My favorite part about soup season is the end of the bowl. You know, when you’ve scraped up your last spoonful and it is time to finish off the meal by using whatever baked good is nearest to sop up all the delicious broth/sauce that is left?

You all do that too, right?

These garlic knots are a pretty traditional Italian restaurant staple, but I like to keep them on hand during fall and winter for soup and stew sopping. The whole wheat dough is hearty and fluffy, and the little bit of garlic and butter flavor seems to complement any dish around. Feel free to serve them with spaghetti, too. After all they are definitely a type of garlic bread.

I know a lot of people are scared of yeast breads, but I promise there is nothing to be afraid of. This one is a particularly good place to start for anyone just getting into the world of yeast. I promise you can’t mess these up. They are dipped in butter. Nothing bad ever happened when something was dipped in butter.

Don’t worry about being perfect when you tie the knot, it honestly doesn’t matter (did I mention these get dipped in butter?). But the simple way I do it is to grab a hunk o’ dough, roll into a snake (channel your Play-Doh days), “tie” into an overhand knot and then tuck the ends under. The second rise seems to erase any mistakes by making everything plump and delicious-looking. Yeast is nice that way.

Whole Wheat Garlic Knots

Whole Wheat Garlic Knots

Yield: 8 large knots
Prep Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Cook Time: 12 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 42 minutes

Adapted from Joy the Baker. To get the eight knots, I made mine pretty hefty in size. Feel free to size them down to make mini versions and make this recipe stretch to feed a lot more hungry mouths.

Ingredients

  • 2 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast (1 packet)
  • 1 cup warm water
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 5 tablespoons olive oil, divided
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
  • 2 teaspoons minced garlic
  • 3 tablespoons melted butter
  • 1/4 cup finely chopped parsley

Instructions

  1. In a small bowl, stir together yeast, water and sugar until well-combined. Set aside for about 5 minutes until mixture is frothy. If it never ends up frothing, your yeast might be dead and today may not be the day for garlic knots. Have froth? Proceed!
  2. In a large bowl, whisk together the whole wheat and all-purpose flours. Make a well in the center of the flours and pour in the yeast mixture, 2 tablespoons of olive oil and 1 teaspoon of salt.
  3. Using your hands, mix the liquid into the flours until well-incorporated. Continue kneading the dough (you can do this in the bowl) for 5-10 minutes or until the surface is smooth.
  4. In a clean, medium-sized bowl, pour in 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Add the dough and turn once to coat in oil. Cover bowl in a kitchen towel and let rise in a warm area for an hour or until doubled in size.
  5. After dough has risen, shape the knots by pulling off a hunk of dough, rolling into a snake and then tying into an overhand knot. Tuck the ends under and place on a baking sheet. Repeat with rest of the dough.
  6. Once all knots are formed, cover baking sheet in a kitchen towel and let rest and rise again for 30 minutes or until just poofy.
  7. Preheat oven to 400°.
  8. Bake knots for 10-12 minutes or until just barely browned.
  9. While knots are baking, combine the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil, the remaining 1/2 teaspoon of salt, the garlic, butter and parsley in a large bowl.
  10. When knots come out of the oven, give them a quick dip in the butter mixture, making sure the garlic and parsley adhere to the knots.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 large knots Serving Size: 1 garlic knot
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 258Total Fat: 14gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 9gCholesterol: 11mgSodium: 435mgCarbohydrates: 31gFiber: 3gSugar: 2gProtein: 5g

At Wholefully, we believe that good nutrition is about much more than just the numbers on the nutrition facts panel. Please use the above information as only a small part of what helps you decide what foods are nourishing for you.

 

Do you always have bread with soup?

We do! It’s kinda the best part. ๐Ÿ˜€

 

 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

18 Comments

  1. I had to make a few substitutions for dietary restrictions but used this recipe as a base and it was amazing! A huge hit in my home! Thanks for sharing!

  2. This recipe looks great! I was just wondering how long to bake these if I were to make them half the size as yours. Thanks!