Garlic Knots (in a Pizza Oven)

Garlic knots are a pizzeria staple. And yes, while you may be about to fill up on pizza, who wants more bread? Well, these my friend, are so irresistible, that you will make an exception. Soft and chewy on the inside, crispy on the outside, lots of butter and garlic flavor. Sooo good!

We make ours with a simple homemade pizza dough and a few key ingredients.

Ingredients + Substitutions for Garlic Knots

(ingredients, minus the most important – garlic!)

• Pizza Dough – We used our Neapolitan Pizza Dough, but you can use any store-bought dough you like. You can also make our Sourdough Pizza Dough for even more flavor. Pro Tip – call your local pizza place and see if they will sell you one of their doughs. Ours does for around $5, and it works great in a pinch.
• Butter – We prefer unsalted butter and adding the seasoning in after we melt it.
• Garlic – We use fresh garlic cloves, and you need a lot. We use both fresh and granulated garlic to really enhance the garlic flavor. They are called “garlic” knots after all!
• Italian Seasoning – We like the flavor of already mixed Italian seasoning which typically has marjoram, oregano, and other dried spices. You can also just use oregano if you are a purist.
• Parmesan Cheese – Use freshly grated Parmesan for savory and nutty flavor when the knots are done.
• Finishing Salt – We like to use a flaky Maldon salt at the end over the finished garlic knots for added flavor. Kosher salt works just as well if that’s all you have.
• Dipping Sauce – Use your favorite sauce. In our case, we use our no-bake pizza sauce or homemade ranch. You can also make a white cheddar dipping sauce too.

Tools Needed

• You will want a large edgeless cast iron pan or a baking steel. You don’t want to bake the garlic knots on a pizza stone floor. It gets messy and it’s hard to move them around individually. An edgeless pan (or steel) is best. If you use a cast iron pan with sides, the sides will prevent browning along the edge of the knots.
• For dividing the dough it’s helpful to have a dough scraper, which will also make it easy to place the knots on the cast iron pan.
• A silicon pastry brush is helpful for applying the sauce.

Make Dough

You can make a quick-rise dough using instant yeast if you are in a hurry but the dough won’t be as delicious. We prefer our Neapolitan Pizza Dough recipe because the added time to let it rise adds structure and texture to the garlic knots.

If using a store-bought dough, be sure it’s room temperature as you form and divide the dough.

Divide And Form Knots

Layout parchment paper on a cutting board or a sheet pan. Dust a small amount of flour and place the dough ball in the center. Use the dough scraper to cut the dough in half. And then again to cut those halves into quarters.

Finally, cut each quarter in half again so there are 8 dough balls each. They will be roughly one ounce each.

Roll the dough balls into a 5-inch long strip. Then, you will tie each strip into a knot. Start by crossing one end of the string over the other. Then, tuck one end through the hole like a shoelace. Then gently form into a knot. If you have excess “strip” then tuck under the knots.

Allow these to rise at room temperature for up to 90 minutes.

How To Bake Garlic Knots In A Pizza Oven

The oven should be set to 500 degrees Fahrenheit with a stone target temperature of 450 degrees Fahrenheit. It’s good to use an IR Thermometer for the most accurate reading of the stone versus the pizza oven. We’re using our Alfa Forni oven for this recipe but it will work in any pizza oven.

1. Place the cast iron pan into the preheated pizza oven to warm up. By warming up the cast iron you will have equal browning on the base of the knots.
2. Coat the top of the knots with olive oil. This will help with browning while it bakes.
3. Carefully remove the hot cast iron pan from the oven, then quickly place the knots on the preheated cast iron and then place it back in the pizza oven on the wall opposite the flame. If your flame is in the middle, place the pan in the middle. If you have a door, then add the door.
4. After 5 minutes, the garlic knots will rise and brown on one side. Rotate the pan using high-heat gloves to brown the other side. After 3 – 4 minutes they should be browned and risen. The internal temperature of the garlic knots will be 200 degrees F if you want to measure.
5. Remove from oven and coat with a generous amount of the garlic butter sauce. You can toss this together in a large bowl, or simply brush the buttery garlic sauce onto each of the garlic knots. The final step is to top with salt and freshly grated parmesan cheese.

Oven Modification

If you don’t have a pizza oven or want to make in your kitchen oven, then follow the same preparation instructions. Set the oven for 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Bake the oiled knots on the center rack on a sheet tray lined with parchment paper for up to 14 minutes or until they are golden brown.

Garlic Butter Sauce

This sauce takes less than 5 minutes to make. So, just after placing the garlic knots in the pizza oven, we start the garlic butter sauce. In a small pan over medium heat, add the butter, garlic, and Italian seasoning. Stir as the butter melts. If the butter bubbles, turn down the heat. You are not browning the garlic, you are allowing it to infuse with the butter.

Remove from heat and then use a pastry brush to brush the garlic butter onto the finished knots. Then sprinkle the Parmesan cheese and salt. Dip in your favorite dipping sauce, in our case a marinara sauce.