Homemade Garlic Knots

Super soft homemade Garlic Knots have a garlic butter topping that is brushed on both before and after baking. These easy garlic knots can be made in a variety of shapes and sizes and are perfect for your next dinner or gathering!

Super Soft Garlic Knots

Hi hi! Just popping in here to share the recipe for these homemade Garlic Knots with you! These Garlic Knots are super easy to make - the dough is based off of my burger bun recipe which I developed a while back and have been using in everything. The dough comes together really easily (the mixer does all of the work), and they are fun to shape.

These easy homemade garlic knots are brushed with a garlic butter before being baked. They are then finished with garlic butter and fresh herbs once they come out of the oven for the perfect garlicky buttery bread!

What makes these Garlic Knots super soft?

These Garlic Knots are super soft thanks to the Tangzhong method, and is super stretchy from the bread flour in the recipe which gives an incredibly soft dough which can withstand being shaped into knots. Homemade Garlic Knots are often made from pizza dough, but I wanted to level it up with this soft and fluffy dough.

The Tangzhong method is an Asian Technique, and involves cooking part of the flour and water in a bread recipe to form a thick paste, or a roux. The process of making the Tangzhong gelatanises some of the starch in the flour. This means the flour is able to absorb a lot more water, and also holds onto it throughout the dough making process. This gives an incredibly soft bread which stays soft a lot longer than other bread does.

Tangzhong (which is a Chinese word) is made by cooking the liquid and flour together, while the Yudane method (which is Japanese) involves adding boiling liquid to the flour and leaving it to set overnight. The benefit of using a roux means that the bread dough can stay 'lean' - so very little added fat etc but still stay extremely tender and soft.

How to make homemade Garlic Knots

This homemade Garlic Knot recipe is pretty easy to make - there are two components, the dough and the garlic butter. Easy easy!

• Make the Tangzhong - The Tangzhong acts as the base of the dough, providing strength and moisture. I add cold milk directly to it rather than waiting for it to cool down.
• Mix the dough - All the other dough ingredients except for the butter go in. I use bread flour for strength, along with some milk powder for softness. The mixer does all the work for you here to make a super soft and stretchy dough.
• Add the butter - When the dough is developed strength, the butter is incorporated. The reason for this is to allow the gluten to develop before adding in the fat to the recipe, although it is not as important with a recipe that has a strong dough base, it is good practice!
• Rise the dough - I just pop the dough in a warm spot to rise. This usually takes about 90 minutes for me but just keep an eye on it. Go by the dough not the time.
• Form the knots - These knots use a super fun shaping method that I learnt from my friend Sarah's blog!
• Leave them to rise - Arrange the garlic knots in the pan and leave to rise until puffy. While they are rising, you can make the garlic butter so it is ready to go at baking time. Again, keep an eye on your dough here rather than the clock.
• Bake the Garlic Knots - The knots get brushed with garlic butter and then popped into the oven to bake. Once they are golden brown they come out and get drowned in a second round of garlic butter for a double dose of garlic! If you like, finish with a sprinkle of chopped fresh herbs such as parsley or chives, and a grating of parmesan cheese. Serve alongside some marinara sauce for dipping if desired.

Garlic Knots with Garlic Butter

I have a 'go hard or go home' mentality when it comes to making garlic bread, and these garlic knots definitely fall within the 'go hard' category.

I found that the best way to get as much garlic into them as possible was to do two rounds of garlic butter, made with melted butter. The first goes on just before they go into the oven, then the second lot of garlic butter gets brushed on when they are hot from the oven. I love this garlic butter, and use it on focaccia, garlic butter dinner rolls, and cheesy garlic bread.

The best way to get as much garlic flavour in without a super raw bit of garlic is to pre cook the garlic butter. What this does is infuse the butter with the garlic flavour. It also cooks down the minced garlic a little so that it doesn't have a super raw strong taste. This means you can and can load it onto the knots as soon as they come out of the oven.

The garlic butter goes onto the warm rolls, so if you are planning on making these ahead you can make the butter, do the first round before baking, then leave the second round off if you like. Then you can re-warm the garlic knots in the oven and add the garlic butter just before serving. They will be super good either way but this is just one way of going about it!

