Garlic Bread

Low FODMAP garlic bread on a gluten-free baguette with garlic-infused olive oil, parsley, and scallion greens.

Prep 10 min

Cook 10 min

Serves 6

Gluten-freeDairy-freeVegan

Ingredients

• 1 gluten-free baguette or GF ciabatta loaf (about 250g), sliced in half lengthwise (choose one with no inulin, chicory root, or honey)
• 1/4 cup (60 ml) garlic-infused olive oil, store-bought certified or homemade
• 2 tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley
• 2 tbsp finely sliced scallion (spring onion) GREEN tops only, for a mild onion note
• 1/2 tsp fine salt
• 1/4 tsp cracked black pepper
• Optional: 1/3 cup (30g) finely grated parmesan or aged cheddar (this moves the recipe off dairy-free and vegan)

Portion note: one serving is 1/6 of the loaf, about 40g of bread. If you swap in sourdough (see Tips), Monash lists white wheat and spelt sourdough as low FODMAP at 2 slices (about 100g). Look up any ingredient in the FODMAP Foods app to see how its rating changes with portion size.

Instructions

Prep the bread and oven

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C) and line a baking sheet with parchment.
2. Slice the baguette in half lengthwise, or cut it into thick diagonal slices about 1 inch thick.
3. Set the pieces cut side up on the lined sheet.

Mix the garlic herb oil

1. In a small bowl, stir together the garlic-infused olive oil, parsley, scallion green tops, salt, and pepper.
2. Brush the mixture generously over the cut surfaces, letting it soak into the crumb.

Bake

1. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until the edges are golden and the surface looks crisp.
2. For a cheesy version, scatter the parmesan over the bread for the last 3 to 4 minutes, or move the bread to an unlined broiler-safe pan (no parchment under the broiler) and broil for 1 to 2 minutes until melted and spotty.
3. Rest for 2 minutes, then slice and serve warm.

Tips & Substitutions

• Make your own garlic oil. Warm olive oil with a few smashed garlic cloves over low heat for a couple of minutes, then remove and discard the garlic before using. Do not store garlic sitting in oil at room temperature; refrigerate the strained oil and use it within 4 days, or freeze it in small portions.
• Check your GF bread label. Some gluten-free loaves add inulin, chicory root fiber, apple or pear fiber, or honey, all of which raise the FODMAP load. Pick a plain loaf with a clean label.
• Sourdough works too. Long-fermented wheat or spelt sourdough (white wheat or spelt) is low FODMAP at 2 slices in Monash testing, since the long ferment breaks down fructans. It is not gluten-free, so skip it if you avoid gluten.
• Add cheese carefully. Parmesan and aged cheddar are naturally low in lactose, so a modest sprinkle keeps the bread low FODMAP.
• Swap in butter for richness. Replace up to half the oil with softened butter, but keep some garlic-infused oil in the mix, since plain butter carries no garlic flavor on its own.
• Vary the herbs. Fresh chives (green parts), oregano, or basil all work in place of or alongside the parsley.

Why This Works

• Fructans do not dissolve in oil. Garlic's FODMAPs are water-soluble fructans, so infusing oil with garlic captures the flavor and leaves the fructans behind.
• Green tops, not the bulb. The green parts of scallions and leeks are low FODMAP, while the white bulb holds the concentrated fructans, so the green tops provide onion flavor without the higher-fructan white bulb.
• A wheat-free or fermented base. Standard wheat bread is high in fructans; a gluten-free loaf without inulin or chicory avoids them, and sourdough's long fermentation lowers the fructan content.
• Aged cheese is low in lactose. Hard cheeses like parmesan and mature cheddar lose most of their lactose during aging, so a light topping stays within a low-FODMAP serving.

Storage

Keep leftover garlic bread in an airtight container in the fridge for 2 to 3 days and reheat in a 350°F (175°C) oven for 5 to 7 minutes to crisp it back up. To freeze, wrap the baked pieces tightly and store for up to 1 month, then reheat straight from frozen. If you made your own garlic-infused oil, store the strained oil in the fridge and never leave garlic pieces sitting in oil at room temperature.