Garlic Knots

I don't know what took me so long to make Garlic Knots. They just might be my new favorite yeasted rolls. Rest assured, no vampires will be visiting your house with these around! 

These garlic knots involve sautéing nearly a whole head of minced garlic in butter, adding the solids to the dough, and then brushing the rolls with the resulting garlicky butter, once during baking, and then on the rolls when they are fresh and hot from the oven. 

These Garlic Knots are soft and pull-apart delicious, and if you happen to have any leftovers, they are easy to store and reheat. You can dress up the garlicky butter with herbs such as parsley or basil if you like, but I kind of wanted to go all garlic. 

The typical way to shape garlic knots is to tie the dough rope once and then possibly tucking the ends under. I rolled my dough into a fairly long and thin rope, expecting the dough to spring back. 

Instead, the dough was very relaxed, so I just kept tucking the ends over and over and ended up with rolls that somewhat resembled Kraków bagels. After baking these garlic knots, it was fun to pull off little pieces of the twisty and buttery bread and pop them in my mouth. 

To shape these garlic knots, you just flatten the dough into a 12 inch by 6 inch rectangle, and cut it into 12 strips. Then you roll the strips out into 14 inch ropes, and then shape the knots. The dough is really easy to work with.

I finished these with a little flaked sea salt. So good.

Since there is so much garlic in this recipe, I used a mini food processor to mince it, which worked fabulously.

If you are having guests for dinner, you can make these garlic knots in the morning to serve with dinner. After you pull them from the oven, let them cool for about 15 minutes, and then eat one (for quality control purposes). Let the rest of the garlic knots cool completely and place them in an airtight container. When you are ready to serve your guests, wrap the rolls in foil and reheat for 10 minutes in a 350 degree F oven. Your dinner guests will love them.

Yield: 12 Garlic Knot Rolls

Garlic Knots Recipe

ingredients:

• 9 large cloves of garlic, peeled and minced
• 3 ounces (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter
• 6 ounces (3/4 cup) plus 1 teaspoon water
• 10 ounces (2 cups) unbleached all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast
• 1 teaspoon salt
• Coarse or flaked sea salt

instructions:

1. In an 8 inch skillet, cook the minced garlic in 1 tablespoon of butter and 1 teaspoon of water over low heat until the garlic is the color of straw, about 8 minutes. Add the rest of the butter and melt it. Over a bowl equipped with a strainer, drain the butter into the bowl and reserve the cooked garlic. 
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk together the flour, yeast, and salt. 
3. In a 2 to 4 cup measuring cup, whisk together the 3/4 cup water, 1 tablespoon of the garlic butter, and the cooked garlic. 
4. Turn on the mixer, equipped with the dough hook, to low, and slowly add the water and garlic mixture in a steady stream. Continue to mix until a cohesive dough comes together, about 2 minutes. Increase the speed to medium low and mix the dough for about 8 minutes more. 
5. Form the dough into a ball and transfer it to an oiled bowl, cover, and let rise until doubled, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours. 
6. Line a baking sheet with parchment and set aside. Set a rack in your oven to the middle position, and preheat it to 500 degrees F. 
7. Deflate the dough and stretch and pat it into a 6 inch by 12 inch rectangle. Using a pizza wheel, bench knife, or chef's knife, cut the dough into 12 equal 1 inch by 6 inch strips. Cover the strips with oiled plastic wrap while you are shaping the knots. 
8. Working with one dough piece at a time, roll each out to a 14 inch rope. Shape it into a U, and then tie the dough into a knot, with a small open loop on the bottom. Wrap the tails over or under to create a knot. Place the garlic knot on the parchment lined baking sheet, and cover with oiled plastic wrap. 
9. Continue to shape the dough strips, placing them on the baking sheet, covering the shaped dough as you go. All twelve rolls should fit on a single half sheet pan. 
10. Let rise until puffy, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours. 
11. Bake the garlic knots for for 5 minutes. Remove the sheet from the oven, and brush each roll with the melted garlic butter. Rotate the sheet and place it back in the oven for five to 7 minutes more, until golden brown. 
12. Remove the pan from from the oven, brush the rolls with the rest of the garlic butter, and then sprinkle with the salt. Move the rolls to a wire rack to cool for 15 minutes before enjoying. Serve warm. 

https://www.karenskitchenstories.com/2018/04/garlic-knots-foodieextravaganza.html

Recipe adapted from Bread Illustrated.

Today we're sharing our love of garlic for Foodie Extravaganza, hosted by Caroline of Caroline's Cooking - see all the tasty recipe ideas below:

• Aïgo Bouido (Provençal Garlic Soup) by Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Alcachofas al Ajillo or Garlicky Artichokes by Food Lust People Love
• Cuban Cube Steak - Bistec de Palomilla by Caroline's Cooking
• Fresh Green Garlic Mince Bake by Sneha's Recipe
• Garlic Fried Calamari by Palatable Pastime
• Garlic Knots by Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Garlic Loaded Tzatziki Sauce by Hardly A Goddess
• Garlic Roasted Brussels Sprouts by Jolene's Recipe Journal
• Homemade Creamy Garlic Salad Dressing by A Day in the Life on the Farm