Friday, January 28, 2011

Garlic Knots--Another App idea for the Super Bowl

The last week in December, My Sil (emphasis on sister; the in-law is just a formality...) Tonja, took Kellie and I to Este Pizzaria in SLC. It's one of her favorite places to visit and she wanted to share. The pizza itself was superb, but it was the app we ordered that wouldn't leave my mind!

Garlic Knots!!!


I was in heaven! I love bread, I love garlic, I love to dip stuff....YUM!!
I immediately came home and tried to recreate! Of course I went to Google searching for recipes. Little did I know that Garlic Knots have become quite the popular little item! Versions were represented everywhere! Why hadn't I been paying attention?!??


Shame on me for slacking off!

Essentially, Garlic Knots are pizza dough (duh) rolled and wrapped into a knot and baked.
Then topped or tossed with a garlicky topping.
Easy.

I decided on WORC's recipe 'cause, come on...their
pics are gorgeous and I love that they made them at a cafe.

Since everyone is different and I like my stuff a certain way,
I did end up changing a few things, but this is your journey! Make them six different times/ways like I did! What can a few extra batches of garlic knots hurt?

(Actually, I was trying to recreate as close as I could to Este's.
Theirs were softer and less pretzel-like.
So my proportions and some ingredients are different.
Also, my method for shaping.)


MMmmmm!!....I'm eating one right now! They are great made ahead
and re-heated, and sublime dipped in a marinara sauce.
Last night I made them to go with
I could have eaten 12 dipped in that sauce alone!!
I hardly touched the chicken!!

Your SuperBowl Party peeps would love it if you made these!


Garlic Knots
adapted from WhiteOnRiceCouple
Makes about 3 dozen

You can mix these by hand but I use a Bosch mixer.

1 3/4 cups very warm water
4 tablespoons butter--melted
1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt (Costco has a store brand I like for cooking. This amount might be too much if you're using table salt. You'll have to be the judge.)
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons yeast
4 1/4 cups AP flour

4 tablespoons melted butter for tossing

4 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons minced or crushed garlic
2 tablespoons dried parsley (fresh is better, but I rarely have it on hand)

Maldon sea salt (you can just throw in a few pinches of regular sea salt, but I loved the crunch this flaky, beautiful salt gave the final product. It's pricey, but so yummy to use to finish things off. I ordered it from Amazon (free Super Saver Shipping item!) as I've never actually seen it for sale around here. So good on salted caramels and toffee!!)

Place flour, sugar and salt in the bowl. Measure out the warm water in a separate bowl and add the yeast. Let sit a few minutes until it begins to proof. Drizzle the 4 tablespoons melted butter over the flour. Mix together. Add the water/yeast mixture and mix until dough forms a ball. It should be cleaning the sides of the bowl. Dough will still be sticky.

Put dough into a large bowl that has been oiled with olive oil. Cover with a cloth and let double in size, about 1 1/2 hours.

I portion my dough into 1 ounce balls using a scale, but it ends up being about 34-36 golf-ball sized balls. Roll out each portion into a 7-8 inch snake. Cross ends and pull one end up through the hole to form a knot. They should look something like these:

You can either bake in cast iron pans like this, or on a baking sheet that has been oiled or buttered.

Brush with melted butter on the top and cover and let rise until doubled--about 30 minutes.

While rising, melt the unsalted butter and olive oil together in a small pan over medium heat. Add the parsley and minced garlic and let soften in butter/oil mixture for 20 minutes or so. Este's garlic was very raw and delicious, which I loved, but some prefer a more mellow garlic.

When rolls have doubled in size, bake in a pre-heated 400 degree oven for about 12 minutes. They should be browning on top.

Dump the rolls right off the pan into a large bowl and toss with the melted butter. Then you can either dress them with the garlic topping by drizzling it over the warm rolls and tossing, or individually scoop the topping on like this:

One way is messy and quick, the other precise, time-consuming and pretty! Either way they are delicious! If you have time, make a scrumptious marinara to dip into. So, so delicious!!


If you try them, let me know what you think!

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