Golden Knots Recipes

GARLIC KNOTS

Steps:

• In the bowl of a stand mixer (or in a large bowl if you plan to make the dough by hand), combine the warm water, yeast and granulated sugar. Whisk together. Let rest for 5-10 minutes, until the yeast begins to foam or bubble.
• Add the olive oil, salt and 4 cups of flour to the bowl. Mix with the paddle attachment on low speed until combined.
• Switch to the dough hook and knead the dough on low speed for about 8 minutes, until it mostly comes away from the sides of the bowl and is slightly sticky when you press it with your finger. If the dough is very sticky, you can add up to ¼ cup more flour, a little bit at a time, during the kneading step. Try to avoid adding too much flour, as this will make the rolls tougher. A sticky dough produces softer garlic knots.
• Transfer the dough to a large lightly oiled bowl and turn the ball of dough once to coat it in oil. Cover the bowl with a clean kitchen towel or plastic wrap and let the dough rise for 1 to 1 ½ hours, until doubled in size.
• (See step by step photos and video tutorial in the post above for a visual of how to shape the garlic knots.)
• Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Transfer the dough to a clean, lightly floured work surface. Press down on the dough to remove air bubbles.
• To make 24 garlic knots, first cut the dough into 3 equal pieces. Then cut each of the 3 pieces into 8 equal pieces by cutting it first in half, then cut each half in half, and finally cut each piece in half once more. You should end up with 24 roughly equal pieces of dough.
• Working with one piece of dough at a time, shape each piece of dough into a ball. Then, working on a very lightly floured work surface, roll each dough ball into an 8-inch long rope. Tie each rope into a knot. If desired, tuck the ends of the knot underneath the knot. Place the knots on the prepared baking sheets, evenly spaced.
• Lightly cover the rolls with clean kitchen towels or plastic wrap. Let rise on the baking sheets for 30-45 minutes.
• During the last 15 minutes of rise time, preheat the oven to 400° F.
• To make the topping, melt the butter. Whisk in the Italian seasoning, minced garlic (or garlic powder) and salt until well combined. Brush over the rolls. (If desired, you can reserve some of the butter mixture to brush on the rolls after they come out of the oven.)
• Bake the rolls for 17-22 minutes, until they are lightly golden on top. Rotate the baking pans top to bottom and front to back halfway through the baking time to ensure that the rolls bake evenly.
• If you reserved some of the butter mixture, brush it on when the warm rolls come out of the oven. Sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese and chopped fresh parsley, if desired. Serve garlic knots plain or with marinara sauce for dipping.

HOMEMADE GARLIC KNOTS

Steps:

• Whisk the warm water, yeast, and granulated sugar together in the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with a dough hook or paddle attachment. Cover and allow to rest for 5 minutes. *If you don't have a stand mixer, simply use a large mixing bowl and mix the dough with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula in the next step.
• Add the olive oil, salt, garlic powder, and half of the flour. Beat for 15 seconds, then add the remaining flour. Beat on low speed for 2 minutes. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. With lightly floured hands, knead the dough for 3-4 minutes (for a visual, watch me do it in the video above). The dough can be a little too heavy for a mixer to knead it, but you can certainly use the mixer on low speed instead. After kneading, the dough should still feel a little soft. Poke it with your finger - if it slowly bounces back, your dough is ready to rise. If not, keep kneading.
• Lightly grease a large bowl with oil or nonstick spray- just use the same bowl you used for the dough. Place the dough in the bowl, turning it to coat all sides in the oil. Cover the bowl with aluminum foil, plastic wrap, or a clean kitchen towel. Allow the dough to rise at room temperature for 1-2 hours or until double in size. (Tip: For the warm environment on a particularly cold day, heat your oven to 150°F (66°C). Turn the oven off, place the dough inside, and keep the door slightly ajar. This will be a warm environment for your dough to rise. After about 30 minutes, close the oven door to trap the air inside with the rising dough. When it's doubled in size, remove from the oven.)
• Use the video tutorial and step-by-step photos above as your guide for this step. When the dough is ready, punch it down to release the air. Using floured hands on a lightly floured work surface, shape the dough into a 16×5 inch log. (5 inch width really isn't as important as the 16 inch length here, no need to be exact.) Using a very sharp knife, pizza cutter, or bench scraper, slice into 16 1-inch strips. Roll each strip into 8 inch ropes. Tie each into knots. You can tuck the two ends of the knots underneath the knot or leave them out, that's up to you. Arrange the knots on 2 lined baking sheets. (Either parchment paper or silicone baking mats work.)
• Lightly cover the shaped knots and let them rest for at least 30 minutes and up to 45 minutes. They will slightly puff up during this time, producing softer rolls.
• Towards the end of the rise time, preheat oven to 400°F (204°).
• Stir the melted butter, garlic, Italian seasoning, and salt together. Brush on the knots. Reserve some of the topping for when the knots come out of the oven.
• Bake for about 20-23 minutes or until golden brown on top. Remove from the oven and brush the warm knots with remaining garlic butter. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and/or parsley, if using.
• Serve plain or with marinara sauce for dipping.
• Cover and store leftover knots at room temperature for up to 2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Freeze baked and cooled knots for up to 3 months. Thaw on the counter, then reheat as desired. (I usually just microwave them for a few seconds.)

GOLDEN KNOTS

Steps:

• In a large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast and 2 tablespoons sugar in 1/2 cup water.
• In a saucepan, heat the milk, butter and remaining water to 110-115; add to yeast mixture.
• Add eggs, salt, 5 cups flour and the remaining sugar; beat until smooth.
• Add enough of the remaining flour to form a soft dough.
• Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes.
• Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top.
• Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.
• Punch dough down.
• Divide into thirds; roll each portion into a 14- inch roll.
• Divide each roll into 14 pieces. Roll pieces into 9-in.ropes and tie into knots.
• Place the rolls 2 inches apart on greased baking sheets.
• Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes.
• Bake at 350 for 15- 20 minutes or until golden brown.
• Brush with melted butter.
• Yield: 3-1/2 dozen.

GARLIC KNOTS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°. Cut each biscuit into thirds. Roll each piece into a 4-in. rope and tie into a knot; tuck ends under. Place 2 in. apart on a greased baking sheet. Bake until golden brown, 8-10 minutes., In a large bowl, combine the remaining ingredients; add the warm knots and gently toss to coat.