Homemade Garlic Knots 7.19 It's Just Like Riding a Bike

“We thought you were the pizza guy. We're getting pizza tonight, with pepperoni and meatballs and sausage and those extra-crispy, cheesy garlic knots, and we're eating everything on the couch.”

Ingredients:

• 2 bulbs of garlic

• 1 ¼ cups whole milk

• 2 tbsp granulated sugar

• 1 packet of active dry yeast

• 2 tbsp olive oil

• 3 cups all-purpose flour

• 1 tsp salt

• ½ cup melted butter

• 3 tbsp fresh parsley, finely chopped

• ½ tsp salt

• ½ tsp pepper

• ½ cup parmesan cheese, grated

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

2. Peel back the outer skin of the garlic bulbs and cut off about ½ inch off the ends, then completely wrap the garlic bulbs in foil.

3. Place the wrapped garlic on a baking sheet and roast at 425 F for 45 minutes. Allow to completely cool.

4. While the garlic is roasting, prepare the dough.

5. Warm the milk in the microwave for 30 seconds. Then mix in the sugar until dissolved.

6. Stir in the yeast and allow to sit for about 5 minutes.

7. Meanwhile, mix the olive oil, flour, and 1 tsp of salt in a large mixing bowl. Once the yeast mixture has become foamy, pour into the flour mixture. Use a dough hook or your hands to form a smooth ball of dough.

8. Brush a bowl with some olive oil and place the ball of dough in the bowl. Cover and allow to rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

9. Reduce the oven to 400 degrees F.

10. Form 12 even balls of the dough after it has risen. Gently roll the dough into a log shape then twist into a knot.

11. Place the dough knots in an oven-safe skillet or a baking dish. Proof the dough for an additional 15 minutes.

12. Uncover the garlic and squeeze the roasted garlic out of the skin into the melted butter. Add in the parsley, ½ tsp of salt, and pepper. Then stir until combined.

13. Using a pastry brush, brush the butter and garlic mixture over the dough knots. Be heavy-handed with this, but save some for serving.

14. Bake for 15 minutes then carefully remove from the oven and turn on the broiler.

15. Add the grated cheese on top of the garlic knots. Then broil for 2-3 minutes or until the cheese has melted and become crispy. Watch closely so they don’t burn.

16. Brush on the remaining butter and add a dash of salt on top before serving.

Sleepovers with Lorelai mean garlic knots! I was originally planning on making homemade chicken nuggets for this episode. But when I recently was listening to this episode to wind down before bed (as one does), I heard Jackson mention garlic knots, and I immediately changed my mind! How could I turn down the chance to make garlic bread!

He says they are extra crispy, but I like my garlic knots soft and fluffy to be quite honest. So if you want to make them on the crispy side, just let them bake a little longer. I also didn’t go too heavy on the cheese because I wanted these to be different than when I made homemade cheesy bread from season 3!

Happy cooking from the Hollow!

If you missed what I made last episode, catch up here!