4 Levels of Garlic Bread: Amateur to Food Scientist

[knife hitting board] [plastic crunching]

[knife scraping] [bread breaking]

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I'm Desi, and I'm a level one chef.

I'm Beth,

and I'm a level two chef.

Hi, I am Saul.

I've been a professional chef for the past 21 years.

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I love garlic bread.

It goes good with spaghetti

and on days you're starving.

The ideal garlic bread

is crunchy on the outside,

soft on the inside,

lots of garlic,

and, of course, ooey, gooey, cheesy.

It's delicious.

I mean, what's better than fresh bread?

Garlic bread.

[metal unsheathing]

[bright music]

My garlic bread is a little bit different,

but trust me, it's gonna be good.

Get some hotdog buns,

some mayonnaise.

Gonna butter it up, season 'em,

throw 'em in the air fryer.

[chef's kiss] And, voila.

Follow me.

This is my go-to whenever we're having ravioli.

I'm making a beautiful, crunchy,

soft garlic focaccia bread.

Ooh, garlic focaccia bread.

That sounds really good.

With some parmesan cheese

and a spicy tomato marinara sauce,

AKA amatriciana sauce.

Let's start with the bread.

I'm using a round country loaf.

I'm using hot dog buns.

If it's the only thing you have in front of you,

why not?

No. All due respect, no.

Absolutely not.

Hotdog buns have a nice texture in the middle

when it's toasted a certain way.

I'm gonna be making a focaccia.

The focaccia soaks the sauce out of anything.

And when you mix it with garlic, parmesan cheese,

and tomato,

it's just a spectacular experience.

We wanna start with some dry yeast

and a little bit of sugar.

The water has to be warm.

Make sure it is dissolved all the way.

All-purpose flour and salt.

So I'm using bread flour.

This is the best flour out there to make focaccias

and bread.

We're gonna be adding the water as we go.

Our goal right here is to mix everything very well.

It's very elastic,

just like it's supposed to be.

So I'm gonna put this in the fridge for eight hours,

and I wanna go take a nap.

Step one, very simple, open my bread.

Next step, crack this mayonnaise.

Get to spreading.

This is what makes the bread soft,

the areas you spread it at.

It's really easy to just cut the loaf in half,

slather everything up,

and stick it under the broiler.

But I've got a better idea.

I'm gonna cut it this way, across the diameter,

then I'm gonna turn it

and cut it in the other direction.

I'm not gonna go all the way through,

because I don't want the slices to fall apart.

And each piece is gonna be stuffed

with garlic and cheeses.

What I want is everybody to be able to pull a piece

of this bread at the table.

She's making like a Christmas gift garlic bread thing.

[Saul] Okay, so this has been in the fridge

for the past eight hours.

It's beautiful.

For focaccia, they use a lot of olive oil,

and I can see why,

because that helps to keep the crust nice and crispy,

also moist at the same time.

And now we're gonna stretch it a little bit to the size.

It's more focaccia,

'cause I'm only making one, for me.

Put some more plastic on here.

Let it rest at room temperature

for two hours.

You know, good things take a long time.

Now let's add some garlic.

Got my hotdog bun here with the mayonnaise on it.

Now it's time to add some seasoning to it.

As I like to say, flavor.

I'm gonna add my Italian seasoning.

Get to cover everything from this height.

You get too close, you miss a spot.

Sounds crazy, don't it?

The higher you are, the more you cover.

And some garlic powder.

I wouldn't use garlic powder just by itself.

It's just kind of a one-note garlic.

I'm gonna be making a delicious, seasoned garlic oil.

This process makes the garlic so sweet.

I'm gonna stick to my Italian seasoning

in the bottle.

Too much other stuff going on over there.

Everybody loves Italian seasoning on the garlic bread,

but, to me, it's too dry.

I'm gonna make this from scratch.

Marjoram, oregano,

thyme, rosemary,

parsley, basil, garlic.

This is what you eat when you go to Italy.

Freshness.

I've never been to Italy, but I've seen enough movies.

Again, I like doing less.

Quick and less.

If you take garlic bread as seriously as I do,

this step is definitely worth it.

Cold pan, unsalted butter,

1/3 of a cup of nice olive oil,

and our two heads of garlic.

I'm gonna bring this up to a slight simmer

and I'm gonna let the garlic sit

in this buttery oil bath

for at least 20 minutes

'til it's nice and soft.

Look at that beautiful brown butter.

Smells heavenly.

We gonna start with the rosemary.

I wanna chop this really fine.

Okay, that's one.

Now some marjoram.

A little bit, because that's, you know, very strong.

It's an herb that has a lot of aromatic flavors.

Same thing with oregano.

Oregano, I think, is a milder impression of the marjoram.

I love thyme, to use it on anything.

Now parsley.

Get all my oil here, and my garlic here.

