Thin toast garlic bread - anyone else prefer this kind?

Hey, this is kinda neat in here! I think this might be like my second all time post in the kitchen forum. I don't think I'm necessarily awful as a cook or anything but at the same time I'm in no way crazy enough to believe that I'm a top flight chef or "gourmet" of any kind! Thus the reason for my usual lack of posting in this part of the board.

Anyway, something genuinely food-related did cross my mind which I don't really recall seeing any particular posts on...

Thanks to my mother and also grandmother I often enjoyed (and still do) the way they make garlic bread. More specifically to the point - garlic TOAST (literally, garlic toast). My memories are full of saturday night or new year's eve dinners when my parents and grandparents would get together and they'd play cards, etc. The typical dinner for these events was usually spaghetti and meatballs or lasagna with, of course, garlic "bread"!

However, my mother and grandmother would make it with simple, regular sliced bread. The garlic was obviously applied on the fresh bread and then simply baked in the oven. The garlic taste is always crucial to me since some "garlic breads" I like and others I like less if the garlic is either TOO strong or simply odd tasting. I prefer more of a mild and lightly applied garlic taste. A little goes a long way in my book. However, my point here with all of this has to do with the bread itself...

I got accustomed, and now always tend to prefer, having garlic bread made with thin "toast" (regular store bought loaf bread). I suppose it could be (and has been) italian or french style sliced bread but it is always sliced bread, not a full loaf that is baked, rolls or garlic "sticks" of any kind. Something about the way it can easily char, giving a faintly burnt yet golden and crispy nature I just love. It is what I think of as "perfect" garlic bread, largely just from being exposed to it this way and simply because I enjoy it. I won't turn down "thicker" garlic breads (like typically found in restaurants) but, surprisingly, while it's definitely more filling, the doughy texture doesn't necessarily hit me the way simple garlic toast does.

I don't suspect this way of making of making garlic toast as opposed to true "garlic bread" is unusual in anyway but at the same time I havent seen many others who intentionally make it this way. Am I alone in this love of garlic toast rather than garlic bread? Does anyone know what I'm talking about here and enjoy garlic toast over the thicker roll-type breads? Is this just a "poor man's" method of making garlic bread that TRUE garlic bread lovers would laugh at? If so, then feel free to laugh but I still thought I'd share and inquire. I honestly enjoy the stuff this way...

Jeff

I sometimes make a garlic toast that's even more toast than yours. I use a toaster with sliced bread. When the bread comes out, I rub a cut garlic clove on the bread and then butter it. So you're not crazy.

And it doesn't matter if you're not a gourmet who eats hummingbird tongues and the like. Post here anyway. Plenty of plain folks like me.

[Jenise]

Jeff, what took you so long?

We all eat, so we all care about food. You're welcome here anytime.

But re your mom's toast: what did she prepare the garlic toast in, a toaster oven by any chance? And did she use butter? I'm thinking that maybe she toasted the bread spread with a little butter and garlic, and that one of the things you might have loved about it is why I use a toaster oven to make even just plain toast instead of a toaster. That is, bread toasted with butter already on it has an additional layer of flavor, because the butter caramelizes while toasting and THAT flavor is exceptional, nutty and good. (Basically, the same principal applies to Texas toast, that which is buttered and browned in a skillet.)

Try it the Greek way - toast the bread of choice, drip it over with olive oil and then crush fresh garlic cloves right onto the bread. Takes a bit of courage I suppose for those not in the Mediterranean but delicious once you get used to it. Only one thing....afterwards don't go on a first date and do not travel on a bus or subway for a while unless you enjoy weird looks from other people.

Best
Rogov

And it doesn't matter if you're not a gourmet who eats hummingbird tongues and the like. Post here anyway. Plenty of plain folks like me.

Oh cool. That's good because I must admit my knowledge and kitchen preparation of hummingbird tongues is extremely limited...

Jeff

Jeff, what took you so long?

We all eat, so we all care about food. You're welcome here anytime.

Thanks! I appreciate the warm welcome.

But re your mom's toast: what did she prepare the garlic toast in, a toaster oven by any chance? And did she use butter? I'm thinking that maybe she toasted the bread spread with a little butter and garlic, and that one of the things you might have loved about it is why I use a toaster oven to make even just plain toast instead of a toaster. That is, bread toasted with butter already on it has an additional layer of flavor, because the butter caramelizes while toasting and THAT flavor is exceptional, nutty and good. (Basically, the same principal applies to Texas toast, that which is buttered and browned in a skillet.)

I will have to check with her to find out for sure. I believe it was nothing fancy. I'm sure she just apllies butter and then rubs some garlic cloves (lightly) over it, then it goes into the oven for a short time on basic cookie baking sheets.

You're right, I think it is the way the butter caramelizes and has the ability to turn the sliced bread into a combination of golden chewiness and slightly charred crispiness. It's just a texture and "profile" of garlic bread that you do not get with the restaurant-style doughy garlic breads/rolls/sticks. To me it is a preferred one. It probably is born out of the "texas toast" method, at least as far as the baking of it although my memory of "texas toast" style garlic bread seems to typically use "chunkier" and thicker breads more so than the thin toast-sliced type I'm familair with from home but the idea might be one and the same...

Jeff

Try it the Greek way - toast the bread of choice, drip it over with olive oil and then crush fresh garlic cloves right onto the bread. Takes a bit of courage I suppose for those not in the Mediterranean but delicious once you get used to it.

I definitely wouldn't be opposed to trying that - sounds good to me!

Only one thing....afterwards don't go on a first date and do not travel on a bus or subway for a while unless you enjoy weird looks from other people.

Best
Rogov

Yeah, I wouldn't want that, if I can help it. That's why I tend to prefer milder and lighter coated garlic toasts Of course even lighter garlic toast can do damage to the breath I suppose. I'll just have to make sure to do any kissing BEFORE the meal. I guess that's called going straight to dessert...

Jeff