Garlic Knots

1.2.2011

Garlic Knots

Most of my early food memories had to do with all the garlic dishes that my grandmother made. Preschool-me was so fascinated by the fact that Grandma smelled like garlic 24/7 and I was always so amazed that something so small could create so much flavor. My grandmother’s native Shangdong province uses a lot of garlic in their cooking so it wasn’t surprising to see my mom or my grandmother use up an entire bulb of garlic for a small dinner. Loving garlic is in my blood.

When I make something with garlic in it, I tend to go nuts and use way more garlic cloves than necessary because I love using it. Every time I make these garlic knots, I usually use six to eight cloves rather than the four stated by the recipe. Maybe it seems excessive (or maybe it’s not enough) but six is perfect for me.

You don’t have to use the same amount of garlic I used in these garlic knots but here’s a rough guideline. Ha.:

Guide to Garlickyness (based on number of cloves used for these garlic knots):

For 40-50 knots (adapted from White on Rice Couple):

Dough:

1 3/4 c. water (about 115F)
1/4 c. olive oil
1 tsp. sea salt
1 tbsp. granulated sugar
1 1/2 tbsp. active dry yeast
5 1/2 c. all purpose flour

Garlic Coating:

1/8 c. olive oil
6 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 c. fresh parsley, finely chopped
sea salt, to taste

Combine water, olive oil, sea salt, sugar, and active dry yeast in a large resealable container or bowl. Mix to dissolve yeast and then add the flour. Mix to incorporate flour, cover, and set in a warm spot to proof until doubled in volume (this takes about 1-3 hours). Chill the dough for a bit. Put out a large wooden cutting board and oil liberally. Line several sheet pans with parchment paper or silpats. Oil your hands to help keep dough from sticking to them. Divide the dough in two parts to make it easier to handle. Take the first half, slap it onto the oiled board several times to flatten. Using a rolling pin, roll it out into an even rectangle approx. 5″x16″ and 1/2″ thick. Slice the rectangle into 1/2″x5″ strips. Rotate the board 90° and sprinkle dough strips and board with flour. Taking the strip nearest to you, roll it back and forth to create an even rope. Tie into a knot (over, under, and through) and place on lined sheet pan. Place knots about an 1 1/2″ apart.

Continue making the rest of the knots with the second half of the dough. After each sheet pan fills up, cover with a dry towel, and place in a warm, draft-free spot to rise.

Preheat the oven to 400F. After knots have doubled in size, take off the towel and place sheet pans in the oven. Bake for 12-15 min. or until golden colored.

For the garlic coating, combine all of the ingredients together in a large bowl; I like to crush the garlic pieces a little bit in the olive oil for more garlic flavor. I tell myself I’m squeezing out the garlic essence. I don’t know if that’s true, but eh, whatever.

Once the garlic knots are baked, immediately move the garlic knots into the bowl with the garlic coating and toss while they’re still hot; Make sure all of the knots are evenly coated. Serve warm.