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Chewy and delicious Homemade Garlic Knots! This yeasted dough recipe is straightforward and sure to be a big hit with your family and friends! And the dough is freezer-friendly!
Garlic Knots Recipe from Scratch
As an Italian woman, and carb lover, I am a HUGE fan of garlic knots. So learning to make garlic knots from scratch was one of my top priorities this year. And guess what? I learned and perfected this recipe way faster than I thought I would. Turns out making bread knots is NOT hard. Like, at all. And they’re made with super basic ingredients you probably have in your kitchen right now!
They’re delicious on their own, but I love serving them with penne arrabbiata and a big batch of easy baked meatballs!
How to make Garlic Knots
Alright, it’s time to get down to business! And today’s business is teaching you exactly how to make homemade garlic knots. If you’re new to making homemade bread recipes, don’t fret!!!
Working with yeast is not super complicated! But there are quite a few steps, so make sure you take the time to read through the entire recipe before getting started. I also recommend reading through the ingredient list to making sure you have everything on hand!
How to Shape Garlic Knots
- You’ll want to divide your dough into 2 equal pieces. After you divide the dough, let it rest for 10 minutes before you begin shaping.
- Next, sprinkle the top of each round of dough with a little flour. Slice each round into quarters.
- Press each quarter into a rectangle, then slice in half again. You should have 16 pieces of dough. Dust each piece with a little flour and quickly shape into individual balls.
- Roll out each ball into a long rope then tie it into a knot. Place the knots on the prepared baking sheet, covered loosely with plastic wrap, and set aside for 30 minutes.The knots will rise a little more during this time.
Once the dough has been shaped, you’ll place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake them until golden brown. Then you’ll brush them with a delicious garlic butter and sprinkle with parmesan cheese. If you want extra flavorful garlic knots, you can brush them with melted butter and herbs before and after baking. Just note they’ll be a little darker in color if you do this. But will taste even more like garlic bread!
This recipe calls for bread flour.
Bread flour is a high-gluten flour that has a tiny amount of barley flour and vitamin C added. The barley flour helps the yeast activate, and the vitamin C increases the elasticity of the gluten and its ability to retain gas as the dough rises and bakes. Bread flour is typically used in pizza dough and garlic knot recipes because of the chewiness that the extra gluten provides. I did test this recipe with all-purpose flour and unfortunately the results were tough, dry, and utterly disappointing.
Moral of the story? If you want soft, chewy, and incredibly delicious garlic knots, don’t skip the bread flour!
Can I freeze the dough?
Yes! If you’re in a time crunch, I suggest making the dough ahead of time and freezing it. Then simply thaw and continue with the following steps as directed in the recipe. I always keep a batch of this dough hidden in the back of my freezer for when a garlic knot craving strikes!
These garlic knots are super delicious on their own – especially straight from the oven – but also go great with a side of marinara sauce. You can check out my homemade marinara sauce here.
Next, try my Soft Pretzel Garlic Knots!!!
If you try this garlic knots recipe from scratch, I’d love to hear about it! Leave a comment below and don’t forget to snap a pic and tag it #bakerbynature on Instagram! ♥
Homemade Garlic Knots
Ingredients
For the dough:
- 3 and 3/4 cups bread flour
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons granulated sugar
- 1 envelope active dry yeast
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 1/2 cups warm water, 110 - 115 degrees (F)
- 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons olive oil, divided
For the garlic coating:
- 1 stick unsalted butter
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 cup fresh parsley, minced
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons garlic salt
- 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
Instructions
For the dough:
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook add the bread flour, sugar, yeast and salt; gently whisk to combine. Turn mixer on low speed and add the warm water and 2 tablespoons of the olive oil; beat until the dough forms a ball around the hook. If the dough is super sticky, add additional flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the dough comes together in a solid ball. If the dough is too dry, add additional water, 1 tablespoon at a time. Scrape the dough onto a lightly floured surface and gently knead into a smooth, firm ball.
- Grease a large bowl with the remaining 2 teaspoons olive oil. Add the dough, cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and place the bowl in a warm area to rise for 90 minutes, or until it has doubled in size.
