Thanksgiving Recipes, Part 4

Warm, soft bread might be one of the best things imaginable. Add a little butter and garlic and it just gets even better. These garlic knots seem more difficult than they are. It really doesnt matter how you tie them - that part is just for decoration.

Garlic Knots

Recipe adapted from King Arthur Flour by way of Amber's Delectable Delights

Dough

3 cups bread flour

1/4 cup milk

1 T sugar

1 packet instant yeast

1 1/4 tsp salt

2 T olive oil

1 cup + 2 T lukewarm water

Glaze

3 cloves garlic, finely minced

2 T butter, melted

1/2 tsp Italian seasoning

To make dough, combine flour, yeast, sugar, and salt in bowl of mixer. Add olive oil, water, and milk and stir together. Using the dough hook, knead for about 6-8 minutes until dough is smooth and elastic. Pour 1 T olive oil in a deep bowl and transfer dough to bowl, spinning once to coat the top of the dough. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise for about 1 hour until dough doubles in size.

Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and lightly spray with cooking spray. Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces. Roll each dough ball into a long rope - about 10 inches long. Cross the ends over each other and tie into a loose knot. Fold one end over the top and tuck in and fold the opposite end under the bottom and tuck in. Pinch to seal. Transfer to baking sheet. When finished rolling, cover all the rolls with a clean kitchen towel and let rise for about 45 minutes. If you want to make these in advance, cover the baking sheet with foil at this point and freeze until ready to bake. If you are going to wait more than a couple of days, freeze the rolls on the cookie sheet and then transfer to freezer bags once completely frozen. To thaw, leave the rolls at room temperature covered on the baking sheet for about 3-5 hours until they rise.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. To make the glaze, combine melted butter, minced garlic, and Italian seasoning. Using a pastry brush, gently brush the tops of the rolls with glaze and bake 15-18 minutes until lightly golden brown. Brush with additional butter mixture if desired.