Garlic Knots - Just like in the restaurant

Everyone in the house will come flocking to the kitchen for these-they are simply amazing and well worth the time it takes to bake any kind of bread from scratch

Ingredients

3 cups flour

1 tbs sugar

2 tbp instant yeast

1 ¼ tsp salt

2 tbs olive oil

¼ cup milk

1 cup plus 2tbs lukewarm water

For the glaze

3 garlic cloves, crushed

3 tbs butter, melted

1 tsp dried oregano

Directions

Combine the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, yeast and salt) in a bowl and stir. Next add the wet ingredients (olive oil, milk and water) and stir again just to combine. Knead the dough with your hands for 6 minutes-this is the magic number, not shorter or longer. If you have a fancy mixer, I’m sure the dough attachment would be great (for 6 minutes).

The dough should be smooth and elastic (I have pictures below of all the steps and what the dough should look like. Oil a clean bowl lightly with oil, place dough in oiled bowl and roll once so the dough is covered a little in oil-this will keep it from drying out. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit for an hour-it should have doubled in size when done.

Next turn the dough onto a very lightly floured surface and divide into equal pieces. Mine made 12 very large rolls, next time I think I will make them into 16 garlic knots. To divide the dough I used a sharp non-serrated knife and started at one end and tried to cut equal size pieces, the middles ones I had to cut in half.

Use your hands to roll each piece into a long rope (about 10-12 inches). Next tie the rope into a knot, then tuck the ends around and underneath to form a knot-ball shape. Transfer the knots onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, cover with a clean kitchen towel and let knots rise for another 45 minutes.

Take the end lying underneath the knot and bring it over the top, tucking it into the center and take the end lying over the knot and tuck it underneath and into the center. Transfer the knots on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and cover with a clean kitchen towel. Let sit for 45 minutes. While the dough is sitting, make the sauce.

Melt the butter (microwave is perfectly okay) and press the garlic into it, add the dried oregano and mix it all together. When your knots are nice and puffy brush the glaze onto them. Place the knots into a preheated oven (350 degrees) and bake for about 15-18 minutes. They smell soooo good. I guarantee everyone in your house will want them right away. They are best when served a little warm. These go perfectly with the veggie lasagna I just made! Enjoy!