Garlic Bread is a tasty meal commonly eaten as breakfast by many people. The bread is made using sour dough or baguette after which it is topped with the nutritious garlic.
Often, a lot of people add olive oil or butter and additional veggies like oregano and chives to make it taste really good. The baguette commonly used is the French one. However, you can make use of sour dough like Ciabatta which is downwards sliced in a partial way. This slicing helps the loaf soak the condiments while maintaining its form.
Then, the bread’s partial cuts are filled with oil and properly minced garlic. To save time, some make use of butter and garlic powder. For extra tasty effects, some baguettes are topped with cheeses like mozzarella, parmesan, cheddar and feta. Olive oil can also be replaced by clarified butter. After these processes are complete, the baguette with toppings is then grilled, boiled, toasted or baked to make the finished garlic bread product.
This leaves a lot of people curious if a microwave could be used to prepare as well as heat up garlic bread.
Can you microwave garlic bread? Yes, you can microwave garlic bread. With the microwave set to high, place the garlic bread in a microwave-safe bowl in 10-30 seconds intervals, totaling two minutes. Allow to heat and check if it suits you after. If it doesn’t, microwave for 10-30 second intervals till you get the desired warmth you need.
What to Know When Microwaving Garlic Bread
Microwaving is prominent in the cooking realm these days and there’s a lot to know about the whole process asides just basic instructions. For every machine, there are essential things to know which many manufacturers do not deem necessary to tell. Microwaves heat up food at a very fast rate through heat radiation emitted once they are turned on.
However, not all microwaves have the same speed. They heat up food placed in them faster than each other. Before using a microwave, you should get really familiar with its velocity. This helps to effectively calculate the time difference between your microwave and your instructor’s.
When microwaving garlic bread, avoid heating for very long periods. Heating garlic bread longer than 10 to 30 seconds to get a very nice hot temperature has a downside. You have to consume as fast as possible or the bread gets very hard. Also, if your microwave is faster, it’s advisable to keep the timer set at lower temperatures and heat at intervals till desired output is achieved.
Microwaving is one of the numerous heating options available when preparing or reheating garlic bread. In other parts of this article, I’ll be discussing these in detail. Stay tuned to learn more!
How to Heat Garlic Bread in a Microwave
Microwaving garlic bread is a very simple process. Microwaves heat up snacks with little or no water very fast and garlic bread perfectly fits this description. When microwaving or reheating garlic bread, here a few steps which I follow.
- Get necessary equipment like paper towels, garlic press, knife, chopping board, spatula and most importantly microwave ready with you. Collect all the ingredients like dough and other toppings you want to add.
- Carefully peel the garlic cloves and slide them through a garlic press. Then, carefully scrap the pressed cloves into a microwave-safe bowl. Then, add butter to the pressed garlic cloves in the microwave-safe bowl.
- Place the microwave-safe bowl in the microwave and allow its content heat up for 30 seconds. Bring out the microwave-safe plate and stir the butter and garlic.
- Place the bowl back into the microwave and place a paper towel over it to avoid splattering of butter all over your microwave. Heat the butter for 30 seconds a second time.
- Chop cilantro and add to the melted butter and garlic. Then, top your baguette or sour dough with the mixture. Place back in a microwave safe plate and heat for 10 seconds to get your nice warm garlic bread.
- Unlike other snacks where you wait for longer periods to cool, garlic bread is best eaten as soon as possible after heating to prevent it from getting stone cold.
Alternative Methods for Heating Garlic Bread
Asides microwaving, there are several other methods to heat garlic bread and get a very nice end product. One of these is making use of a stovetop which takes about 10 to 15 minutes on low heat.
To use this, wrap the bread in aluminum foil to ensure it heats evenly before placing in a pot. This pot must fit the bread comfortably! Place the pot on the stove and allow to cook on low heat which is the most effective when warming food. Let the bread heat for 5 to 10 minutes depending on the size before serving.
Another method is making use of an oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 10 to 15 minutes. Using this method, you have to place the bread on baking sheet or wire rack before sliding it in the oven. Moreover, if garlic bread gets frozen, the process for reheating it is entirely different. The temperature to heat the bread should be raised to 425 degrees Fahrenheit and you have to make sure that the part with the butter is turned upwards.
Related Questions:
How to Store Garlic Bread?
Storing garlic bread is very important to persons who would want to reserve their meal till some other day. There are several methods to store garlic bread in the right condition. These methods include:
- Storing on the counter since refrigerated garlic bread turns stale. All you need to do is wrap it in an aluminum foil and it would last three to four days.
- Freezing is a better option than refrigeration if you want to store garlic bread for as long as three months. Before freezing, wrap with a plastic foil.
Should Garlic Bread be Microwaved with Aluminum Foil?
Although foils are used to preserve garlic bread, they should be removed before placing them in the microwave. Some foil may not be safe to microwave. In most instances, they can’t withstand the heat radiation in the microwave.