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The Guardian

Australian supermarket garlic bread taste test: ‘A vampire would burst into flames just smelling it'

Warm, buttery, golden and unapologetically alliumy, garlic bread is the side dish that steals the show. In our house, it's a nonnegotiable part of pizza and movie nights and the first thing to disappear, usually long before the film has started. It's on the table when we eat spaghetti, on hand to dunk into pumpkin soup, and sometimes snatched straight off the baking tray. It's simple, cheap and makes people happy. To find the best supermarket garlic breads, I gathered my partner, my three-year-old daughter and a carb-loving friend and put us through a blind taste test of 12 different loaves, baking each according to the packet instructions. We judged each one on four things: how garlicky it was, its butteriness, the flavour of the bread and its texture (soft inside, crusty outside). We dished out extra points if a loaf tasted like real garlic or included herbs that enhanced the flavour. After trying garlic bread in every conceivable form – from individual slices to whole loaves – we learned which felt like home, and which felt like homework. La Famiglia Kitchen Stone Baked Garlic Baguette: 400g, $6.50 ($1.63 per 100g), available from Coles Score: 8.5/10 With its glossy crust and soft, steamy centre, this loaf looked as if it had been shaped by hand (possibly by angels). The butter was spot-on: rich but not greasy, and appealingly soaked into the warm bread, with a perfect amount of saltiness in the bread and in the butter. 'The garlic tastes really natural and vibrant,' one taster said, although we all agreed we would have loved a little more punch. The garlic might've held back, but none of us did when it came to arguing over the last slice. World Kitchen Homestyle Garlic Bread: 450g, $2.09 ($0.46 per 100g), available from Aldi Score: 7.5/10 If any garlic bread in this test could ward off the undead, it's this one. 'A vampire would burst into flames just smelling it,' said one enthusiastic taster. Generously flecked with real garlic and packing the boldest flavour of the bunch, this one fully committed. It looked like your classic pizza-night loaf, although the crust lacked the crunch of some competitors and the butter wasn't quite as rich. Still, the bread was full of flavour and the lingering garlicky aftertaste was just right. A very strong performance from the cheapest of the bunch. Global Bakehouse Value Garlic Bread: 450g, $2.10 ($0.47 per 100g), available from Woolworths Score: 6.5/10 This one channelled the classic pizza chain version – you know the one – with pillowy bread and a slightly artificial garlic kick. We watched my daughter pull the soft insides away from the crusts, just like we'd done as kids, and instinctively followed suit. Sadly, the butter coverage was uneven, with some slices swimming and others just dotted with the good stuff. 'This is so nostalgic,' one taster said, 'but at the same time, I don't want to eat more than one slice.' Not bad, but never a contender for the crown. Senza Gluten & Dairy Free Garlic Bread: 250g, $4.50 ($1.80 per 100g), available from Woolworths and Coles Score: 6.5/10 With a golden crust, soft crumb and a generous scattering of herbs and garlic, this gluten-free entrant definitely looked the part. The texture wasn't quite as springy, but it also wasn't dry or crumbly – a minor miracle in the gluten-free bread world. 'There are definite garlic bread vibes,' said one taster, 'they're just … quiet'. The flavours didn't roar, but this was a nicely seasoned bite with a subtle savouriness. La Famiglia Kitchen Traditional Garlic Bread: 400g, $5 ($1.25 per 100g), available from Woolworths Score: 6/10 First impressions were promising: a full loaf split lengthways, each half buttered and generously flecked with herbs. 'This is the garlic bread in my head when I picture fancy garlic bread,' said one hopeful taster. Sadly, the flavour didn't quite back it up. The butter stayed in a thin, shy layer that didn't seep into the bread, and the garlic was more of a rumour than a presence. It wasn't unpleasant, just underwhelming. Sign up to Saved for Later Catch up on the fun stuff with Guardian Australia's culture and lifestyle rundown of pop culture, trends and tips after newsletter promotion La Famiglia Kitchen Garlic Bread: 250g, $2.95 ($1.18 per 100g), available from Woolworths and Coles Score: 6/10 La Famiglia Kitchen seems to make garlic bread in every imaginable shape, from a rustic ciabatta to the baguette that topped our list. This one, a classic vertically sliced loaf format, wasn't bad, but threw us with a weird sweetness we didn't notice in their other offerings. 