Description
Crispy on the outside, these knots are tender on the inside and smothered with bacon, garlic, and cheese. Don’t forget to dunk in the beer-cheese sauce. Knots adapted from Serious Eats
Ingredients
Scale
Bacon Garlic Knots:
- 1 Pound Pizza Dough (see the link above for a great recipe)
- 6 slices of thick cut Bacon – diced
- 2 TBS Butter
- Pinch Red Pepper Flakes
- 6 Cloves of Garlic – minced (roughly 2 TBS)
- ? Cup Chives – minced
- ¾ heaping Cup Parmesan (about 2 oz.) – grated, divided. Plus more for topping
- All Purpose Flour, for work surface
- 1 TBS Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Beer Cheese Sauce:
- 2 TBS Butter
- 2 TBS All Purpose Flour
- 1 (12 ounce) Bottle Ale
- 1 tsp Mustard Powder
- 1 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
- ½ tsp Sriracha (can substitute hot sauce of choice)
- 1 large clove of Garlic – minced
- ½ Cup (4 oz.) Cream Cheese – softened and diced
- 2 ¼ Cups (6 oz.) Sharp Cheddar Cheese – grated
- ¼ tsp Kosher Salt, plus more to taste
- Ground Black Pepper, to taste
Instructions
For Bacon-Garlic Mixture:
- Heat a 10’’ cast iron skillet over medium heat. Add diced bacon and cook until crispy (about 12 minutes). Use a slotted spoon to remove bacon and transfer to a large mixing bowl, leaving bacon drippings in pan.
- Add Butter and heat until melted and starting to foam. Add the red pepper flakes and garlic to the pan. Cook, stirring, 30 seconds-1 minute, or until fragrant. Transfer mixture to mixing bowl with the bacon. Allow to bacon/ butter mixture to cool slightly. Stir in ½ cup parmesan cheese and chives. Set cast iron skillet aside, leaving the bacon dripping/butter residue in the pan.
For the Knots:
- Lightly flour a clean work surface. Divide the pizza dough into two even halves. Working with one half at a time, use a rolling pin to roll/stretch to form a long rectangle, 8’’x4’’. Use a pizza cutter or bench scraper to cut the rectangle, crosswise, into 12 even strips. Repeat stretching, forming a rectangle and cutting strips with the other half of the dough.
- Sprinkle the dough strips with a little bit of flour to prevent sticking. Working one strip at a time, roll to form a small rope. Tie into a knot and transfer to the mixing bowl with bacon. Continue rolling and tying until all the dough is knotted. Use your hands to toss the knots with the garlic/bacon until thoroughly coated.
- Transfer the knots to the cast iron skillet, in a single layer. Cover the knots tightly with plastic wrap and allow to rest in a warm place until doubled in size, about 4 hours. Or, refrigerate the wrapped knots until doubled in size, 12-14 hours.
- Meanwhile, Prepare the Beer-Cheese Dip: In a medium sized sauce pan over medium heat, melt the butter until slightly foaming. Whisk in the flour and cook, stirring continuously, for 1 ½ – 2 minutes, until pale in color.
- Slowly whisk in the beer. Increase the heat to medium-high and bring to a boil. Immediately reduce heat to medium. Stir in the mustard, Worcestershire, Sriracha and garlic. Cook, whisking occasionally, until the mixture is slightly thickened, about 4-5 minutes.
- Add in the salt and cream cheese. Stir to thoroughly incorporate.
- Reduce heat to medium low. One handful at a time, add the cheddar cheese, stirring in between each addition. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Reduce heat to low and keep warm, stirring occasionally, until ready to serve.
- When ready to bake the knots: Adjust oven rack to the center position and preheat to 425 degrees F. If you refrigerated the knots, allow to come to room temperature on the counter for 30 minutes.
- Sprinkle the tops of knots evenly with remaining ¼ cup parmesan cheese. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until knots are cooked and golden brown in color.
- Remove from oven, brush with a tablespoon of olive oil while still hot and sprinkle generously with additional parmesan cheese.
- Serve the warm bacon-garlic knots with the hot beer cheese dip.
- Category: Bread, Baking