Garlic And Herb Bread Dipping Oil

Make an ordinary bread into an extraordinary one by serving it with this delicious and fragrant dipping oil made with herbs and garlic.

Bread, something that my whole family is crazy about. Any kind of bread I bake disappears within few hours. Warm, just out of the oven bread with some salted butter used to be my boys favorite until one day this happened!

We were at a local Italian restaurant and they served this delicious Garlic and Herb Bread Dipping Oil with a very mediocre bread. Yes, the bread was really mediocre, but the Herb Dipping oil was just delicious.

My family who is very serious about the bread asked for seconds of the bread (yes, the very mediocre bread). The dipping oil was bursting with fresh garlic flavor and this with the mix of herbs and a good quality olive oil made the best dipping oil for breads.

Many Italian restaurants serve a tiny platter of this Herb and Garlic Dipping Oil with fresh bread as a starter. The flavors vary restaurant to restaurant depending on the herbs they use. There is no hard set rule of what herb to use and what not to use.

Just use what you like and skip the rest. The most important is using best quality of extra virgin olive oil. That is where most of the flavor comes from and using a good quality and also using extra virgin is important.

If you have the time, roast the garlic as it gives a different kind of flavor. This recipe for the Garlic and Herb Dipping Oil is a quick to make one and also very simple.

I used a mortar and pestle to blend my herbs and garlic together and then added it to the olive oil. I also used little red chili flakes for the heat and flavor.

What is Special this month

After couple of months, I am back to blogging with my dear 'Blogging Marathon' friends and I definitely did not want to miss this special month. What is special this month?

This is the 100th edition of BM and I am so happy to be a part of this amazing family. We are planning a BM 100 meet in India and I can't wait to go and see all my lovely friends.

I chose to make 3 recipes starting with the same alphabet this week and I chose the alphabet 'G'. My first recipe under the theme is this Garlic and Herb Dipping Oil for bread. This dipping oil is a very popular recipe in my house and I make it very often.

Almost every time I bake a bread, I make this Herb Dipping Oil as well. I first made this dipping oil with my very popular Lagana Bread. Check the recipe for my Lagana Bread | Greek Lenten Bread which is one of my top performing bread post and I have many positive reviews on it.

A piece of this Lagana Bread dipped in the delicious Garlic and Herb Bread Dipping Oil is the best combination ever. I used all dried herbs to make the dipping oil. If you have access to fresh basil and parsley, use them. I usually use the fresh herbs when I making it in summer.

The amount of herbs can be adjusted based on how you like it. You can store the olive oil dip in the refrigerator and just bring it back to room temperature before serving. The more it soaks, the more flavorful the oil is. You could also add a little more of fresh olive oil when serving.

Preparation time - 5 minutes
Cooking time - None
Difficulty level - Easy

Ingredients to make Garlic and Herb Bread Dipping Oil (Serves 12)

• Extra Virgin Olive Oil (Use good quality oil) - 1 cup
• Garlic - 5 cloves (minced)
• Basil (dry) - 1 tsp
• Rosemary (dry) - 1 tsp
• Oregano (dry) - 1 ½ tsp
• Parsley (dry) - 1 tsp
• Thyme (dry) - ½ tsp
• Red pepper flakes - 1 ½ tsp
• Salt - ½ tsp

Procedure to make Garlic and Herb Bread Dipping Oil

• Measure all the dry herbs and place it in the mortar or a bowl.

• Crush it a little using the pestle or you can use a small spice grinder or just the back of the spoon.

• Place the crushed garlic along with salt in the same bowl and crush it well together.

• Place this in a container that we are going to store the oil. Pour the oil over it and mix it well.

• Let it sit for couple of hours for the flavors to infuse and then serve with your favorite bread.

Notes and Observation

• Use the best quality extra virgin olive oil for the best flavor.
• If fresh hers are available, you could substitute them for the dried ones, especially basil and parsley.
• Use different herbs combination to try different flavors.
• Store in the refrigerator for extended shelf.

 If you made this recipe and liked it, give a star rating on the recipe card or let me know in the comments below. You could also share it with me on Instagram using #MyCookingJourney and tagging me @sandhya.ramakrishnan. You could follow me and my recipes on Facebook |Instagram | Pinterest | twitter