Garlic Knots – Tying together the Past & the Present
For 10 years my working life was swallowed up by a cafe/market where we made some of the most badass garlic knots around. Those combined with an espresso were my regular sustenance on countless non-stop, never pause for a breath days.
Garlic Knots Recipe
Screw the labor laws with required break-times, as a GM there is too much to be done in too short of a time. The garlic knots were the perfect grab-&-go nosh. I never got tired of them, never even tired of their beautiful aroma coming out of the kitchen like clock work, every day at 9:00 a.m
During this same time, I became obsessed with making breads. When we remodeled our first townhouse’s kitchen, we put in a section of countertop which was lower just so it would be easier to knead bread. However, despite these two loves flying together in my life at the same moment, I never once made garlic knots at home.
Past to Present
Fast forward to recent history; the years in the restaurant business are quietly tucked under years of photography work, my bread making passion had calmed giving way for other culinary explorations. However in the last couple years, due to blogging and certain clients of ours, the bread making mojo has been roused. There is rarely a moment when we don’t have some par-baked pizza crusts ready in the freezer and a batch of basic dough sleeping in the second fridge.
Through experimenting with techniques and observing our favorite bakeries production, I started letting go of the need to knead the dough into submission. It is necessary for some types of bread textures, but not for the softer, lighter textures we often seek. This mindset was further validated by chefs we met who had fantastic bread, as well of course by our community favorite, Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day. Bread making suddenly became simple, with quick prep times, and ever delicious results.
cheese cloth over knots during their rise
Diane said she was craving garlic knots. How could I not be after all the days those little bread beasts kept my stomach at bay and stirred by the fond memories of the ever-smiling Felix tossing the knots and bringing into them into the market still warm and room filling aromatic.
Making bread has a special life to it. Once the yeast activates, it becomes a living thing. I still can’t help but think of Bourdain’s recollection of an insanely talented but crazy baker who would call up in a stupor, “Feed the Bitch.. Feed her or she’ll die!” I tend to have a less crass attitude towards my doughs (and women). They are beautiful, nourishing, and ever a part of my life.
-Todd
How to Make Garlic Knots
Here’s some tips which I’ve found help make things easier when making these garlic knots.
1. Use a Scale. By using a scale you seriously cut down on clean up (just 1 bowl & 1 spoon needed to make dough!) and it is more accurate. It also makes it easier to substitute other flours, since the weight ratios usually don’t change much but volume does.
2. Chilled dough (even 15-20 min.) will be easier to handle than a freshly risen one (it is ok to still use the fresh one though)
3. I love our flour sack towels for covering the dough when proofing.
4. Oil and flour both are invaluable to keep dough from sticking. Usually I’ll use one or the other, but in the forming of the knots I liked using both in coordination. Oil the board, your hands, and rolling dowel to flatten dough into a rectangle. Slice into 3/4″ strips, then dust board and dough w/ flour to roll into a rope and knot. The oil is great on the outer surfaces of the knots giving a crisper crust when baking, but by using only oil when forming the knots, the dough slips and starts to stick to itself. The flour makes the rolling and knotting easier. If there is too much flour and it glides around when making the ropes, just dust of excess flour from the board.
…Everyone help settle a friendly dispute for us. Which technique do you prefer?
Above: Diane prefers to brush her garlic knots with the garlic butter. Below: Todd likes pouring the garlic butter onto the knots and tossing them inside the bowl.
Garlic Knot Recipe
Ingredients
Dough
- 1 3/4 cups (415ml) Warm Water (@115°F)
- 1/4 cup (60ml) Olive Oil
- 1 teaspoon (5g) Kosher Salt
- 1 Tablespoon (15g) Sugar
- 1 1/2 Tablespoons (17g) Active Dry Yeast (or 2 active dry yeast packages)
- 5 1/2 cup (700g) all-purpose, unbleached Flour , approx.
