Parmesan Toasts

Ingredients

• 1 about 1 pound loaf dense sourdough bread
• 1¾ cup about 5 ounces freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• ¼ tsp dried thyme leaves
• ¼ tsp crushed red pepper
• pinch dried rosemary leaves, crushed
• pinch salt

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. With a serrated knife, cut off the ends from the bread; reserve for making crumbs. Cut the loaf into slices, each slightly thinner than 1/4 inch thick. Place the slices on a large cookie sheet. Bake the slices until dry and toasted, about 30 minutes, turning the slices over halfway through cooking time. Remove the cookie sheet from the oven. Turn the oven control to 400 degrees F.
2. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, with a fork, mix the Parmesan and remaining ingredients until combined.
3. Top each bread slice with 2 rounded teaspoons cheese mixture; spread the mixture slightly. Bake the toasts 3 to 5 minutes, until the cheese melts. Cool the toasts on the cookie sheet on a wire rack at least 2 hours or overnight to allow the topping to dry out. Store at room temperature in a tightly covered container up to 2 weeks.

Notes

Do-ahead: up to 2 weeks. Prep: 15 minutes plus cooling. Bake: 35 minutes. Makes about 24 toasts. Editor's note: use a baguette-type loaf, 5 inches in width; if you use a narrower loaf, cut slices on the diagonal to make them wider.

Original card

The recipe above was transcribed from this scan of Vera’s original card.

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