No you don't. You can absolutely use a couple of cloves of garlic and mince them yourself or buy minced garlic in a jar and use a teaspoon or two of that. You can also use about a tablespoon or even 2 of freshly minced chives. The freeze-dried garlic and chives both have wonderful flavor and a very long shelf-life, so they are definitely a convenience but not necessary. You can even leave them out to just enjoy a lovely dinner roll minus the herbs.