Garlic Coating
- 2 Tablespoons (30ml) Olive Oil
- 2 Tablespoons (30g) unsalted Butter
- 4 cloves Garlic , finely minced or crushed
- 1/4 cup (60ml) finely chopped fresh Italian Parsley
- Kosher Salt to taste
- plus extra Olive Oil and Flour for making the knots
Instructions
- Combine water, 1/4 cup (55g) olive oil, salt, sugar, and active dry yeast in a large resealable container or bowl. Mix to dissolve yeast.
- Add flour. Mix to incorporate flour, cover, and set in a warm spot to proof until doubled in volume (usually 1-3 hrs depending on initial water temp and warmth of proofing area). (A sunny table outside on a warm summer day is perfect for proofing!)
- Chill the dough for a bit (will keep fine in fridge for several days if you want to make the dough ahead of time) to make it easier to handle (this can be skipped if you don't have the time) then set up your knotting station. Put out a large wooden cutting board and oil liberally. Grab a rolling dowel or pin and oil. Grab a pizza cutter or something similar to slice dough in strips. Put container of flour within easy reach. Line several sheet pans with parchment paper and place within easy reach.
- Oil your hands to help keep dough from sticking to them. Divide the dough in two parts to make it easier to handle. Take the first half and roll out into an even rectangle approx. 5"x16" and about 1/2" thick. Slice the rectangle into 1/2" wide x 5" long strips.
- Sprinkle dough strips and board with flour. Taking the strip nearest to you, roll it back and forth to create an even rope. Tie into a knot (loop the dough and then take one end over and through the loop) and place on lined sheet pan. Place knots about an 1 1/2" apart. At first it may seem awkward making the knots but with a little practice it will become easy. Flour is your friend to help keep the dough from sticking to itself while forming the knots.
- Continue making the rest of the knots with the second half of the dough. After each sheet pan fills up, cover with a dry sack towel, and place in a warm, draft-free spot to rise.
- Preheat oven to 400° F.
- After knots have doubled in size, take off the towel and place knots in the oven. Bake for approx. 12-15 minutes or until golden.
- While knots are baking, make garlic coating. Gently warm olive oil, butter, and garlic in a small saucepan (if you like your garlic with less of a bite, cook it for a few minutes in oil/butter mix until soft & slightly golden). Add chopped parsley and set aside.
- After removing knots from oven, while still warm, either brush with garlic coating, or place knots in a large bowl and toss with garlic coating. Season with salt to taste. Best served warm, but still good when at room temp.
I tried this recipe this weekend and it came out great. My family loved them and ate half of the knots within minutes of putting them on the table. I tried both methods for forming the knots and the Sriracha method was much better for me.
Can I use garlic powder instead of garlic cloves & parsley? If so, how much?
Do you have any suggestions as to how I could make this dough using my bread machine? Thanks!
Sorry, we’ve never used a bread machine.
Wow!!!! Looks great! Love garlic bread or rolls knots!!!
Will be trying them. Sounds doable for me! :-))
Hi, I’ve never chilled the dough in the fridge before when making knots or breads.. I was making them for saturday . do I punch the dough down before putting the dough in the fridge ? or leave it big and doubled ?
Just leave it big and doubled. Have fun!
Thank you !! that’s what I did !! Now if I can just refrain from making them tonight and eating them !! they are my families favorite !!
Love Garlic Knots!!!!! I buy them at my local pizza shop. I know how to make them. Great!!!!
Love you site it is just Awesome. I am going to make my own Knot’s Fantastic!!!!!
This may be sacrilege- but have you ever tried this recipe in the bread machine. Hangs head in shame waiting for reply…
It’s not sacrilege at all. 🙂 However, we don’t have a bread machine, so understandably have never made it in one. Maybe someone else has and will chime in.
Please use olive oil, other oils do not substitute well. I’ve tried vegetable and grape seed and they are good, but not awesome like these. This is my favorite roll to serve with pasta or just finger food for game day.must also note they are not near the work they appear to be and Well worth making………
That is a good point. Olive oil is definitely preferable. Thanks Doug. Glad you love them and thanks for the feedback!
