Simple & Delicious Garlic Knots

Honestly, I just heard about garlic knots within the last year…I know, I must have been living under a rock! I first tried them at a friends house, she had bought them at a local Italian market and reheated them at home. They were quite good, but I thought there was potential for more. Certainly, fresh from my own oven would be fresher and significantly better tasting.

Well, I have played around with a few versions and think these are a “must make” for you. These are nothing more than strips of dough, tied in a knot, then topped with a melted butter, garlic and parsley mixture. Obviously, you can switch up the herbs and spices to your own liking, but this version is a good place to start. Then, if you wish to be more creative, or if you have non-garlic lovers, adapt it to your own tastes. Also, the beauty of these is that you can easily do different flavorings in one batch.

INGREDIENTS
1 bag store bought pizza dough, or try my quick pizza dough
5 Tbs. butter, melted (or 1/3 cup olive oil)
2-3 garlic cloves, minced or 1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. italian seasoning
1 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 cup parsley, finely chopped
grated parmesan

DIRECTIONS
Bring the dough to room temperature. If you are using store bought dough, make sure you give it ample time to come to room temperature. I would advise, err on the side of more time, not less time. The reason for this is, store bought dough is not always the freshest and it needs time to not only come to room temp, but time to rise. Home made dough seems to get there quicker than a store bought dough.
Then, on a lightly floured surface, roll the dough into a long log, and cut that into about 14 to 16 pieces. Roll each of those pieces into about an 8″ rope. No need to be fussy or precise, they will turn out fine.

Next, tie each rope into a simple knot, tuck the ends under and place them on a parchment or silicone lined baking sheet. Trust me, this is not a fancy, or a delicate process. Check out this video or simply Google or YouTube “tying garlic knots” to catch a video of how it’s done. While lightly covered, let them rest for about 30-40 minutes; this will let them rise a bit and make for a more tender roll.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400º. Combine the melted butter, garlic, salt and italian seasoning, set aside while the rolls rise. When ready to bake, brush this mixture over each roll (reserve some for later) and bake for about 20-22 minutes or until lightly golden. Remove from the oven, brush with the remaining garlic mixture, sprinkle with the parsley and the parmesan cheese. Serve immediately and enjoy.

NOTES
First and foremost, extra virgin olive oil can definitely be subbed in for the butter. Both are delicious, try each one and going forward, go with you favorite. The other big variation is the garlic. I have done the fresh garlic (picture above), but I find that it tends to get a bit dark/burned, although it tastes fine. The granulated garlic or garlic powder does not have that issue and can handle the high heat without scorching.
Additionally, there are many other herb variations that come to mind. Add a pinch of crushed red pepper, if you like a kick. Add different herbs (Za’atar comes to mind), or no herbs, just the garlic and parmesan. You decide, whatever you like, whatever your family prefers. Play around with it and get creative, you can’t fail, it will be delicious.