Garlic Knots

I love garlic. I think I get it from my dad. It is just such a wonderful thing on most types of savory dishes. The first time I experience garlic knots was at a pizza place in Park City Utah. The dough was soft and tender, and the garlic was in abundance on those bad boys. It takes a lot of garlic for me to say that it was too much garlic, but if anything has come close they did. Now don’t get me wrong they were fantastic and I might have wanted to eat them more than my pizza, but I knew if I were to make them for myself I would put a little less garlic on them. It has been about a year or so since that experience and recently I ran into this recipe and decided that I had to try them.  I combined a little of what they did at the restaurant with this already amazing recipe and had fantastic results.

Garlic Knots

1 1/2 cups warm water
3/4 tablespoon instant yeast (or 1 tablespoon active dry yeast)
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 teaspoon salt
4 cups all-purpose flour, give or take a few tablespoons

4-6 garlic cloves finely minced or pressed through a garlic press
4 tablespoons butter, melted

Parmesan cheese
Dried parsley flakes

In the bowl of a stand mixer or in a large bowl by hand, combine the warm water, yeast, sugar, oil, salt and 2 cups of the flour (if you are using active dry yeast instead of instant yeast, let the yeast proof in the warm water and sugar for about 3-5 minutes until it is foamy and bubbly before adding the oil, salt and flour). Begin mixing and continue to add the rest of the flour gradually until the dough has pulled away from the sides of the bowl. Judge the dough not by the amount of flour called for in the recipe but in how the dough feels. The dough should be soft and smooth but still slightly tacky to the touch.

Knead the dough in the stand mixer or by hand until it is very smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes in a stand mixer or 8-10 minutes by hand. Lightly spray a large bowl with cooking spray and place the dough in the bowl. Cover the bowl with lightly greased plastic wrap. Let the dough rise until it has doubled (this usually takes about an hour). While dough is rising melt butter and add garlic.

Lightly punch down the dough and turn it out onto a lightly greased counter top. Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces and roll each piece into a four to six-inch rope. Brush rope with garlic butter making sure to get a few small pieces of garlic on each rope. Form into a knot, tucking the loose ends into the center of the knot. Place the rolls on a lightly greased or silpat-lined baking sheet about an inch or two apart. Cover the rolls with lightly greased plastic wrap taking care not to pin the plastic wrap under the baking sheet or else the rolls will flatten while rising. Let the plastic wrap gently hang over the sides of the pan to fully cover the rolls but not press them down. Let the rolls rise until doubled, about 45 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Bake for 12-14 minutes until lightly browned and cooked through. Brush each roll with extra garlic butter (you might have to make more depending on how much you put on your rolls prior to baking) and sprinkle with parmesan cheese and parsley flakes (mostly just for color). Return to oven for another minute if you want your parmesan melted on top.

Recipe Source:Adapted slightly from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe