There's no doubt that serving this garlicky, buttery bread as a side dish for a meal is always a huge hit in my house. It can turn a mundane meal into a bit of a feast, no question about it.
And I have streamlined the process so that the bread is ready in no time at all, so it takes almost no effort.
I make a habit of picking up extra loaves of whole grain, Italian or French bread in our local grocery store bakery department when they go on sale for $1.
I take and use only the amount of bread I need for each meal by cutting them into meal size portions.
I store the rest away in meal size portions in the freezer for for another time.

And I find that slightly-past-their-prime bagels and pita bread do the job quite well, too.
As always, I prefer to use whole grain breads, but in the name of eliminating waste, I will use whatever I have on hand, even if it is plain white bread. Given that we generally eat whole grain products, I think the occasional refined flour bread is perfectly fine. As always, my motto is everything in moderation.
Using these leftover bread products cuts down on the waste in my household, saves money, and provides a filling, satisfying accompaniment to just about any meal.
I generally get two servings of garlic bread out of each roll, while a typical bagel yields 4 servings. The cost is about 25-35 cents per serving.
Here are the step by step instructions for my simple garlic bread.
Simple Garlic Bread
Ingredients:
Loaf or half loaf of unsliced bread
-Or-
Bagels
-Or-
Leftover hamburger or hot dog rolls
Margarine or butter or olive oil
Garlic Powder
Recipe continues after pictures
- Turn the oven temperature to 400º F.
- If you have a whole loaf of bread on hand, cut it in half crosswise. Put one half aside in a plastic bag and store it for a later meal in the freezer.
- Cut the half loaf you will be using in half lengthwise. If you are using leftover hot dog, hamburger or sandwich rolls, or bagels, then open them and separate the two halves.
- Spread both halves of the loaf, rolls or bagel, with butter, non-hydrogenated margarine, or olive oil.
- Sprinkle powdered garlic all over the top.
- Place the garlic bread halves directly onto the rack, butter side up.
- Bake or toast the bread for about 5-10 minutes, until just golden.
- Slice the bread into portion sizes before serving.