Garlic Knots

This recipe is old because the rolls are made from scratch. I found lots that use canned products. Karen the Food Charlatan tells a story about her Mom giving them a typed up family recipe booklets as they went off to college. Had a table of contents even. Under bread I have a direct quote here to do it justice.

"BREADS:  Go to the bread aisle of the grocery store or day-old bread store. Pick out something that looks good, like garlic or French bread for Italian dishes, whole wheat or cracked wheat for toast and sandwiches, soft rolls for most everything else, though sourdough is also good. (Sorry–I don’t do yeast. If you want recipes for actual homemade bread and rolls, I suggest calling your aunt Shirley.)"

This recipe is from Karen's BFF Sarah's mom, Anne. Thanks Anne!These Garlic Knots are the perfect rolls for any special ocassion. They are chewy, soft, and have TONS of garlicky, buttery flavor! You can't eat just one.

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Ingredients:

For the garlic butter:

1/4 cup (half stick) butter

1/4 cup olive oil

6 cloves garlic, smashed and minced

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

1 tablespoon fresh parsley, minced (optional)

For the dough: 2 teaspoons active dry yeast

1 cup warm water

1 teaspoon sugar

1 and 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 and 1/2 to 3 cups bread flour Instructions:

1. In a large bowl or stand mixer, add the yeast, luke warm water and sugar. Make sure the water isn't too hot. It should feel like nice bath water. Not hot-tub hot. Let this mixture sit for 5 minutes to proof. You are "proving" that the yeast hasn't been killed. If the yeast has puffed up, you're good to go. If the water is still flat after 5 minutes, then toss it out and start over.

2. Stir in the salt, olive oil, and 1 cup of flour.

3. Switch to the dough hook if you're using a mixer. Stir in another 1 and 1/2 cups flour.

4. Knead for 7-8 minutes. Add the remaining 1/2 cup of flour a few tablespoons at a time if the dough is sticking to the sides and bottom. You want the dough to be smooth and elastic. It should not stick (much) to your fingers. Stop adding flour when you have reached this stage.

5. Grease a large bowl with nonstick spray or rub with olive oil.

6. Shape the dough into a ball and place it in the greased bowl. Turn it over so that the top half gets greased.

7. Cover with a tea towel and let rise in a warm place for about 1 and 1/2 hours, or until doubled in size. I like to let dough rise in the oven: before you put the dough in, turn the oven on to the warm setting for a couple minutes, then turn the oven off.

8. Once the oven is off, you can put the dough inside for a good rising environment.Once the dough is risen, punch down and let rest another 10 minutes.

9. Prepare 2 baking sheets with parchment paper, or spray with nonstick spray.

10. Divide the dough into 12 equal  pieces. I weighed mine, they were each a little less than 2 ounces. Roll each piece into an 8-inch snake. It should be between 1/2 and 1 inch thick.

11. Carefully tie each rolled-out piece into a knot.

12. Place each knot on the prepared baking sheets.

13. Cover with tea towels and let rise for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until doubled in size.

14. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

15. Bake the rolls for 20-25 minutes, until the tops are golden and the bottoms are brown. I used 2 oven racks and switched pans halfway through baking time. Remove from the oven and let the rolls cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes.

16. While the rolls are baking, make the garlic butter sauce. In a small saucepan, add butter, olive oil, garlic, salt, and pepper. Cook over low heat for about 3-5 minutes, until the garlic has just barely started to brown. Keep an eye on it, you don't want the garlic to get dark. Remove from heat and stir in the parsley. Let cool slightly.

17. Dip each roll in the garlic butter sauce. It helps to spoon some on top to make sure you get garlic in the knot crevices. Place on a wire rack. Serve warm.

Recipe Notes: This recipe only makes 12 rolls! It's not enough! Double it next time. If you are going to freeze these, skip making the garlic butter sauce. Freeze the rolls in a ziplock after cooling from the oven. To thaw, leave rolls on the counter, sealed in the bag, for a couple hours. Reheat in the oven on a baking sheet for 5-10 minutes at 350. Then continue with the dipping in step 17.

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To find where I stole this:

Google Garlic Knots The Food Charlatan