The Best Garlic Bread Uses Garlic Powder, But With An Extra Step

Have you ever made garlic bread and ended up with a disappointing shadow of a Michelin-starred version for dinner? Real garlic bread is crispy and saturated with flavor, garlic somehow baked into every pore. It's buttery and crunchy and the perfect side to a great Italian-inspired dinner, next to a steaming bowl of classic pasta e fagioli or a cheesy chicken parmesan spaghetti bake. Everyone knows you need garlic to make garlic bread, but the key to the best garlic bread is to use garlic powder that has been activated and woken up – rehydrated garlic powder.

Rehydrated garlic powder has a superpower; the flavor is more intense and more closely matches the power of fresh garlic. Rehydrated garlic powder also maintains stronger roasted notes that deepen the flavor profile of any garlic-forward dish. The best part about the secret to the best garlic bread is that it's easy. All you do is mix your garlic powder with water, combined in equal parts, to rehydrate your garlic powder and wake up a couple of compounds that are deactivated when garlic is dehydrated. When these compounds wake up, the flavor of your garlic powder intensifies.

The garlic powder on your spice rack is made up of dehydrated garlic, with possibly some salt or anti-caking agents added. The garlic flavor is certainly present in garlic powder, but it's not as bold as what you get when you use fresh, oven-roasted garlic, or garlic roasted in an air fryer. The loss of flavor has to do with chemistry. When garlic is dehydrated, the compounds alliin and alliinase are deactivated. These two compounds work together to create a third called allicin. These three compounds are responsible for garlic's intense flavor.

Rehydrating garlic powder reactivates alliin and alliinase, which begin to again make that third compound, allicin. As they wake up, these compounds re-infuse your dehydrated garlic powder with flavor. So, instead of sprinkling your dry garlic powder straight from the bottle onto your garlic bread (or whatever dish you're making), sprinkle it into a bowl and mix it with room temperature water. The mixture will turn into a paste that you can put straight into your savory dishes or brush onto toast for garlic bread.

You can easily rehydrate garlic powder with water for all sorts of dishes, but if you're making garlic bread, do yourself a favor and mix it with melted butter. The combo adds an even richer flavor to your bread. The best method is to make fresh garlic paste with shredded and mashed fresh garlic, and add that to butter melted in the microwave. Then, you'll add garlic powder to the mix, rehydrating the garlic powder and adding an extra kick of bold flavor to intensify and saturate your garlic bread as it bakes.

Rehydrated garlic powder is a great addition to other dishes alongside Italian cooking and epic garlic bread. Rehydrate garlic powder for an even stronger flavor in balsamic-glazed chicken wings or brush it over your next holiday pork loin for an extra delicious twist. Use rehydrated garlic powder to double down on the absurd amount of garlic in Julia Child's mashed potatoes or use it in your homemade garlic aioli. The secret to the richest, most intense, and flavorful garlic bread is garlic powder that's been unlocked with just little bit of water.