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and divide it into 2 equal pieces. Place each round of dough onto a piece plastic wrap and let them rest for 10 minutes. Dust the top of each round of dough with a light sprinkling of flour and, using a sharp knife, slice each into quarters. Press each quarter into a rectangle, then slice in half again. You should have 16 pieces of dough. Dust each piece with a little flour and quickly shape into individual balls. Roll out each ball into a long rope then tie it into a knot. Place the knots on the prepared baking sheet, covered loosely with plastic wrap, and set aside for 30 minutes.The knots will rise a little more during this time.
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees (F). When the 30 minutes are up, remove the plastic wrap and place the garlic knots in the preheated oven. Bake for 20 minutes, or until knots are golden brown and firm.
- Cool for 5 minutes, then brush the freshly baked knots with the garlic coating. Sprinkle with cheese and serve warm!
For the garlic coating:
- Melt the butter in a small pan over medium-low heat. Add in the garlic and simmer for 1-2 minutes, or until fragrant (be sure not to over cook it here). Add in the parsley and garlic salt and stir to combine. Taste to season (add more salt, if needed), then remove from heat. Set aside until needed.
Notes
- For darker and more flavorful garlic knots, brush garlic coating on knots before and after baking.
- To freeze: Make garlic knots as instructed, but preheat your oven to 275 degrees. Bake garlic knots for 16 minutes. Don’t worry that the rolls look pale in color and slightly undercooked. Remove from the oven and cool completely. Then flash freeze on a sheet pan until they are frozen solid, about 3 hours. Transfer frozen garlic knots to a freezer safe bag and place in the freezer for up to 2 months. When you’re ready to warm and serve, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Then bake the frozen garlic knots until they are lightly golden brown and warm in the middle, about 10 to 15 minutes. Brush with garlic butter and serve.
I love knotted rolls—and your garlic version looks fabulous!!
Thank you, Liz!
Thank you for the recipe Ashley. The bread knots turned out perfectly! I posted the knots on my IG feed about an hour ago and credited you for the recipe. Have a wonderful weekend!
So happy to hear it, David!
Great recipe but I’m not sure if I’m doing something wrong, the inside of the knots is a bit dry? Maybe I’ll moisten the dough a tiny bit next time before I knot it, still tastes way better than the garlic knots at the local places near me!!
aghhhhhh SO GOOD! Pinning because these are garlic knot perfection!
Thank you, Kayle! They’re soooo addicting 😉
OMG these knots look so perfect!! I’m an absolute sucker for garlic knots (growing up on LI will do that to a girl) and I haven’t made them in years. Guess this is a sign… (pinned!!)
Hahaha I feel the same way about growing up in Philly 😉 Garlic knots for life! I hope you love them!
Quick question! How many oz of yeast? I have packets in several sizes! Thanks!
Hi Oana. I use 0.25 ounce packets 😉
Any trick to making the knot?
Hi Mary. I just roll them into a rope, fold one end around my hand and loop the other side in. They always come out slightly different in size and shape… but always delicious 😉
On the menu tonite.
Yay! How did they turn out?
I made these, as a part of the menu for our Mothers Day dinner. My mom (and everyone else in attendance) loved them. They were delish and quite pretty. Thanks so much for sharing your recipe!
Awesome recipe! I will definitely try it later!
These turned out perfect when I made them as garlic knots, even better it’s hands down the best pizza dough I have found.
Looking at the pics, it looks like you brush them before they go into the oven, but I don’t see that in the recipe.
It’s optional. They mention it somewhere else.
YUMM!!! I can’t wait to make these this week! I was wondering if you could freeze an extra batch for another date. Would you freeze before or after baking?
I made these tonight for my family, and they are delicious! I definitely ate more than I should. I’ve seen similar recipes on Pinterest using store-bought dough, so I really liked this recipe that I can make from scratch. Definitely a keeper! Thanks for sharing the recipe.
My only comment about the recipe is that for me, and my oven, 450 degrees for 20 minutes is a long time for these rolls. Mine definitely baked for less time, maybe 13-15 minutes.
I made these last night. They were delicious. Thanks for posting!
I am planning to make these knots for dinner tonight. One question: the photo looks like you brushed the garlic coating on prior to baking; the instructions call for baking for 20′ then brushing the garlic coating on after’. I can clearly follow directions, but the photo looks like the garlic coating is on top of completely uncooked knots. Can you clarify, please?
I am looking forward to making these…
Hi Jeff. There’s a little note at the very bottom of the post about this. You can brush the garlic coating on before and after if you’d like darker, more flavorful garlic knots 🙂 I can’t wait to hear how they turn out!
