Garlic Bread Knots…

Whenever you make pasta, seared or broiled steak, baked seafood or heck anything else, garlic bread goes great with it.  Except for maybe a smoothie…well you never know right?

Garlic bread is a simple yet flexible recipe idea.  There are ones with butter and garlic; butter, garlic, parsley, and thyme; olive oil, garlic, paprika, thyme and many many more.  Basically, if there is garlic in it, it’s a garlic bread.

This particular batch is a quick fix using frozen dough.  The kind I like for this purpose is the frozen bread dough from Bridgford, guaranteed to be at a Costco or grocery store.  Just take it out and let it sit in the fridge to defrost.  I let it sit for 2 days, but usually one is the norm.  It was very poofy because I let it sit longer.

If you have a marble slab for working with dough, great.  Otherwise, clean your counter and dust it with flour for a good surface.

Because the dough has already risen and been worked, it’s pretty flexible.  You can gently fold these into knots and even pull them a little to tighten the knot.  I like to leave them loose and they’ll puff up while on the sheet to fill in any spaces.

This will be our dressing that we’ll toss our baked knots in after they’re finished.

They’re just begging to be devoured.  At least I thought they were.  That might be why I ate about five or six…

Garlic Bread Knots

2 T olive oil
2 lb frozen dough
3 garlic cloves
1/2 t sea salt
1 T chopped parsley
1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese (use a microplane)

Set up oven for multiple racks and preheat to 400 F.  Divide dough in half and keep covered under a clean towel.  Roll out on counter into a 10 inch square.  With a pizza wheel, slice it in half.  Cut each half into 12-15 slices, depending on how thick you want it.

Take the ends of each strip and fold into a knot.  Put knots on baking sheets (oiling is not necessary because the dough should be dry enough) about an inch apart.  Repeat with the other half.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, rotating racks halfway through.   They’re done when they are browned, but not burnt.  While knots bake, mince garlic and mash to a paste with salt in a large bowl.  Stir in oil and mix well.  The mixture will be very fragrant.  Immediately after the knots are finished, put them in the bowl and toss to coat all evenly.  Sprinkle with parsley and cheese and toss to coat.

To prevent yourself from looking like a pig, avoid eating all of them

*next up…vanilla bean creme brulee…*