How to shape garlic knots

I borrowed my friend Sarah's method for these homemade garlic knots - instead of tying the dough into a full knot, you make a sort of twisted shape. I will try my best to explain, but you are best to watch the accompanying video to get a good idea.

1. Divide the dough into 12 pieces.
2. Working with one piece at a time, press the dough into a rectangle and then roll it up into a sausage. Making the rectangle first evens it out a little to help give you a nice even sausage.
3. Roll the dough into a sausage 13" (33cm) long.
4. Form the dough into a "u" shape
5. Cross one end over the other. You will now have a top piece of dough and a bottom piece of dough.
6. Take the bottom piece of dough, and bring it up and tuck it through the hole. Loop the top piece around to meet the bottom piece, and press the ends together.
7. Tuck everything in and round off the garlic knot.
8. Repeat with the remaining pieces. Transfer into your parchment paper lined baking pan.

This can take a little practice so you are best to practice with one piece until you get the hang of it, but I promise once you get the hang of it it is very easy!

How to make Garlic Knots ahead of time

You can make these garlic knots ahead of time. There are a few ways to do this:

• Make the dough ahead of time - Mix up the dough, then leave to stand on the counter for 20 to 30 minutes to kick start the rising process. Then pop the dough into the fridge to do the first rise! You can either do this on the same day (so make the dough in the morning and rise in the fridge), or make the dough the evening before.
• Make and assemble the knots and then do the second proof in the fridge - These only rise for 45 minutes at room temperature so you should be able to do the second rise in the fridge. I would leave them on the counter for about 10-15 minutes before putting them into the fridge. Remember to go by how the dough looks not the timing. I would not do this overnight, but would instead just use it as a way to delay the second rise.
• Make the garlic knots ahead of time and finish them later - make the knots and bake them, but don't add the second lot of garlic butter. Then, when you are ready to serve them, pop the pan into the oven for 10-15 min (at about 350°f / 180°c) covered with some foil. Then re-warm the butter and add it on top of the rolls just before serving.

Remember with yeast dough that the fridge is your friend. If something pops up and you're worried about over-proofing, just pop the dough into the fridge. I do this all the time if I find it is rising too fast and i'm not ready, or I need a little more time etc.

FAQ for Garlic Knots

Can Garlic powder be added to the dough?
Garlic does weird weird stuff when added to the dough and it makes it lose strength. I have had this happen to me in the past and it's very odd. So I just went for a double dose of garlic butter!

How do you store Garlic Knots?
I just keep them lightly covered or in an airtight container at room temperature. Because of the Tangzhong they should stay quite soft but you can refresh in the microwave if you want.

Can I substitute Bread Flour?
No. I tried it with all purpose flour once and it was like edible slime. It didn't go well. Bread flour is often called 'strong' or 'high grade' in other places! If you can't find it you could try adding some vital wheat gluten to the dough to help add strength.

Can Garlic Knots be made without a mixer?
This dough really needs a mixer! It needs to develop the strength for the knots to hold.

Do you have to use that much garlic?
Nope. You can use less if you want! Make sure it is finely grated - either mince it or cut super fine. I haven't tried this with pre-minced garlic but it should work fine.

How to substitute active dry yeast for Instant
If you only have active dry yeast, this recipe will still work fine, but you will have to change your method. Make the tangzong and cool to room temperature in a bowl with plastic wrap pressed against the surface. Then bloom your yeast in the lukewarm milk with the sugar. You can't use the cold milk to cool down the tangzhong as it needs to be warm to activate the yeast.

Can you freeze Garlic Knots?
I haven't tried it but I have frozen my burger buns and it was fine. Don't add the second round of butter to them (it will go weird in the freezer), then freeze the baked knots in a ziplock bag or airtight container. To refresh, thaw out then warm in an oven covered in foil, and then finish with the garlic butter.

How do I know if I have over proofed the dough?
If you have over proofed your knots, they will probably deflate while adding the garlic butter before baking. Then, over proofed dough doesn't do much in the oven as there is no gas to rise the bread. They should still taste fine they might just be a bit saggy. Make sure to keep a close eye on them when they are rising and give them the poke test!

For more recipes using the Tangzhong method, check out:

• Super Soft Burger Buns
• Hot Cross Buns

Recipe for Homemade Garlic Knots

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