The Bread

We need to have a little talk about The Bread.  Yes - I did refer to a side dish using a proper noun, or whatever the term is that I mean when I'm using capital letters at the beginning of each word of this side dish.  I'm pretty sure I mean proper noun, but we're not here to talk about English (because, while I can spell like a superstar, I basically flunked English).

 

We're talking about The Bread.

 

I'm not going to lie to you.  The Bread is not for the faint of heart.  Or the faint of waistline.  I don't encourage you to have this on a regular basis and most DEFINITELY don't eat it by yourself.

 

Why?

 

There are two ingredients.

 

Bread.  Butter.

 

End of list.

 

I used salted butter.  But if you really wanted to, you could use unsalted.  I just thought the salted butter would be more exciting.  Please don't, for the love of my sanity, use anything but butter.  Seriously.  No margarine, no Becel, nothing in a tub.  It's gotta be the real deal.  In bricks or sticks - butter.

 

 

First things first.  You want to make sure your butter is very, very soft.  I actually put mine in the microwave and cooked for about 1 1/2 minutes on 30% power.  Just don't melt it.

 

Cut a loaf of beautiful, glorious, soft, fresh French Bread in half lengthwise.  Extra flavor points if the bread is still warm when you pick it up from the bakery section.

 

Then take your very, very soft butter and spread it on the bread, making sure you get all the way to the edges and the layer of butter is pretty level and even.

The recipe says to put the bread in the oven at 350 degrees F and cook for 10 minutes, then turn the broiler on to high and cook 3 - 5 minutes.

 

But I'm going to tell you exactly how I did mine.  Because it took me two attempts to make The Bread.

 

Because I was making pasta and the oven was at 375 degrees F, I put the bread in the oven on a rack ABOVE the pasta dish in the 2nd set of "rack brackets" and let it bake with the pasta for the last 7 minutes of the pasta cook time.

 

When I took the pasta out, I moved the bread from the upper rack to the rack that the pasta had been on. 

 

Now, my broiler has a couple of different settings.  Broiler high, broiler low, and then numbers in between.  For the first couple of minutes, I set the broiler to a 3 setting.  Then I bumped it up to high.

 

Keep an eye on the business in the oven.  What's going to happen is that the butter is going to brown/blacken on top and the edges of the bread are going to char a little.  This is totally fine and is absolutely what you're looking for.

 

Like this.

 

 

 

That picture is from my second attempt - but the ones above are from my first attempt.  I didn't think you'd mind if I didn't take the pictures all over again.

 

Also, The Bread probably could have stayed in the oven for another 30 seconds to a minute.  But I was being a chicken and didn't want to burn it to a crisp.

 

I guarantee that you will get rave reviews when you serve The Bread.  My brother took a piece, and told me that he didn't WANT any pasta - he was just going to eat The Bread.

 

The Bread is gooey and chewy, with a crisp bottom.  Because the butter is browned a little in the oven, the flavor is somewhat nutty and bold.  It tastes like you did something to the butter without the extra work.  It made my head spin and my toes curl!  It's truly glorious.

 

Make sure The Bread is taken out of the oven, cut up, and served right away.  It's best when it's warm.

 

You could add on some freshly minced garlic if you want, or maybe a little parsley flakes.  But really - it's not necessary.

 

I recommend that you should serve this with your next pasta dish, your next meatloaf, your next pot of soup, or to liven up a meal of Caesar salad (if you're into that sort of thing).

 

But, be warned, you will be shocked when you see exactly how much butter is involved. 

 

Sorry not sorry.

 

xoxo - Heather

The Bread

 

1 loaf fresh French Bread

1 cup salted butter, softened

1. Slice bread in half lengthwise.
2. Spread 1/2 cup of butter on each side of bread, making sure to get all the way to the edges of the bread and that the layer of butter is level and even.
3. Depending on what's going on in your kitchen, you may need to adjust your cooking methods.  I'll give you the original method (in case the oven is empty and available), followed by the method I used above.
1. Original:  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Place bread on a baking sheet, buttered side up.  Bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes.  Turn the broiler to high and broil for 3 - 5 minutes, until the bread has browned and blackened.  Expect the edges to be charred.  The flavor comes from the browning/blackening.  Cut into strips and serve.
2. Method above:  With the oven at 375 degrees F, place rack in upper 2/3 of oven.  Place bread on a baking sheet, buttered side up.  Bake in the preheated oven for 7 minutes.  Turn the broiler to a 3 setting and broil for 1 1/2 - 2 minutes, then turn the broiler to high and broil another 1 1/2 - 3 minutes, until the bread has browned and blackened.  Expect the edges to be charred.  The flavor comes from the browning/blackening.  Cut into strips and serve.  

Source:  The Pioneer Woman