Garlic bread consists of bread

Bread

Bread is a staple food prepared by cooking a dough of flour and water and often additional ingredients. Doughs are usually baked, but in some cuisines breads are steamed , fried , or baked on an unoiled frying pan . It may be leavened or unleavened...

 topped with garlic

Garlic

Allium sativum, commonly known as garlic, is a species in the onion genus, Allium. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chive, and rakkyo. Dating back over 6,000 years, garlic is native to central Asia, and has long been a staple in the Mediterranean region, as well as a frequent...

 and olive oil

Olive oil

Olive oil is an oil obtained from the olive , a traditional tree crop of the Mediterranean Basin. It is commonly used in cooking, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and soaps and as a fuel for traditional oil lamps...

 or butter. It is then either grilled or broiled

Grilling

Grilling is a form of cooking that involves dry heat applied to the surface of food, commonly from above or below.Grilling usually involves a significant amount of direct, radiant heat, and tends to be used for cooking meat quickly and meat that has already been cut into slices...

 until toasted, or baked in an oven.

It is typically made using a baguette

Baguette

A baguette is "a long thin loaf of French bread" that is commonly made from basic lean dough...

 which is partially sliced downwards, allowing the condiments to soak into the loaf while keeping it in one piece. The bread is then stuffed through the cuts with oil and minced garlic before baking

Baking

Baking is the technique of prolonged cooking of food by dry heat acting by convection, and not by radiation, normally in an oven, but also in hot ashes, or on hot stones. It is primarily used for the preparation of bread, cakes, pastries and pies, tarts, quiches, cookies and crackers. Such items...

. Alternatively, butter and garlic powder are used, or the bread is cut into separate slices which are individually garnished.

Some variants are topped with a variety of cheeses, often mozzarella

Mozzarella

Mozzarella is an Italian Traditional Speciality Guaranteed food product. The term is used for several kinds of Italian cheeses that are made using spinning and then cutting :...

, Cheddar

Cheddar cheese

Cheddar cheese is a relatively hard, yellow to off-white, and sometimes sharp-tasting cheese, produced in several countries around the world. It has its origins in the English village of Cheddar in Somerset....

 or feta

Feta

Feta is a brined curd cheese traditionally made in Greece. Feta is an aged crumbly cheese, commonly produced in blocks, and has a slightly grainy texture. It is used as a table cheese, as well as in salads Feta is a brined curd cheese traditionally made in Greece. Feta is an aged crumbly cheese,...

. Some restaurants use clarified butter

Clarified butter

Clarified butter is milk fat rendered from butter to separate the milk solids and water from the butterfat. Typically, it is produced by melting butter and allowing the different components to separate by density...

 in place of olive oil.

Garlic bread has appeared on U.S. restaurant menus since at least 1947.

Commercially manufactured frozen garlic bread was developed in the 1970s by Cole's Quality Foods in Michigan

Michigan

Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....

.
It is unclear whether garlic bread is a variation of bruschetta

Bruschetta

Bruschetta is an antipasto from Italy whose origin dates to at least the 15th century. It consists of roasted bread rubbed with garlic and topped with extra-virgin olive oil, salt and pepper...

 or a variation of Texas toast

Texas toast

Texas toast is a type of packaged bread which is pre-sliced at double the typical thickness of most pre-sliced breads. While it can be used in the same manner as ordinary bread slices such as in sandwiches, it is especially useful for dishes involving liquids or where extra thickness can improve...

, an American creation.
In Brazil

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

 the bread is commonly served in churrascaria

Churrascaria

A churrascaria is a Brazilian steakhouse. Churrasco is the cooking style, which translates roughly from the Portuguese for 'barbecue'.-History:...

s as an entrée

Entrée

An entrée is a dish served before the main course, or between two principal courses of a meal.The disappearance in the early 20th century of a large communal main course such as a roast as a standard part of the meal in the English-speaking world has led to the term being used to describe the main...

.

External links

• Cooking For Engineers: Parmesan Garlic Bread - a simple recipe with step-by-step photographs
• Garlic Bread info
• Watch How to Make Cheesy Garlic Bread