Knots Food

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.)

NOT-KNOTS

Steps:

• Grease a baking sheet with olive oil. Pinch off balls of the dough about 1 inch in diameter and roll into round balls, then place the balls on the oiled baking sheet. Cover and let rise for 2 hours.
• Meanwhile, combine the garlic butter and Parmesan in a pan and stir together over medium-low heat until melted. Pour into a metal bowl large enough to toss the balls in.
• Heat a deep pan of vegetable oil to 350 degrees F and fry the balls, stirring them so they cook evenly, until golden, 2 to 3 minutes.
• Remove the balls from the pan, then put them in the bowl with the Parmesan garlic butter and toss to coat them thoroughly. Serve on top of a salad or as a side dish.
• Sprinkle the yeast over 1 1/2 cups of warm (not lukewarm) water. Let stand for a few minutes.
• Combine the flour and salt in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Turn the mixer on low speed and drizzle in the oil until combined with the flour. Next, pour in the yeast mixture and mix until just combined and the dough comes together in a sticky mass.
• Coat a separate mixing bowl with a light drizzle of olive oil and form the dough into a ball. Toss to coat the dough in the oil, then cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and set it aside for at least 1 or up to 2 hours at room temperature, or store in the fridge until you need it, up to 4 days ahead. Bring the refrigerated dough to room temperature before using.
• Melt the butter in a skillet over medium-low heat, then add the garlic and salt. Cook for a couple of minutes to release the flavor, but don't let the garlic brown.

EASY GARLIC KNOTS

Steps:

• Sprinkle flour lightly over your work surface. Roll the pizza dough into a disc and sprinkle both sides lightly with flour. Cut the dough into 10 equal pieces.
• Roll one piece of dough into an 8-inch log. Tie a knot in the center of the log (by creating a loop in the center of the log and threading one end of the log through the loop to form a tight knot). Place the knot into an 8-inch cast-iron skillet. Repeat this process with the remaining 9 pieces of dough. Spread a clean towel over the skillet and place in a warm area to proof for 1 to 2 hours. After proofing, the knots should look slightly puffed.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• In a small bowl, stir together the melted butter, olive oil, kosher salt, garlic powder and fresh garlic. Generously brush each knot with the butter mixture, being careful to leave the fresh garlic at the bottom of the bowl.
• Bake the knots for 25 to 30 minutes. Carefully remove the skillet from the oven and pour the remaining garlic butter over the partially baked knots. Return the skillet to the oven and bake until the knots are golden brown and the garlic is caramelized, 15 minutes more.
• Sprinkle the knots with the Parmesan cheese, parsley and sea salt. Serve immediately.

CRANBERRY-BRIE KNOTS

Steps:

• Brush the bottom of a rimmed baking sheet with 1 tablespoon olive oil and place the pizza dough on top. Brush the top of the dough with the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil and cover lightly with plastic wrap. Let rest at room temperature until just about doubled in size, 1 hour.
• Cut off the rind from the sides of the Brie wheel, then cut the Brie into 18 equal-sized cubes. Set aside.
• Lightly flour a work surface. Using floured hands, shape the dough into an 18-by-4-inch-rectangle. Using a pizza cutter or sharp knife, cut the dough into eighteen 1-inch-wide strips.
• Shape each strip into a 10-inch-long rope and tie into a knot, tucking the two ends of the rope underneath it. Divide the knots between two baking sheets and let rest until slightly puffed, 40 to 45 minutes.
• Meanwhile, position the oven racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 425 degrees F.
• Cut a small slit in the top of each knot with a sharp paring knife and use your fingers to create a small well. Spoon a heaping 1/4 teaspoon cranberry sauce into each well and top with 1 piece of Brie. Reserve the remaining cranberry sauce for serving.
• Brush the tops of the knots with 4 tablespoons of the butter. Sprinkle with the Italian seasoning, 1/2 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of black pepper. Bake until the cheese is melted, and the dough is fully cooked and turning light golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Let rest for 10 minutes before serving.
• Meanwhile, stir together the remaining cranberry sauce and 2 tablespoons butter in a small bowl. Serve with the knots for dipping.

JIMMBO'S GARLIC KNOTS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C).
• Roll out pizza dough to form a 10x16 inch sheet of dough. Cut the sheet into 3/4 inch parallel strips. Then cut these strips in half making about 24 pieces. Tie each strip into a knot and place these knotted strips of dough close together in a greased pan.
• Bake in preheated oven until golden brown. Remove the knots from the oven, place them in a big bowl. While the knots are still hot, drizzle them with olive oil. Sprinkle with garlic, cheese, parsley, red pepper and salt. Toss well and serve.