub-with-garlic trick to be effective after toasting bread in a conventional toaster, so if you're short on time or energy and don't have a whole loaf to toast, a toaster works just fine--no need to heat up your oven.