Lately, I’ve seen a lot of food bloggers making garlic knots. I love these soft, yeasty rolls, with their cute shape, but never thought to make my own. I put it on my to-do list, but as with all recipes that require yeast (and patience), it remained on my to-do list for a while.
Then I saw a post on pumpkin garlic knots, and suddenly I had to make these, even though I hadn’t even tried making regular garlic knots yet.
My pumpkin garlic knots ended up being a bit too big; I didn’t realize how much more they would rise. But they still came out a gorgeous golden yellow. The rolls came out sweet, I think from the agave nectar called for in the recipe. When I tasted them plain, I decided not to completely douse them in garlic because of the sweet taste, but instead just painted them with the oil from my minced garlic, olive oil and parsley combination. Then I added some fresh parsley since my cooked parsley had turned a dark green.
I think these rolls worked better as sweet rolls and I wanted to glaze them with some honey, but some of my family members don’t like the taste of honey. The pumpkin flavor is pretty subtle, but the rolls still are soft and delicious.
I’ve had trouble with yeast recipes, but these came out well. I used a recipe I found on Handle the Heat. I was a little concerned with some of the quantities, as they seemed to vary from some of the other garlic knot recipes I’d read. So I didn’t follow the recipe exactly but instead changed a few of the quantities around, as well as the garlic mixture.
Pumpkin Garlic Knots (adapted from Handle the Heat)
Ingredients
1 cup warm water
2 tsp active dry yeast
2 tbsp agave nectar
1/2 cup canned pumpkin puree
2 tbsp olive oil
3/4 tsp salt
3 cups unbleached bread flour
Garlic coating
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1/3 cup olive oil
3 tbsp fresh, chopped parsley
additional fresh parsley for garnish (optional)
Directions
1. For the dough: Pour the warm water (about 75-80 degrees) into a medium bowl and whisk in the yeast. Let it sit for about 10 minutes. It should bubble. Whisk in the agave nectar, 2 tablespoons olive oil, and pumpkin puree.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour and salt. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients then pour in your wet ingredients.
3. Using a large spoon, mix the ingredients together. Then use your hands to knead the dough until it comes together. The dough should be elastic but it should not stick to your fingers and hand. Add additional bread flour until the dough no longer sticks.
4. Lightly oil another large bowl and put your dough ball inside it — flipping over once to coat both sides lightly with oil. Cover with a damp towel and let rise for about 2 hours; or until nearly doubled in size.
Pumpkin Garlic Knots
Ingredients
For the Knots
- 1 cup warm water approximately 75-80°F
- 2 tsp active dry yeast
- 2 tbsp agave nectar
- 1/2 cup canned pumpkin puree
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 3 cups unbleached bread flour
- 3/4 tsp salt
For the Garlic Oil
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic chopped
- 3 tbsp fresh chopped parsley, plus extra for garnish
Instructions
- To make the dough, pour the water into a medium-sized bowl. Add the yeast and whisk to combine. Leave it for 10 minutes or until it starts to bubble. Add the agave nectar, pumpkin puree, and oil and whisk to combine.
- In a large bowl, whisk the flour and salt. Make a well in the center of the flour and pour the wet ingredients into it. Using a large spoon, mix the wet and dry ingredients together. Once a loose dough forms, transfer it to a lightly floured work surface and knead it until the dough is elastic and no longer sticky. If needed, add additional flour (a small amount at a time) if the dough is too sticky.
- Lightly coat the inside of a large bowl with oil and place the dough in it, flipping it once to coat it in the oil. Cover the bowl with a damp kitchen towel for two hours or until the dough has doubled in size.
- To form the knots, tear off enough dough to form a ball the size of small peach (for large rolls). Roll each ball into a long, thin rope that is even in width. Tie the rope into a knot and tuck the ends into the center of the knot, with one end on the bottom and the other on top of the knot. Once all of the knots are made, cover them with a paper towel for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 425°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper and place the knots on the sheets. Bake the knots for 10 to 15 minutes (you'll need more time for bigger knots and less time for smaller ones).
- While the knots are baking, make the garlic oil. Place the oil, garlic, and chopped parsley in a pan. Heat the oil over medium heat for a couple of minutes, or until the garlic releases its aroma. Remove the pan from the heat and set aside until the knots are done baking.
- Brush the warm knots with the garlic oil, garnish with additional parsley (if using) and serve.
The nutrition information provided are only estimates based on an online nutritional calculator. I am not a certified nutritionist. Please consult a professional nutritionist or doctor for accurate information and any dietary restrictions and concerns you may have.
These are absolutely darling! I think it’s brilliant adding garlic to flavour the pumpkin. Beautiful!
Thanks! Though I can’t claim credit for the idea. =)
You are officially the Pumpkin Queen. This recipe looks sooo beautiful. I’m going to make this for Thanksgiving and surprise everyone.
I have a HUGE fear of baking w/ yeast. Is this recipe easy in that department? I don’t have thermometer so is there another way to know when the water is hot enough to add the yeast?
I’m also an un-lover of honey. Not sure why. I avoid it like the plague. Never heard of the agave nectar – can i get that at trader joes? Is there another substitution for that ingredient?
Very well done – i can’t get over how beautiful the knots are!
I think this is a pretty easy yeast recipe. I’ve had a lot of failures with yeast, and this one worked out for me. I don’t use a thermometer, but I think I have a general idea of water temperature because I used to have water turtles and fish. You want the water to be warm, but no where near hot because it will kill the yeast. I don’t really know how else to describe it. I guess if it was a pool and you dipped your hand in, it should be at a temp where you think the water is warm. Room temperature water is usually close to 70 degrees, so you want it slightly warmer than that.
You can get agave nectar at TJ and most grocery stores. It’s supposed to be a healthier sweetener. You can substitute with honey. I know you just said you don’t like honey much, but I think if it’s only the little bit in the batter, you can’t really taste the honey, you just taste that it is sweet. You could probably also substitute for maple syrup or some other type of syrup.
I am so making this for Thanksgiving!
And…some of your family not liking the taste of honey?!?! Does not compute! That’s crazy talk.
I know, seriously. I love honey. They are so picky. No honey, no “fruit” desserts, no nuts in their desserts.
They look so cute! What a sunny olour. I must admit I don’t really use pumpkin in bakign very much, I always think of it as a savoury thing, but very tempted to try something like this. Well done.
Pumpkin has a very mild taste so it really works well in sweet treats. And I love how it adds a yellow or orange color to foods, perfect for autumn!