'Is this dessert?' one taster asked. The texture was fine, the garlic-taste modest. Strangely, our three-year-old ranked it near the bottom, and she's usually very forgiving when carbs are involved. Coles Simply Garlic Bread: 450g, $2.10 ($0.47 per 100g), available from Coles Score: 5/10 This was the garlic bread equivalent of background music: pleasant, familiar, and entirely forgettable. The loaf had a decent texture and looked the part, but the garlic barely showed up. It'd do a respectable job sopping up the leftover sauce on a plate of spaghetti, but you won't be dreaming about it later. 'It's the kind of bread you eat without realising you're eating it,' said one taster, mid-chew. Coles Kitchen Garlic Baguette: 450g, $3.20 ($0.71 per 100g), available from Coles Score: 5/10 Like the cover model for a garlic bread magazine, this entrant was glossy, golden and ready for its closeup. One bite revealed the bread's pleasantly soft texture, but then came the butter. So much butter. Our slices teetered on the edge of soggy, like they'd been luxuriating in a butter spa rather than being gently spread with it. 'It tastes like garlic bread you'd get at a fast food place,' said one taster, wiping butter from their mouth in between bites. There was also a slightly artificial edge to the flavour, but in a nostalgic, junk-food kind of way. Weirdly enjoyable, if a bit too enthusiastic with the grease. La Famiglia Kitchen Garlic Slices: 270g, $6.50 ($2.41 per 100g), available from Woolworths and Coles Score: 4.5/10 We all have our favourite style of garlic bread. Some are loyal to the soft, foil-wrapped loaves that come with home-delivered pizza. Others swear by individually browned slices, each one golden and crisp. This fell into the second camp, but didn't quite make it. Although we followed the packet instructions, the centimetre-thick slices came out of the oven dry and biscuity. With only one side buttered, the flavour wasn't as big as we wanted. 'It's got the same saltiness as cinema popcorn,' one taster said. Appealing, but more a butter-flavoured cracker than a piece of garlic bread. Woolworths Free From Gluten Garlic Bread: 250g, $4.50 ($1.80 per 100g), available from Woolworths Score: 4/10 This one didn't fool anyone: even before the gluten-free label was revealed after the test, tasters had their suspicions. The missing crust was a clue, and although the texture inside was OK, one bite made it clear that something was different here. 'It has a weird flavour, like I can taste the packet,' one taster said. My three-year-old took one sniff and backed away. Texture aside, there was barely any butter and only a whisper of garlic. A garlic bread in theory only. Woolworths Garlic Bread Slices: 270g, $3.30 ($1.22 per 100g), available from Woolworths Score: 4/10 Our three-year-old quickly declared this the winner and tried to eat all the slices we'd toasted, but the rest of us were less impressed. The bread was fine: crisp and golden on top, soft below with a decent texture throughout. But the garlic? Completely MIA. Even the butter was barely there. If you're after nostalgia, comfort – or actual garlic – this won't hit the spot. If you're three and thrilled to be handed a piece of buttered toast, it's a triumph. World Kitchen Garlic Bread: 270g, $2.99 ($1.11 per 100g), available from Aldi Score: 3/10 This one looked like garlic bread made for a TV commercial: shiny, uniformly shaped, and suspiciously perfect. Unfortunately, it also tasted like prop food. 'It's like someone sprinkled garlic salt in my mouth,' said one horrified taster. Another agreed: 'No nonna went anywhere near this.' Both butter and garlic had an unnerving artificial vibe, with none of the depth of the real thing, and it left a lingering chemical aftertaste. More science experiment than side dish, and weird given Aldi almost took out top spot with its much cheaper version.