Soft Garlic Knots

I read a lot of blogs. At last count my Google Reader followed 89 different blogs. I could never keep up with this many different blogs without my Google Reader. If you read more than one blog, you should try it. You'll never go back. One of the best things about it is that you can "star" posts that you want to save for later. I use this mainly for recipes that I think look good when I read them for the first time. When I am making dinner, and have no idea what I want to make, I'll sift through my starred recipes and pick a few to try. So today I went back and found this beautiful recipe from Annie's Eats, a blog from a Medical Student/Mom from IU. I always trust a recipe if Annie says that she liked it. These rolls were wonderful, light, and so easy! I'm not that experienced using yeast, but I wasn't intimidated by these at all.

Ingredients:

For the dough:
3 cups bread flour
1 tbsp. sugar
2 tsp. instant yeast
1 ¼ tsp. salt
2 tbsp. olive oil
¼ cup milk
1 cup + 2 tbsp. lukewarm water

For the glaze:
2 cloves garlic
2 tbsp. melted butter
½ tsp. Italian seasoning

Directions:

To make the dough, in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment combine the dry ingredients. Add the olive oil, milk and water. Mix until ingredients have formed a dough. Switch to the dough hook and knead on low speed until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes. Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl, turn once to coat, and cover with plastic wrap. Allow to rise for about 1 hour, or until doubled in bulk.

Divide the dough into 10 equal pieces. Roll each piece 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. Transfer shaped rolls to a baking stone, or a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let rise for 45 minutes, until puffy.

To make the glaze, finely mince the garlic or press it through a garlic press. Mix with the melted butter and Italian seasoning.

Preheat the oven to 350° F. Brush the glaze onto the shaped rolls. Bake until set and lightly browned, about 15-18 minutes.


Source: Annie's Eats