Well then, I shall be brushing twice. Thanks for the clarification, and sorry I didn’t read the NOTE at the bottom.
No problem at all 🙂 I personally love them dark and really chewy, so I brush twice too!
These garlic knots were fantastic! Thank you!
I made these garlic knots the other day and they were wonderful, but i don’t know if it’s just me but they’re fantastic fresh out of the oven but mine turned “tough” and hard after they cooled down/left covered in the oven over night. And yes i have reheated them but they’re still on the tougher side. Am i doing something wrong?
At what point can you freeze the dough?
I’m also interested to know – at what step it’s suggested to freeze the dough?
I made these, followed the recipe exactly, but they came out perfectly baked on top and burnt on the bottom (they were NOT towards the bottom of the oven). I was very disappointed after spending most of my morning on them 🙁 anyone else have this problem?
I used to be a professional baker. Here is my advice for you about this:
It is your oven. My oven at home also has this problem. Just put them higher in the oven (I bake a lot of things in the top third of the oven.) Or you can double up the sheet pans when you bake. I hope this helps someone!
Could you make the dough and then freeze them? Thaw them and bake them at a later time?
These were wonderful! I’m baking these with a few tweaks for the higher altitude I’m at and they turned out great! My in-laws request these every time they know I’m coming over now.
They are delicious! I just wanted to share that I really wanted to make this recipe but did not have bread flour. I could have gone to the store, but I was just being lazy. I read your post about how the all purpose flour makes them too tough/hard, so I cut down the all purpose flour amount to 3 cups instead of 3 + 3/4 cups. I also used my bread machine on the dough cycle (because again, I was being lazy). They came out great. I baked them for 15 minutes, and the bottoms were a dark brown (but still yummy), so next time I will only cook for 13 minutes. My family loved them. Thanks again for the recipe.
These are sooo delish!! Had them with a big bowl of sauce and salad….pure perfection
I made these for a Cub Scout Blue and Gold Spaghetti dinner last night. They were inhaled. Even with the garlic, the kids were fighting adults for them. Crowd pleaser for sure
These ate fabulous! Thank you for the recipe. I had to adjust the measurement to UK grams but they turned out great. I posted a picture on Instagram and tagged you.
Yay! I’m so happy they were a hit, Michelle! And thank you for sharing on Insta as well 🙂
I’m so going to have to try these!
One question has anyone tried to freeze them before baking? SO they can just be pulled out and popped into the oven for a fast week night dinner?
Thanks
Made these for the sixth time tonight and they are still a hit! Thanks for a great, easy recipe. Even with all-purpose they are still delish- the bread flour does make them more tender though.
Wow that’s AWESOME!!! I really need to make them again soon 🙂
Would I need to do anything differently if I wanted to double this recipe? They turned out great, but were gone in three hours! Would they turn out the same if I doubled them?
Can I use instant dry yeast imdtrad of active yeast? How much of it should I put in the recipe? Thanks!
Made these yesterday and they turned out PERFECT. I made them smaller though so doubled the count – 32 in all. Everyone at the dinner party loved them! Thank you Ashley for a wonderful recipe!
Yay! So happy to hear it, Aasa 🙂
They look sssoooo yummy but I don’t have a bowl mixer.., I do have the bread prong. Will results be the same? II’ve read everything.. Headed to store for bread flour.. Then game on.. I can taste them now. 🙂
These knots were just perfect for after school snacks for my children. Added a few bacon bits to the dough and it was even yummier!
These came out so perfect. The kids enjoyed it.. Of course they said we are never buying restaurant knots again . Made mine with vegan butter.
These were a hit! Will be making again for sure!
Made these today with all purpose flour and they turned out great! They are quite lovely, as well!
I read through the comments and have the same question as others – at what point would you freeze them? After shaping but before baking? If so, do you defrost in the refrigerator overnight? I plan on making them today!
At what point in the process do you freeze them? When it’s one big batch of dough? After they’ve been formed into knots? Or after the knots proof?
I’m making these tonight, but am curious if they have to be served fresh? Is there a stage where I can refrigerate them safely to cook tomorrow? At what point can you freeze them?
So many recipes call for big mixer and dough hook. I don’t have one and don’t want to buy or store one. Any other directions that might enable me to make this recipe?
Is it possible to make thee without as big mixer and bread hook?
