Garlic Knots
Adapted from Emeril
1 cup warm water (105 to 115 degrees F)
1 (1/4-ounce) envelope active dry yeast
1 teaspoon honey
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter
3 tablespoons minced garlic
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon coarse sea salt
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
In a large bowl, combine the water, yeast, honey, and 1 tablespoon oil, stirring to combine. Let sit until the mixture is foamy, about 5 minutes.
Add 1 1/2 cups of the flour and the salt, mixing by hand until it is all incorporated and the mixture is smooth. Continue adding the flour, 1/4 cup at a time, working the dough after each addition, until the dough is smooth but still slightly sticky. You may not need all of the flour. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth but still slightly tacky, 3 to 5 minutes.
Oil a large mixing bowl with remaining olive oil. Place the dough in the bowl, turning to coat with the oil. Cover with plastic wrap and set in a warm place, free from drafts until doubled in size, about 1 1/2 hours.
Combine butter and garlic in a small saucepan over low heat. Cook until the garlic is fragrant and tender, 3 to 4 minutes. Cover, remove from the heat and set aside. Keep warm.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F and lightly grease 2 large baking sheets. Set aside.
Remove risen dough from the bowl and place on a lightly floured surface. Using a lightly floured rolling pin, roll dough out into a large rectangle, about 16 by 12 inches. Brush the dough lightly with the olive oil. Cut the dough in half lengthwise and then cut crosswise into strips about 1 1/4 inches wide. Tie each strip loosely into a knot, stretching gently if necessary and folding ends under, and place on prepared baking sheets about 2-inches apart. Sprinkle the tops of the knots with salt. Cover with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel and let rise in a warm, draft-free place for about 30 minutes.
Bake until golden brown and risen, about 20 minutes. Transfer to a large mixing bowl and toss gently with the warm garlic butter and parsley. Add salt to taste if necessary. Serve immediately.
My Notes:
So, we got pizza brought to us at work the other day, and I suddenly had a craving for the garlic knots that came with it. So, I searched for a recipe, and this was the result. They were pretty good... I used some pizza sauce (spaghetti sauce mixed with Italian seasoning to spice it up) to dip and they turned out pretty good.
One qualm that I have is that all the pizza dough recipes I've tried result in a white crust... it doesn't brown for anything in the oven. I left the knots in there for an extra 15-20 minutes, and they still didn't brown. It's incredibly annoying. I also messed up the recipe at first, and added all the flour at once, so my first try resulted in some incredibly dense dough. I tried again, following the directions this time, and it came out good.
