The Lunch Lady, with a football player holding a whisk and a chop

The Lunch Lady

Garlic bites

Soft, buttery garlic bread bites made with a bowl, a whisk and a thick Greek yogurt batter. No yeast or rising time, with muffin-pan and square-pan options.

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By Jared Veldheer

Published

Servings
12 small muffin-size bites
Total time
About 35 minutes
Golden garlic bread bites on a sheet pan being brushed with melted garlic butter.
In the school kitchen.

Garlic bread without the yeast dough

These were awesome. All the garlic butter and fresh Parmesan you want, without making a yeast dough. Whisk the batter together in a bowl, spoon it into muffin molds and bake.

The Greek yogurt adds some protein and keeps these moist. Look for mashed-potato thickness. The batter should hold a soft mound and slowly relax, rather than pour like pancake batter.

They're great beside bolognese pasta. Brush them with garlic butter while they're warm, then add the Parmesan so it sticks. A sheet-pan-style slab works too. The small square pan below gives a home batch enough depth to stay soft.

Home recipe

Garlic bites

The Lunch Lady · Jared Veldheer

Servings
12 small muffin-size bites
Prep time
About 15 minutes
Cook time
About 12 to 16 minutes; square-pan version about 15 to 20 minutes
Total time
About 35 minutes

Equipment: Kitchen scale, mixing bowls, whisk, spatula, 12-cup standard muffin pan or 8-inch square metal pan, instant-read thermometer

Ingredients

Check off ingredients as you go.

Batter

Garlic butter finish

Instructions

Mix and bake

  1. Heat the oven to 400°F conventional or 375°F convection. Grease a 12-cup standard muffin pan, or grease an 8-inch square metal pan and line its base with parchment.
  2. Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, sugar, garlic powder and onion powder together thoroughly.
  3. In another bowl, whisk the yogurt, milk, egg, melted butter and oil until smooth. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet just until no dry flour remains. Rest for 5 minutes.
  4. Check the consistency: thick like soft mashed potatoes, holding a mound that slowly relaxes. If stiff, fold in milk a tablespoon at a time. Do not thin it to a pourable batter.
  5. Portion about 39 g batter into each of the 12 cups, keeping them no more than two-thirds full. Start checking at 10 minutes; expect about 12 to 16 minutes. For the 8-inch square pan, spread this same batch evenly, start checking at 12 minutes and expect about 15 to 20 minutes. Remove as soon as the center meets the doneness cues below; small molds and dark pans can finish sooner.
  6. Check the center with an instant-read thermometer: at least 200°F. The middle should feel set with a light touch, with no wet batter, and the top should be lightly golden. Use those cues rather than the timer alone.

Finish with garlic butter

  1. Melt the finishing butter and stir in the garlic powder, salt and parsley. Taste a small cooled dab and adjust the salt if needed.
  2. Brush the hot bites or slab generously with the butter, then scatter Parmesan over the wet surface.
  3. Let the bites stand about 3 minutes before lifting them from the pan. Brush any remaining butter over them. Cut the slab into 12 squares and serve warm.

Recipe notes

  • A scale makes this batter easier to repeat. Yogurt thickness and flour absorption vary, so use the mashed-potato consistency cue before adding extra milk.
  • For an 18-by-13-inch half sheet, use three times every batter and topping quantity, including 90 g beaten egg. Spread evenly, start checking at 12 minutes and expect roughly 15 to 20 minutes. Keep the layer shallow and use the same center-temperature and touch cues. Do not pour a single 12-bite batch across a half sheet.
  • Refrigerate leftover bites once cooled. These are moist yogurt-based bites, not bread to leave on the counter. Warm gently before serving again.
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