Get to know your ingredients.

Hello, garlic.

This is why Italian food is so wonderful,

'cause everything is from scratch,

everything is fresh.

Good amount of black pepper.

Can't add enough salt.

I'm gonna use a rasp for my second garlic addition.

[Saul] I'm gonna add basil.

Basil is a very delicate herb.

A little bit of red pepper. Red pepper flakes.

[Saul] Just a little bit.

Italian seasoning.

Garlic powder is in there.

My third type of garlic.

[Desi] Just a dab.

Alright, the garlic's on there.

You're looking good.

At second base right now.

1, 2, 3, simple.

Now what the olive oil is gonna do,

it's gonna marry all the flavors,

all the aromas, into one thing.

So when we spread it, this is all over the focaccia.

I mean, look at this.

Can you see this on your seasoning?

I can see everything here.

Alright, let's get these additions.

I'm gonna add some parmesan cheese

to my garlic bread

to throw it in the air fryer.

This is like an air fryer commercial.

Hey, Cosori, man,

I don't see no commercials out.

You need a face of the company,

holler at your boy, man.

I'm down for a sponsorship.

I need the money.

Honestly, I was against it,

like I was against a lot of things in life,

but as I was growing up,

I learned to try new things.

So air fryer are pretty cool.

Ready to make some garlic bread?

Exactly.

First thing I wanna do

is spread the bread apart,

so that I can get everything

inside all the nooks and crannies that I cut.

Now I'm gonna add the pieces of garlic to the bread.

Slotted spoon is a good idea,

because this way,

I'll get all the garlicky tidbits in there.

Use a brush to get the oil

on every single piece of this bread.

Painting a garlicky picture here.

Love is definitely cooking, for my family.

If I love you, I'm cooking for you.

For people I don't love,

I don't invite them over for dinner.

Let's get some parsley in here.

The Pecorino Romano has a sharp deep flavor.

And ooey gooey mutz.

Gotta have the mutz.

It's been two hours.

Our focaccia is ready.

I need to add my fresh Italian seasoning.

Look at this beautiful...

Oh my gosh!

Is this fresh or what?

I'm pushing this dough a little bit,

just to make it even,

to get rid of some of the air, too,

because we don't want this to be too fluffy.

And also it holds the oil better,

and it looks pretty.

And I'm gonna add more garlic and fresh herbs,

'cause this is not enough.

I want this to be very garlicky,

because it's garlic bread.

And I'm gonna add a little bit of sea salt flakes.

And I'm gonna add

some parmesan cheese. Parmesan cheese.

And this is gonna add, also,

a little bit more salt flavor.

You can't be soft with this.

You want it real cheesy.

I suppose you could just put it all on top,

but that's not what I'm going for.

I wanna be able to pull this apart

and have it be an ooey cheese experience.

[Desi] Nice and flat.

Keep it together.

[drawer closing]

Set it for five minutes,

temperature 350.

Go take a nap and come back.

About five minutes,

good to go.

We're gonna take this garlicky cheesy bread

and I'm gonna put it in a 375 degree oven

for 20 minutes.

Now I'm just gonna cook it for 20 minutes at 425,

and it's gonna be nice and crispy and soft and delicious!

While this is cooking,

I want to be making my dipping sauce.

For my dipping sauce,

I'm gonna make garlic butter.

Nice stick of butter.

I'm gonna cut it into four chunks.

Put the pieces in a bowl

and then I'm gonna put 'em in the microwave

and melt 'em.

I'm gonna make a garlic cream sauce.

Cup of heavy cream.

None of what we're making today

is low fat or healthy.

I mean, it's good for you,

because it tastes good.

Lots of beautiful minced garlic.

Pecorino Romano cheese.

The same stuff that we used to make the bread,

we're gonna use for our dipping sauce.

So for my dipping sauce,

I'm gonna be making one of my favorite sauces,

amatriciana sauce.

Nah, nah, nah.

Never heard of that sauce in my life.

That sauce is a spicy tomato sauce

with guanciale and pepper flakes.

Guanciale, basically, is the cheek of the pork,

which has been cured and smoked,

very similar to pancetta and to bacon.

What I love about guanciale,

it's the flavor,

the smoky pork flavor that comes out of it.

When you cook it with onions,

the onions become really sweet,

because you caramelize and you sweat them.

So it's like a sweet, spicy, porky, tomato-y sauce.

Alright, I'm back from the microwave.

As you can see, the butter is melted.

Time to add my seasoning.

I'm gonna add some garlic powder.

Freshly ground pepper.

Not too much salt.

Salt. Salt.

[Beth] Because the cheese is salty.

That is to help the onions sweat.

So our onions look nice and sweet, nice and golden.

This is the garlic time.

When the onions look nice, brown,

add some garlic.

Then we're gonna cook it.

