Garlic Knots

From Megan's kitchen

I don't know why, but lately I have been craving garlic knots and I have never even HAD a garlic knot. Some friends were talking about them one night and so the thought of them just stuck in my brain until I found this recipe, had company for dinner and a reason to try these out! They were so yummy and they were small enough that you could eat about 10. I don't know if you should, but you certainly could.

INGREDIENTS

Dough:

    3/4 cup warm water 

    1 package (2 teaspoons) of active dry yeast

    1 3/4 cups four

    1 Tbsp olive oil

    1 teaspoon salt

    1 teaspoon sugar

Garlic-Butter Coating:

• 5 Tbsp unsalted butter
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup parsley, minced
• 1 teaspoon salt

Directions:

    Put the warm water in a bowl and sprinkle the yeast on top. Wait for 5-10 minutes and then gently stir the mixture. Let sit another 5 minutes until it starts to bubble. In a separate bowl mix flour, salt and sugar. Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients and pour the olive oil followed by the water and yeast mixture. Mix to form a soft dough and then knead by hand for 5-10 minutes. Coat the outside of the dough with olive oil and put it in a bowl to raise. Let raise for 90 minutes or until double in size. 

    Cut the dough into four sections and work with one section at a time. Roll each section into a rectangle about 1/2 inch thick. With a sharp knife, cut the rectangle into strips about 1 inch wide by 5 inches long. Cut that strip in half. With each little section, roll it into a rope and tie it in a knot. Place in rows on your baking sheet. Brush the tops with olive oil (or be lazy like me and spray them with Pam) and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Let the knots double in size again. When they are getting close to done, heat the oven to 400 degrees. Bake the knots for 12-15 minutes.

    While the knots are baking make your coating. In a saucepan melt the butter over medium heat and add the garlic. Simmer the garlic long enough to get rid of the really strong garlicky taste. Add parsley and salt. Brush mixture on knots immediately after baking. It would also be quite yummy to brush them with butter and sprinkle them with cinnamon sugar!