Soft Garlic Knots

Since it's summer, I've been hearing about gazpacho everywhere. I kept wondering why people get excited about this cold soup, but then my mom said she had some in a restaurant and it was fantastic. So, several weeks ago, I figured I might as well try it while the weather was still hot. Bob was really dreading this dinner, so I decided to make these warm Soft Garlic Knots to go with it to make the meal a little more bearable for him. Well, it turns out that neither of us like gazpacho! We felt like it was eating salsa without the chips. I'm not going to bother posting the recipe, since I just used this one from Barefoot Contessa, but I feel like we are the only two people in the world who don't care for gazpacho! Oh well!

Considering the main dinner was a flop, we basically ate these rolls for dinner, and they were really good. Unfortunately, Bob ate 3 and then felt so full later, claiming they were expanding inside him. I don't know if he'll eat them again because of that, but had he just eaten 1 (or even 2), I think it would have been fine!

The recipe I adapted this from calls for a stand mixer (so if you have one you can see that recipe for instructions). I don't have one, so I used a food processor and then kneaded by hand. This is only my second time kneading dough by hand, and it was ok, but I am really looking forward to having that mixer with a dough hook some day! :)

Soft Garlic Knots

Ingredients:

For the dough:

3 cups bread flour

1 Tablespoon sugar

2 teaspoons instant yeast (AKA rapid rise)

1 1/4 teaspoon salt

2 Tablespoons olive oil

1/4 cup milk

1 cup + 2 Tablespoons lukewarm water

For the glaze:

2 cloves garlic

2 Tablespoons melted butter

1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning

Directions:

1. Make the dough: Combine the dry ingredients in the bowl of a large food processor. Process for a few seconds to mix. Add the olive oil, milk and water and turn on until ingredients have formed a ball (it won't take long, maybe 30 seconds).

2. Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface to form a smooth, elastic dough, adding additional water or flour as needed.

3. Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, turn to coat, and cover with lightly oiled/sprayed plastic wrap. Allow to rise for about 1 hour, until it has doubled in bulk.

4. Divide the dough into 10 equal pieces. Roll each into a 10-inch long rope and tie into a knot. Take the end lying underneath the knot and bring it over the top, tucking it into the center. Take the end lying over the knot and tuck it underneath and into the center.

5. Transfer the shaped rolls to a baking stone or a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let rise for 45 minutes, until puffy. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350F.

6. Make the glaze: Finely mince the garlic (or use a garlic press). Mix the melted butter and Italian seasoning.

7. Brush the glaze onto the shaped rolls. Bake until set and lightly browned, about 15-18 minutes.

Source: Adapted from Annie's Eats