We're looking sexy, nice and gold,

crispy at the same time.

But now I want to add some vino bianco.

Make sure it's from Italy;

otherwise, it won't taste the same.

I wish I had a glass.

Now we have to make sure the alcohol evaporates.

We want the flavors of the grapes.

Come on, alcohol, get outta here.

[Beth] I'm looking for all the cheese to be dissolved,

and for it to be just at a simmer.

It has to simmer for the thickening to happen.

My sauce has just come to the simmer.

So I'm gonna turn it off

and go get the bread.

Stir for about 30 seconds.

We got our dipping sauce now.

I think we're ready to go.

[Saul] Now, tomato sauce,

pepper flakes - a little bit, not too much.

That spiciness, you know that?

Yeah, that's the bite that this needs.

Let it simmer for a little bit.

I think it's ready.

And there you have it, amatriciana sauce.

Can't wait to try with the focaccia garlic bread.

Now, let's put our dish together.

Think we're done.

Let's see how these babies came out.

[pan clatters]

Mm.

Ooh, la, la!

12 hours later, here we are.

[Saul laughs]

[Desi] Nice and toasty.

Ooh.

Honestly, I'm very proud.

Beautiful.

I have to plate this, but I wanna eat it right now.

[Saul] Oh my gosh.

This is what it's supposed to be.

See? The cushion.

Soft, crispy over here.

[knife scraping]

Now, let's plate this lovely focaccia.

I'm garnishing my bread with some parsley.

I watch all the Epicurious videos,

and they look so pretty.

I thought I would make this look pretty, too.

Move our bread over.

Dipping sauce right next to our bread.

[Desi] You know, I gotta make sure they're pretty

before I eat it.

Even though it's gonna disappear,

presentation is everything.

And here's my garlic bread, AKA hotdog buns

with some Parmesan cheese and some garlic sauce.

[camera shutter clicks]

And this is my garlic bread.

[camera shutter clicks]

And here is my garlic focaccia bread

with amatriciana sauce.

[camera shutter clicks]

[orchestral music]

Time to taste.

Always break the piece off, too.

You look beautiful, but not for any longer.

I'm going to eat you.

Everything's there. There you go.

Little drip. Let's eat.

It's juicy.

Hmm-hmm. Mm.

Wow.

Mamma mia.

Eccellente.

These are good.

So many things going on.

I'm so happy.

[orchestral music]

The sauce absolutely puts it over the top.

I have to do that again.

The crunch,

that's how your bread should sound when it's done.

Nice and crunchy.

[Beth] You can just have everybody

tear this apart at the table.

Isn't that fun?

Thank you, Italy,

for all these amazing recipes.

[pointer taps board]

Garlic bread is a delicious addition to any meal,

or super tasty on its own.

Let's see how each of our three chefs made theirs.

[dramatic thumping]

Saul made his own focaccia,

a yeast-raised bread that is flat and wide,

with distinct dimples and a soft crust.

Because it's proved on a sheet tray

without being contained,

the dough flows as the yeast produces carbon dioxide

during fermentation.

It's similar to pizza dough,

but incorporates more yeast,

so it's taller than pizza

and more fluffy inside,

with big holes from the additional yeast.

There's lots of olive oil drizzled on Saul's focaccia,

which accumulates in the dimples he made,

making this a rich, glossy, and tender bread.

[dramatic thumping]

Desi used seasoned mayonnaise-based spread

that included garlic powder.

Garlic powder is made commercially

by washing, peeling, and slicing garlic.

It's then heated or vacuum-dried

to reduce moisture to about 6% or 6.5%,

making it shelf stable.

Beth cooked fresh garlic and oil in butter.

Many of the flavoring compounds in garlic

are lipid soluble,

so she extracted lots of flavor with this method.

By heating the garlic,

the sulfur-based molecules react with each other

and form new characteristic flavor compounds

that are milder than their more aggressive raw precursors.

[dramatic thumping]

Using garlic powder doesn't impact the texture,

so Desi added a salty, pungent parmesan cheese on top.

Saul sprinkled his focaccia with Maldon sea salt,

which comes from the southern coast of England.

It's light and crunchy,

due to its hollow tetrahedral crystal structure

in various sizes,

as compared to table salt,

which has a smaller, more compact crystal structure.

[dramatic thumping]

Desi kept it simple,

with melted butter, garlic powder, and salt.

It's tasty, but because garlic powder

doesn't dissolve in butter and may separate,

it's best to serve immediately.

Beth melted Pecorino Romano in warmed heavy cream

and seasoned it with salt and pepper.

Pecorino is not a melting cheese, per se,

but the high amount of fat in the heavy cream

assisted with the smooth texture of Beth's very rich sauce.

Next time you've got bread, cheese, and garlic on hand,

we hope you'll take some tips

from our three fabulous chefs.

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