Garlic Knots

These are the fluffiest, most buttery garlic knots! Cooks of any level can make these easy garlic butter-brushed knots of carbalicious heaven, all from scratch.

The first time I ever tried a garlic knot was at a pizzeria in NYC’s Upper West Side, and I instantly fell in love.

It all started as a way to use up leftover scraps of pizza dough, but they bake up so differently depending on what you do with it.

You can take the same homemade pizza dough, and either have a relatively flat thin-crust pizza, or a big, fluffy bundle of dough, all determined by how you prepare it.

The garlic knot recipe I’m sharing is a variation on a general pizza crust, with an extra fluffy and doughy texture, which you can see here:

As you can tell from the picture, the interior is quite soft and pulls so beautifully.

The dough here is brushed with a simple pizzeria-style garlic powder butter, but you can also make a fresh garlic butter if you prefer.

I’ve posted garlic knots before, and did a fresh garlic parsley butter for those. The two taste very different and I wouldn’t say one is necessarily better than the other. It just depends on your mood! 

Step by Step Overview:

Start by combining quick rise yeast, warm water, and granulated sugar (optional) in the bowl of a stand mixer, and let it sit for 10 minutes, until foamy:

Add bread flour, kosher salt, and olive oil, and mix it up for a few seconds with the dough hook, to get it roughly combined:

Knead the dough for 10 minutes on medium low speed until it forms a smooth ball. It will be a soft dough.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rise for about an hour in a warm place, until the dough doubles in size:

Cut the dough up into 16 equal pieces.

On a lightly floured surface, roll each piece into a 6-inch long rope shape, then tie each piece into a simple knot:

The knots don’t have to look perfect, and they will puff up more as they bake.

Divide the garlic knots between two silicone mat (affiliate) lined baking sheets, then let them do a second rise for an hour right on the sheet pan, until they puff up in size:

Note: if you don’t have silicone mats, you can make a prepared baking sheet with parchment paper instead. If you don’t have that either, grease the pan well with butter or cooking spray. But I don’t recommend baking on an uncoated pan, because the dough will stick.

Brush the knots with a garlic powder melted butter mixture.

I simply microwave salted butter and garlic powder in a small bowl for about 30 seconds, but you may also combine them in a small saucepan on the stove over medium heat, until melted.

Then, into the oven they go!

When they come out, your delicious garlic knots should be lightly golden brown on top and very fluffy:

Buffalo Garlic Knots are a variation I’ve done that’s stuffed with blue cheese and basted with buffalo sauce, if you want to try some variations. 

I also serve these with Chicken Wings and Blue Cheese Dip if I’m making food for a party. 

There’s a full video below the recipe if you’d like more guidance. Enjoy!

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Garlic Knots

Servings: 16 garlic knots, or two sheet pans worth

Prep Time: 2 hours hrs 15 minutes mins

Cook Time: 10 minutes mins

Total Time: 2 hours hrs 25 minutes mins

These are the fluffiest garlic knots! Bakers of any level can make these easy little knots of carbalicious heaven, brushed with a simple garlic butter.

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Ingredients

• 1 cup warm water (115 degrees F)
• 1 packet quick rise yeast (2.25 tsp)
• 1 tsp sugar optional
• 12.5 oz bread flour, by weight (2.5 cups, measured)
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 4 tbsp salted butter
• 2 tsp garlic powder

Instructions 

• In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the water, yeast, and sugar, if using, in a bowl. Let the mixture stand for 10 minutes, until it gets foamy (this means the yeast is active and ready to go). 
• Add the bread flour, olive oil, and salt, and mix briefly with the dough hook to roughly combine, then fit the stand mixer with the dough hook and knead the dough for 10 minutes on medium low speed, until the dough is smooth and elastic. 
• Shape the dough into a ball, then cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap. Let the dough rise until it has doubled in size, which should take about 60 minutes in a warm kitchen.
• Lightly flour a board, shape the dough into a ball or rectangle, and divide the dough into 16 pieces. 
• Roll each piece into a long rope about 5-6 inches long, then tie it into a knot. If the dough is hard to tie because it’s sticky, roll the cut part in a little bit of flour to make it easier.
• Once you have tied up all the dough, split the 16 knots between two baking sheets lined with parchment paper or a silicone mat. Cover well with plastic wrap, a towel, or a lid (this baking sheet with a lid is one of my favorite kitchen things I’ve ever bought). Let the dough rise for about an hour, until doubled in size and puffy.
• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F, and prep the garlic butter by microwaving the butter until melted, and stirring in the garlic powder. Brush the knots with the garlic butter.
• Bake the garlic knots one sheet pan at a time for 8-10 minutes in the lower third of the oven, until lightly golden on top. To check that they are done, they should read 195 on an instant read thermometer, or you can just tear one open. Enjoy!

Nutrition

Calories: 114kcal, Carbohydrates: 16g, Protein: 3g, Fat: 4g, Saturated Fat: 2g, Cholesterol: 8mg, Sodium: 97mg, Fiber: 1g

Nutrition is estimated using a food database and is only intended to be used as a guideline for informational purposes.

Course: Appetizer

Cuisine: American

Author: Joanne Ozug

Post updated in March 2019. Originally published July 2014.