Hey Barb! Good to hear from you! Yes, we moved to Bethesda. I still have my home in Mass and Maine—will keep Maine cottage (hope to run into you there again next summer!) and eventually sell my MA home. Stay well!!

You moved?! Congratulations on your new home. Will you still be visiting Maine? Recipe looks awesome.

Thanks for your comment, Linda. Just as a friendly reminder, wheat bread made with a sourdough starter may or may not be Low FODMAP, the key here is that the bread is slow-leavened. Often commercial breads contain baker’s yeast–which speeds up the process and does not allow too much time for the fructans to be consumed by the yeast in the sourdough culture. It can be a bit of a trial and error process to find what works for each individual.

The baker in my local chainstore grocery tells me that that the same starter dough is used in their bulk baking “Italian” bread, French bread, sourdough, and “Vienna” bread. Mind-blowing because now I can confidently shop their occasional special prices. I still don’t eat a lot of wheat flour breads of any sort at the same meal, but knowing about how bacteria in the starter eats the fructans in the wheat has given me significant power to bring more variety into my meals.

On the other hand, gluten is not a problem for us in tomato sauces, but your readers may have trouble with concentrated tomatoes in sauces because each tomato does contain some fructose and there are a lot of them in the sauce. (Another insight from my nutritionist.). Traditional Italian sauces were not made with our modern sweeter tomatoes, so storebought sauces can have a much higher FODMAP load, sigh. (If you look at old old Italian recipes, the cook added a spoon or two of sugar because the sauce was NOT sweet.) Some years ago I approached the Minnesota Extension Service regarding low-sugar tomatoes for homemade tomato sauces and they were flummoxed, because common varieties have been hybridized for sweetness. They recommended “heritage” tomatoes because they precede the hybridization adventures of the later 20th century. For our home garden, our family avoids most moderrn varieties of tomatoes but we sure grow some interesting oldies and they make terrific sauce. Yes, I use onion- and garlic-infused oil in the sauces.

Best of all, if I can keep the FODMAP level low enough in the cheeses, sauces, and proteins, I can splurge on real wheat flour noodles for Italian recipes. So much more satisfying than “gluten free” noodles because they remain the same shape even as leftovers and they have “mouthfeel” aspects that keep me from feeling martyred by my gut conditions.

Absolutely, can bake these. I haven’t baked this recipe yet–would try 375 degrees F for 20 minutes (turn meatballs mid cooking time)–make sure cooked through–AFTER you simmer in sauce.

You are most welcome–and thank you!