Garlic bread is simple to make but often a disappointment to eat, with either too much or too little garlic flavor and bread that’s steamed and unevenly browned.
For an evenly toasted version with garlic flavor that was prominent but not harsh, we briefly microwaved fresh garlic (grated to a paste with a rasp-style grater) and butter and combined it with garlic powder, which provided sweet, roasty notes. We then combined the melted garlic butter with solid butter and just a bit of cayenne and salt to make a spreadable paste that could be smeared evenly onto the bread.
