Name: Homemade Garlic Knots Recipe
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 160 min
Ingredients: 3 cups strong white flour; 1 packet dried yeast; 2 tsp sugar; 1 tsp salt; 1/4 cup butter (melted); 1 cup warm water; Drizzle of olive oil (for greasing); 1/2 cup butter; 4 garlic cloves (crushed); Small bunch parsley (finely chopped); 1/2 cup Parmesan (grated); Salt (to taste); 1 can crushed tomatoes; 1 clove garlic (crushed); 1 tsp oregano or Italian seasoning; 1 tbsp white wine vinegar; 2 tsp sugar

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Homemade garlic knots are the perfect side to any Italian meal. You’ll love these with pizza, dunked into your favorite sauce, or as a side to a heaping plate of pasta!

Whenever we order Italian food in from our favorite pizzeria, we always order a side of garlic knots.

To be honest, the kids and I like them more than we like the pizza (which is quite a lot).

The hubs could go either way.

But still, with them being such a hit, I knew I had to start making them at home.

And this recipe is perfection if I do say so myself.

We’re talking about little knots of fluffy goodness slathered in a rich garlic butter and sprinkled with Parmesan and parsley.

It’s like a slice of the pizza shop at home!

What are garlic knots made of?

Garlic knots are made of strips of pizza dough tied into a knot, coated in garlic butter, and Parmesan cheese.

Ingredients

To make these you’ll need ingredients for the knots themselves, for the garlic butter, and for the topping.

For the garlic knots, you’ll need:

Flour– A strong white flour like bread flour. You don’t want to use cake flour and while these will work with all purpose bread flour is best.
Yeast– A full packet of it.
Sugar– Granulated
Salt
Butter– Melted
Water– You want it warm, not hot so you don’t kill the yeast.
Olive oil– For greasing

To make the garlic butter you’ll need:

Butter– You’ll melt it.
Garlic– Crushed fresh cloves of garlic.

For the topping you’ll need:

Parsley– Finely chopped fresh parsley
Parmesan cheese– Grated
Salt– To taste

How to Make

Let’s break down making these homemade garlic knots into steps:

Making the dough
Forming the knots
Making the garlic butter
Putting it all together

How to Make Dough for Garlic Knots

Mix the flour, yeast, sugar and salt together in a large mixing bowl with a spoon.

Then pour the melted butter and warm water into the dry ingredients.

Knead the dough by hand until a rough dough forms and then turn it out onto a floured surface and knead it for 10 minutes.

If you don’t want to mix the dough by hand, leave the dough in the bowl and add the bowl to a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook.

Mix on the lowest speed for 5 minutes.

When the dough is ready it should be soft and pliable.

At this point, make the dough into a ball and then put it in a bowl you’ve lightly oiled.

Make sure the dough is coated in oil and then cover it with plastic wrap.

Let the dough rise until it doubles in size, about 1.5 to 2 hours.

Forming the Garlic Knots

When the dough has doubled in size, line two trays with parchment paper.

Then, turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface.

Now use your hands to shape the dough into a rectangle of approximately 18 inches long.

Cut the dough into 18 strips.

Roll one strip into a long sausage-like shape of about 5 inches.

Tie it in a knot, tucking the ends underneath.

Place the knot on one of the prepared baking trays.

Repeat with the rest of the dough strips and let the knots rest for 30 minutes.

Making the Garlic Butter

While the dough is resting make the garlic butter by melting the butter in a small saucepan over low heat and adding the crushed garlic.

Putting It All Together

After 30 minutes, brush the garlic knots with about half of the garlic butter and bake them in the preheated oven for 20 minutes.

As soon as the garlic knots are lightly golden, brush them with the remaining butter and sprinkle the Parmesan, chopped parsley and salt over top of them.

Serve immediately.

Enjoy!

Dipping Sauce Ideas

We love dunking them in:

You could also make a quick tomato dipping sauce by simmering crushed tomatoes, crushed garlic, oregano, white wine vinegar and sugar together in a saucepan while the bread is in the oven.

Storing Leftovers

These garlic knots are best eaten on the day they are made.

However they will last two days if stored in an airtight container in the fridge.

Reheat leftovers in a warm oven for 5 minutes.

Do garlic knots go bad?

Yes!

Garlic knots can go bad.

Beyond loosing freshness, garlic knots may develop moldy spots if you don’t use them quick enough.

Tips and Tricks

• It’s better to use a strong white flour (bread flour) for baking bread products because the protein content is higher thus resulting in softer bread.
• Make sure the water is warm but not hot otherwise it will kill the yeast.
• When you are brushing the garlic butter on to the bread try not to add too much garlic as it does have a tendency to burn while the bread is baking in the oven. There is enough garlic in the butter to flavor it without having to add raw garlic to the tops of the bread though you could if you are a garlic lover!

Other Homemade Italian Recipes

Homemade garlic knots are a tasty way to enjoy the classic side without ordering in.

Make them and enjoy!

Looking for other homemade Italian recipes?

Try these:

If you’ve tried these HOMEMADE GARLIC KNOTS, or any other recipe on the site, let me know in the comment section how it turned out, we love hearing from our readers! You can also follow along with me on PINTEREST, FACEBOOK, and INSTAGRAM to see more amazing recipes and whatever else we’ve got going on!