Dough-n't Leave Me This Way

Oct 15

3 min read

Warm slices alongside a lasagne, crunchy pieces as part of a charcuterie board, or shared pizza-style on the sofa in front of the latest episode of The Lycett Arms (RIP), you can’t go wrong with garlic bread.

Unless you’re in the Bake Off tent and you’ve been asked to make a signature garlic bread for Mr Baps himself, Paul Hollywood.

That might put you off.

Around the world, from the crispy lard-enriched topinky to pa amb tomàquet to garlic naan, you’ll find bread and garlic being paired like Brangelina, but with a less world-ending 2016 breakup*.

Here are a few of our favourite global garlic goodies.

Italy

From the Tuscan fettunta to Campania’s classic bruschetta, bread with garlic has been a staple up and down Italy for centuries. Even as far back as the last century BC, Virgil’s poem Moretum describes a man making a garlicky paste not too dissimilar to a contemporary pesto, filled with garlic, parsley, olive oil, coriander, cheese, and celery leaf. Today, you’ll find regional variations of garlic bread from Puglia to Lombardy, from schiena d’asino to fedda ruscia to soma d’aj. Pair it with some lardo and a glass of vino rosso, then settle in for a nice long aperitivo.

The USA

Garlic bread as we know it today was invented by Italian immigrants to America. Olive oil was uncommon in the States until the middle of the 20th century, but butter was cheap, plentiful, and was what Americans would have been used to. The first recipes for garlic bread appear commercially in the 20th century, such as this recipe from Photoplay Magazine in 1950, and this recipe from the 1947 Herald Tribune Home Institute Cookery Book.

But, if we move away from the shores of New York, there’s another kind of garlic bread that’s been eaten with chilli, catfish, and (presumably) Desperate Dan-esque cow pie since the 1940s - Texas Toast. Made by frying thick slices of white sandwich bread in garlic butter, it’s perfect for indulgent sandwiches like the Texas Patty Melt, or for soaking up pan drippings and cream gravies alongside dishes like chicken-fried steak.

France

Naturellement, France has a homegrown alternative to freezer-friendly pain à l’ail. The chapon is a crouton of bread rubbed with garlic that is used in salads, or as a stuffing for roast chicken. While chapon itself is a Provence term, these crunchy little morsels are found in dishes across the Southwest.

Not feeling salad? Just head up to the Loire valley for a Vendée alternative - the préfou. Literally translated as ‘pre-oven’, it was invented by bakers who didn’t have thermostats on their ovens, so they’d use a small loaf of unleavened bread to work out when they were hot enough for baking. Once the miniature loaf was baked, it was eaten by the bakers with salt, garlic, and butter. Today, the préfou is usually a baguette that’s been sliced in half lengthways and filled with a garlic and parsley butter - miam!

China

We’ve all heard of bao, but have you heard of bing? These flatbreads are a popular street food across the whole Middle Kingdom, from flaky rou jia bing to cong you bing. To make them, unleavened dough is folded into layers, with oil and other fillings added between each layer of dough, then rolled out flat and pan-fried. Go classic with a traditional scallion bing, or scratch your garlic itch with a jiucai you bing - packed with garlic chives and sesame oil, you won’t be able to stop at just one.

Lithuania

It’s not soft, it’s not made of white flour, and it’s not baked with an oven - but Lithuania’s answer to garlic bread is full of all its own charms. Kepta duona is popular across Eastern Europe and is made by frying narrow slices of dark rye bread until crisp. Once it’s cool, it’s rubbed with garlic and, optionally, topped with cheese or mayonnaise. Eat them by the oily handful and pair them with a local beer - or, if you’re wanting the full Baltic experience, a glass of kvass. Į sveikatą!