I needed this by hand! A little inconvenient as it really does stick at first, but if you don’t mind it then it works just as well! mine came out perfect.
amazing. nothing else even comes close.
These garlic knots are so fail proof! I started off by trying to half the recipe and added the full amount of water accidentally. I quickly added the rest of the ingredients to make up for the water. I froze half of the dough because I didn’t want that many at once. Oh my. The first ones were so amazing I thawed out the dough the next day and they were just as good if not better! Thank you for the recipe. I did not want to use canned biscuits like most recipes call for.
Hi, I don’t have a thermometer to check the water temp to add to the yeast to activate it. How do I know if the water is hot enough but not too hot? Thank you.
Could I use all-purpose flour instead of bread flour? How much of a difference would it make?
I have made these 4 times in the last 2 months. They are AMAZING! I have recommended your recipe to all my friends. I’m making them again today to take to a friends for a social distancing dinner.
Tried this recipe and it turned out so good! I did not have bread flour at the moment so I had to use all-purpose flour. It’s still very tasty! We could keep eating this over and over again! Also don’t be stingy with the garlic – if you love garlic flavor, the more the better in my opinion!
These garlic knots look amazing! Putting them on my to do list!
how would using AP instead of bread change this? is it still worth doing it with AP?
Thank you for not posting how many carbs this recipe contains
These look amazing! Would there be a difference if I were to use regular flour instead of bread flour?
Can this dough be made in a bread machine?
These turned out AMAZING!! Total hit at my dinner party tonight. The recipe was super easy to follow too. I actually put the butter on directly after removing the knots from the oven and the butter seeped throughout the entire bun. They were delicious. Definitely a favorite!
At what point in the process do you freeze the dough.
These were delicious. I put the garlic butter on before and turned down the temp 25 degrees and baked for a few less minutes. They were fluffy and chewy and garlicky. Great recipe!
Would minced garlic work?
Hey! I was wondering how much is a stick of butter? There are so many sizes. How many grams should I use?
Hi Ashley! Looking forward to trying this recipe, but why are you MIA on answering so many readers’ question about when to freeze the dough? You say to follow your instructions, but then don’t provide them. Before shaping? Before or after initial rise? After shaping? Thaw first or right to oven? Temp/time different? Inquiring minds would live to know : )
Hi P. I have freezing instructions in the recipe box notes! Right below the recipe/above the nutrition box facts.
Absolutely insane! I loved making these as well! Even my picky brothers who don’t like garlic still loved these!
Thanks Ashley 🙂
Abby
Hi! I tried the recipe and my knots turned out way too crispy. We love garlic so I brushed them on top before putting them in the oven but the knot was Very crispy. Nice texture on the inside. Any advice or thoughts on what went wrong? I actually split the batch and baked 8 of them first and noticed how hard they were so I placed the second batch lower in the oven without the butter rub and still they were crispy but not a large the first batch. I was afraid if I took them out when barely brown the inside wouldn’t be done. I’ve noticed when baking bread products (vs casseroles etc) I have to go to the highest suggested baking time in recipes.
Also, I wanted to try to make these ahead of time without freezing them. Any thoughts on how to do step 2 and then going back to baking them so they’re fresh? I didn’t want to knot them etc right before I was getting the rest of the dinner ready as I was using this as a side. Thanks!
I am an off-gridder and do all of my baking by hand…no mixers. How long should the dough be kneaded by hand after thoroughly mixed – also by hand? A professional baker friend of mine sent me this recipe and I’d love to try them. Thank you in advance for any advice.
Absolutely fantastic. I’m new to baking, and just moved from sea level to 6700 feet above. I turned my trailer sized propane stove down to 375. I placed both pans in the oven, and rotated them and swapped racks every 7 minutes. They cooked perfectly in 14 minutes. Thanks for the recipe!
This is a solid basic recipe. I just made a batch of these and was generally satisfied. My only critique is the lack of flavor in the knots themselves. I did add cheese in some of them, which was a good addition. I think the flavor of the knots can be enhanced by adding some spices into the dough (pizza spices, for example). Overall, though, a good recipe.
I made these tonight and my family’s comment were priceless. “Mom, these are better and have more flavorful than the restaurants in town that serve garlic knots.” Thank you for the wonderful recipe.
Wow! That is high praise 🙂 I’m so happy they were a hit with your family!