Garlic Knots: This is a very easy, forgiving, no-pampering-needed types Italian recipe. Note that there is not a single reason not to try the knots! 😀
I tried making these for the first time, and again after two days, and it turned out absolutely amazing. The recipe is a very forgiving, easy, no-pampering-needed types recipe. The recipe steps and text might look like a long complicated one, but it is one of the easiest bread recipes I’ve tried.
I mostly followed this recipe by Todd & Diane but made a bunch of changes in quantity as well as some technique. But much of the credit goes to that particular recipe, and I am grateful to them for the same.
This Italian
Garlic Knots
Ingredients
For knots:
- 5 ½ cups Unbleached all purpose flour
- 2 packets Dry yeast
- 1 teaspoon Salt (I used sea-salt) Plus more as desired.
- 2 ½ cups Water
- ¼ cup Olive oil
- 1 tablespoon Sugar
Instructions
- The above quantity makes about 24-28 garlic knots. I used half of it in one batch and saved the remaining half, which I refrigerated and used after two days.
Knots:
- Warm the water. The temperature should be 115 degrees Fahrenheit. In case you don’t have a thermometer to measure, the key is to have warm water and not hot or cold water.
- Mix the water, yeast, sugar in a bowl. Gently stir it. Let the yeast rise for about 10 minutes. It is essential for the yeast to rise so that the bread is not dense.
- Add olive oil, salt. Mix.
- Add flour. Make it into a dough. Don’t overwork or over knead the dough. This is a very forgiving dough, doesn’t need much pampering.
- Cover the dough bowl with a towel or plastic wrap and keep it aside in a warm place to proof for a minimum of 2-3 hours. I kept it for about 2 hours.
- The dough will rise considerably – will almost double in size. Then chill the dough for 15-20 minutes. I did not refrigerate it when I made the first batch. It was still ok.
- Flour the surface, and remove the risen dough. Make it into two parts. I made garlic knots from one part and kept the remaining aside for future use, which I refrigerated and used after two days.
- Take extra flour as needed and roll one part of the dough into a rectangle about 6 inches by 9 inch.
- Cut into ¾ inch strips. Will make around a dozen stripes.
- Using flour, make each stripe into a rope and then gently make a knot. Place each of these about 2 inches apart on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or foil.
- Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Brush the knots with a bit of olive oil and place the baking sheet in oven for about 30-40 minutes or until done. The original recipe called for only 12-15 minutes of baking. But mine took much longer. If not sure, take one of the bread, break it and check if the dough has been cooked from inside.
Garlic coating:
- Finely chop about 6 cloves of garlic, ¼ cup of parsley.
- Heat 2 tablespoons each of butter and olive oil. Add garlic. Saute it. I let it burn a little bit for the burnt garlic taste. Turn off the stove. Pour these over the freshly made warm garlic knots. Sprinkle sea salt on top of it and serve.
Notes
- You can make more of the garlic coating just in case you want more of the dipping oil. I made double-triple the batch. It tastes heavenly.
- You can use oregano or any other herbs in place of parsley. In case you don’t have fresh herbs, feel free to use dried ones.
Enjoy!
Sujata Shukla
This looks very interesting Sonal! I must try the next time Im in the mood for a tasty snack.
Eat More Art
Thank you so much, Sujata 🙂