Gluten Free Garlic Knots Recipe

gluten free garlic knots in fingers dipping into tomato sauce in small white ramekin

5 from 23 votes

Serve these gluten free garlic knots alongside pasta, or gobble them up on their own. These tasty gf garlic knots will have everyone asking for seconds.

Prep Time25

Cook Time30

Resting and rising time2

Course: Appetizer, Bread, Snack

Cuisine: American

Keyword: gluten free garlic knots

Servings: garlic knots

Author: Nicole Hunn

Equipment

Stand mixer with paddle attachment (or food processor)

Ingredients

For the pizza dough

2 cups all purpose gluten free flour blend (Better Batter highly recommended; please click thru for appropriate blends)
1 teaspoon xanthan gum omit if your blend already contains it
⅓ cup tapioca starch/flour plus more for sprinkling
2 teaspoons instant yeast
1 ½ teaspoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup warm water (about 95°F)
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

For the garlic knots

6 ounces thick-cut bacon diced (See Recipe Notes)
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil plus more for drizzling
6 cloves garlic peeled and minced
½ teaspoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons dried oregano crushed between your palm and forefinger
1 tablespoon dried basil
1 ounce finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
Tomato Sauce for serving

Customary - Metric

Instructions

Prepare the dough.

In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or your food processor fitted with the metal blade, place the flour, xanthan gum, tapioca starch, yeast, and sugar.
Whisk to combine with a separate, handheld whisk. Add the salt, and whisk again to combine well.
Add the water and olive oil, and mix on medium speed in your stand mixer or pulse in your food processor until the dough begins to come together. Turn the mixer to high speed or your food processor on and process for about 2 minutes.
Transfer the dough to an oiled container with a tight-fitting lid or a greased bowl and cover tightly. Refrigerate the dough for at least 1 hour and up to 3 days.

Prepare the garlic mixture.

In a 12-inch cast iron skillet (or another heavy-bottom skillet), scatter the diced bacon in a single layer in the dry skillet and cook over medium heat until evenly golden brown and crisp (about 7 minutes).
Remove the cooked bacon from the skillet and place it in a small bowl to cool. Leave about 2 tablespoons of the bacon grease in the skillet, and remove the rest (save it for another use).
Add one tablespoon of olive oil to the bacon grease remaining in the skillet. Add the garlic, and cook it in the skillet over medium-low heat until fragrant and very lightly golden brown (about 2 minutes).
Transfer the cooked garlic and remaining 3 tablespoons of olive oil to the bowl with the cooked bacon, add the oregano and basil, and mix to combine. Set the bowl aside to cool.
Remove the skillet from the heat and set it aside to cool while you shape the pizza dough. If you don’t have a cast iron skillet, you'll need to grease a 9-inch round baking dish for baking the shaped and prepared garlic knots.

Shape the pizza dough.

Remove the dough from the refrigerator, uncover it, sprinkle it lightly with tapioca starch, and knead it a bit until it’s smoother.
Sprinkling with more tapioca starch as necessary to prevent sticking, and, using well-floured hands and a bench scraper or sharp knife, divide the prepared pizza dough into about 14 equal pieces, each about 1.5 ounces.
Roll each piece into a ball and then, using the tips of the fingers of both hands and using gentle but steady pressure away from you and out to the sides, roll each small ball of dough into a rope about 4 inches long. To make knotting easier, taper the dough gradually from the center to each end.
Shape each into a knot by first forming a loop by crossing one end over the other about 1.5 inches from each end. Then, poke one end through the loop you created as far as possible without tearing the dough.
Turn the knot on its side, press it together gently to seal, and place it in the prepared skillet or baking dish. Repeat with the remaining pieces of dough, placing the knots close together but not touching, if possible, in a single layer.

Get the knots ready for the oven.

Using a pastry brush, brush all the knots generously with the garlic and herb oil/bacon mixture, making sure the bacon gets evenly distributed.
Drizzle the top of the knots lightly with more olive oil. Cover the skillet with the lid of your skillet if you have one, or a lightly oiled piece of plastic wrap if the skillet is cool to the touch (otherwise, use foil).
Place in a warm, draft-free location to rise until about 1 1/2 times its original size (about 1 1/2 hours, but rising times will vary significantly depending upon the rising environment—be patient!).

Bake the garlic knots.

About 30 minutes before the rise is complete, preheat your oven to 375°F and place the rack in the middle of the oven.
Once the rise is complete, uncover the skillet, drizzle lightly with more olive oil and place on the center rack.
Bake until the knots are lightly golden brown all over, and slightly darker brown in spots (about 20 minutes). For crispier knots, bake for at least 5 minutes more, rotating the pan 180 degrees after the first 15 minutes of baking.
Remove from the oven, sprinkle the grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese on top and allow to sit briefly while the cheese melts before serving with tomato sauce for dipping.

Notes

About the bacon.

If you prefer to make these without bacon, replace the bacon with 2 more tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil and skip the step in which the bacon is cooked.

Adapted from Serious Eats.

Nutrition information is without tomato sauce.

Nutrition