How To Make Garlic Knots With Store-Bought Pizza Dough

First came garlic bread but then came its complicated little sibling: the garlic knot. Unlike classic garlic bread, a simple dish that can be made with little more than a loaf of Italian bread and some garlic butter, garlic knots are made from pizza dough. In fact, they seem to have originated with New York pizzerias who made them as a way to use up excess dough. Even if you're not much of a baker, you can cheat your way to "homemade" garlic knots  by using store-bought pizza dough. Really, it's okay –- we even got a chef to sign off on it. Patrick Ochs, corporate executive chef for INK Entertainment, was kind enough to supply us with an easy DIY recipe.

Start by slicing or rolling the dough into strips then tying these strips into knots. After you've done so, sauté some garlic in butter to make garlic butter, then brush this over the knots. Ochs suggested roasting the garlic first, telling us, "Roasting garlic beforehand enhances its sweetness and mellow flavor, avoiding the harshness of raw garlic." 

Once the knots are buttered up, bake them at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 12 to 15 minutes until they are golden brown and the dough is cooked. After you take them out of the oven, you can sprinkle them with any desired seasonings. Ochs recommended wrapping the still-warm knots in foil, explaining that this will "contain the heat and allow the bread to soak up the butter."

With how simple garlic knots are to make once you start with store-bought dough, you'll have plenty of time to play with the flavors. Patrick Ochs opts for a classic combo, telling us his preference is for "a sprinkle of parmesan and fresh herbs for extra flavor." You could also opt for bacon bits since bacon makes everything better, or add some heat with dried chilis. Don't forget a dipping sauce, too — marinara would be in keeping with the pizza theme, but salsa would also be tasty, while beer cheese would be fantastic because... well, just because.

If you really want to get creative with your homemade(ish) garlic knots, you might want to take a few tips from the fast-food industry. Just like pre-pandemic Pizza Hut, you can embed unbaked garlic knots in a pizza crust and maybe even up the ante by stuffing the knots with cheese. You could also make like Papa Murphy's and mold your garlic knots into monkey bread. To do so, assemble the knots as described above, then pile them in a Bundt pan, baking pan, or ovenproof skillet, perhaps layering them with shredded mozzarella, grated parmesan, and sliced pepperoni before drizzling them with more garlic butter. Since the knots are molded together, they may take an extra 10 minutes or so to bake. Which means you should start checking them after about 20 minutes in the oven.