use real butter

Recipe: herbed garlic knots

Of all the friends I have made through blogging, the two people I hold dearest in my heart are Todd and Diane. The first time I met them in person was shortly after I finished my radiation treatment when I had a mere hint of fuzz on my head and my face was still puffy and swollen from chemotherapy. They invited me and Jeremy into their home and paradise of a garden for an evening of amazing food, great conversation, puppy time, many laughs, and a generosity that touched our hearts. Todd and Diane are my favorite kind of people – no bullshit, honest, straight shooters. We think of them as family. We weep over their losses and we celebrate their successes. I was beaming with pride when I opened up my copy of their cookbook Bountiful.

Disclosure: I received a free review copy of the book from the publisher with no obligation. Opinions are entirely my own.

todd and diane visiting us in crested butte this past september

300 pages of awesome

As I flipped through the pages of this hefty tome, I muttered, “They should have called it ‘Beautiful’.” And it IS beautiful, filled with their signature stunning photography and equally wonderful recipes. If you’ve been a reader of use real butter for any length of time, you’ll know that I draw much inspiration (and recipes) from Todd and Diane. They are always willing to share their incredible food and knowledge, making everything as accessible to others as possible. The book itself is organized by families of fruits and vegetables that they grow in their lush Southern California garden. I tagged so many recipes to try, but there was no question which one I wanted to make first. I’ve been eyeing these garlic knots for years and now I had zero excuse not to bake them.

the dough: flour, salt, yeast, sugar, olive oil, water

combine the warm water, yeast, sugar, salt, and olive oil in a large vessel

add the flour when the yeast is dissolved

let the dough rise, covered in a warm location

Baking and making sweets is fun, but what I love to eat are the savory treats. I’ll take a garlic knot over chocolate something or other ANY DAY. And how darn cute is the knot? Maybe you think the shape is mere aesthetics, but the knot provides far more surface area to baste in buttery, garlicky, herby goodness than a sphere. Also? A knot is far easier to hold on to than a sphere – less chance of it slipping out from between your fingers. I split the process up into two days. On day 1, I made the dough, let it rise, and then placed it in the refrigerator overnight. On day 2, I made the garlic-herb coating, and baked and basted the knots.

shape the dough into ping-pong size balls

set on a floured work surface

roll each ball into a 7-inch rope on an oiled work surface

tie each rope into a knot

I made half of the recipe, because I didn’t need 40 garlic knots. So the recipe I list below makes only 20. If you’re having a party, it’s easy enough to double. Working with the dough is fairly forgiving as long as you have enough flour while you shape the balls to keep the dough from sticking to your hands. Once you roll them into ropes, the oiled work surface keeps it nice and tidy. The only thing to be careful of is not making your rope long enough to tie into a knot. Small dextrous fingers come in handy for the knot-tying. Just keep at it. My first two began to unravel, so I untied them and re-rolled the rope a little longer. They’re super cute.

let the tied knots rise under a cloth until they double in size

brush with olive oil before baking

bake to a golden color

After the knots have been allowed to double in size, brush them with olive oil and bake. While the knots are in the oven getting their tan on, prepare the garlic-herb coating. You can mince the garlic, but I opted to grate the garlic to get more of the garlic exposed to the oil and butter. A note on the parsley, use flat-leaf (Italian) parsley. It has waaaay more flavor than curly parsley.

flat-leaf parsley, garlic, butter, salt, and olive oil

grating garlic

chopping parsley

warm the butter, olive oil, and garlic in a small saucepan

when the butter is melted, stir in the parsley

It’s best to toss or baste the knots when both the bread and the garlic-herb coating are hot to ensure thorough and even distribution. I opted to toss the knots and the sauce in a large bowl because it’s quick. Finish the garlic knots with some salt. A nice flaky salt worked beautifully on these garlic knots.

place the bread knots in a large bowl and pour the garlic-herb coating over them

toss to coat

sprinkle salt over the knots

These herbed garlic knots are so amazingly satisfying while they are still hot. Great for snacking, they are also excellent little “rolls” to serve with dinner. I think a sprinkle of grated Parmesan cheese would be lovely too. They seemed to have no trouble reheating in the oven on subsequent days, although they only lasted us a few days before they were gone. So if you’re looking for something with a little more pizazz than a regular dinner roll or you just like a savory bite to nosh on, you may fall madly in love with these herbed garlic knots.

homemade is the best

Herbed Garlic Knots
[print recipe]
from Bountiful by White On Rice Couple

7 oz. (210 ml) warm water (approximately 115°F/46°C)
1 oz. (30 ml) olive oil, plus more for brushing
1/2 tsp kosher salt or sea salt
1/2 tbsp sugar
3/4 tbsp active dry yeast
2 3/4 cups (340 g) all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling

garlic-herb coating
1 oz. (30 ml) olive oil
2 tbsps (30 g) unsalted butter
3 medium cloves garlic, minced or grated
scant 1/4 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
finishing salt (a nice flake salt is good)

Make the dough: In a large sealable container or bowl, mix the water, olive oil, kosher salt, sugar, and yeast until the yeast dissolves. Stir in the flour until combined. Cover the vessel and let rise in a warm place for 1-3 hours or until the dough has doubled in volume. Place the dough in the refrigerator until you are ready to make the knots – at least 1 hour and up to several days.

Make the knots: When you are ready to make the knots, set up two work surfaces (I used large cutting boards). Flour one board and lightly oil the second board with olive oil. Line two half sheet pans (18×13 inches) with parchment paper. Pinch off 1-ounce (30 g) pieces of dough and roll them or shape them into a ball. They will be roughly the size of a ping pong ball. Set them on the floured work surface. One at a time, dust off the extra flour from each dough ball and roll it between your hands to form a rope. Then finish rolling it back and forth on the oiled board (like a rolling pin) until it is 7 inches long. Tied the rope into a knot and place it on the baking sheet, allowing 1.5 inches between knots. Cover with a damp towel and place in a warm location to rise until doubled in size (about 30 minutes to an hour). Preheat the oven to 400°F. Brush each knot with olive oil and bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown.

Make the garlic-herb coating: Warm the olive oil, butter, and garlic over low heat in a small saucepan. Cook for 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the parsley. Remove the knots from the oven and baste with the garlic-herb coating while the knots are still hot or toss together in a large bowl. Season with salt. Makes ~20.

more goodness from the use real butter archives

italian sausage pizza monkey bread

stromboli

spinach cheese empanadas

parmesan bacon crackers

November 11th, 2013: 12:58 am
filed under appetizers, baking, books, bread, recipes, savory