Looks great, its perfect for our thanks giving day!
Hi, these look so good. If Im making them for the holidays, at what point can I make them ahead? Or can I make them and keep to reheat the next day in a warm oven?
The best would be to make them day or at least that morning (in the restaurant I used to manage, the knots they made were baked and tossed at 9 am and they were still great at 5pm), but I know you’ll probably have a lot going on. If you want to make them the day before, I’d par-bake the knots the day before. Then finish baking and toss with the garlic coating the day you are going to serve them. A little extra oil and butter in the coating will help them get through a longer time sitting. Have a great Thanksgiving.
T
Years and years ago, I worked in a small pizzeria. The grandmother would make fresh dough daily and some of it was used to make garlic knots. After baking, she would “dunk” them in garlic infused olive oil then put them in their “travel bag” that had grated parmigiana and chopped parsley waiting for them. Give it a bit of a shake and they’re all set to devour. I believe I’ll use that method with this recipe. I can’t wait!
Just realized I can make garlic knots whenever I want. Goodbye, fitness. It’s been real.
Hahah Best Responce EVER!
I love these Garlic knots and this recipe is the only one I use. After they are baked, I toss them into a ziplock with all the olive oil, roasted garlic, and parsley. I pour them into a bowl lined with a bleached white cheesecloth for that rustic look (that’s how I roll hehe), and then I sprinkle with some coarse grained kosher salt! Thank you for the wonderful recipe!
I made these for my son’s 4th birthday for a pasta dinner in both knot and stick shapes. They were a huge hit with kids and grown-ups! There were plenty for a big party and par-baking them made the prep stress free and easy. These directions are very clear and the story is entertaining. Can’t say enough positive things, thank you!
If I’m going to chill the dough for a longer period of time, like overnight, do I need to punch down the dough after the proofing? Does the dough need to proof a second time after being chilled? Thanks!
Oops, missed the part about the second proofing!
Hi Ashely,
Handling the dough in making the knots is enough that you don’t need to punch down. The less I handle the dough, the better I like the texture. The crumb will be lighter and softer. And I see you’ve already found the answer to the second question, proof them after knotting.
We recently posted a sriracha garlic knot recipe with an alternative knotting method. Instead of cutting ropes, we’ll pinch off balls of dough weighing about the same amount and then form a rope and knots. Here’s the link if you want to take a look: Sriracha Garlic Knot Recipe. Good luck with your knots!
T
My family and I had very similar garlic knots at a little Italian place in Hilton Head. Amazing! From the oldest to the youngest, everyone agreed, these were the bomb! Unfortunately, the place went out of business and I thought I would never taste those awesome little pieces of garlic heaven. And then I found your recipe just by happenstance. Wonderful. Thank you so very much.
I made these yesterday to go with dinner. The only mistake I made was in setting them out on the table and turning my back to tend to the rest of the meal. My children pulled their faces from the screens they were viewing, came to the dining room and pounced upon them with the vigor that has forever made a parent yell “don’t fill up on bread!”
But these are not “bread”, not of the typical daily variety which these days contains many things we’d rather not ingest, these were “bread” in the way our grandparents and beyond had bread.
Simple natural ingredients, made from start to finish at home, with love, to be enjoyed then and there in the same moment they came to be. That being the case, I let them have there way and indulge a bit.
I tend to find that I end up at a place like allrecipes.com after searching how do you make “blank” from scratch or grandma’s recipe for homemade “such and such” but as usual the real gems lay beyond the beaten path.
The recipes they showed for my search of “homemade garlic knots” all included prepackaged, processed dough products. I was left thinking, who puts homemade and processed in the same sentence when the processed part is the main ingredient, the whole show, the reason we’ve come to the dance? Sacrilege to any self-respecting kitchenado right?
Well, needless to say, you came up in the search too, and my family and I are all glad I clicked. Your recipe is a keeper. As I write this though, I regret I left the house without packing a few with my lunch. Oh how they will be missed.