Garlic Knots - VeganMOFO #2

Bread baking phobia? Um, yes. Hell yes. It's probably because I have very little patience, what with all that waiting for dough to rise (often twice), and then baking it, and who knows if the little bugger will come right. So, I'm not really the bread type. But (butt - heehee), I have been coveting a link to a recipe for months and months now and decided that today was the day to finally give it a shot.

The original isn't vegan, but the only things I had to change were to substitute almond milk and use Earth Balance for the butter. Oh, and I added a sprinkle of salt to the tops before baking. The only thing that I didn't like was that the bread didn't brown up like the original shown on ZoomYummy. Maybe the temperature was too low? The directions said to bake at 350, but all other breads I've baked said at least 400 degrees F, most higher. The bottoms browned perfectly, so I was scared to bake them longer. Whatever the case, they turned out incredibly tasty.

Oh, and I was shocked at having a bread recipe that didn't require kneading! And I didn't have to have a special stand mixer with a dough hook. Instead, I used the electric hand-held mixer with dough hooks. It was awesome. 

I do very highly recommend that you slather the garlic butter on before baking the knots, and then again when you're serving them. It makes them extra garlicky and extra tasty. They are definitely better when they're still warm from the oven, but even once they're cold, they still taste great. Your tummy will definitely thank you should you make them. You totally should. I command it. If I can make them, with my huge bread phobia, then you can too.

Here are some photos of the progress:

Pre-rise.

Post-rise.

Rolled by hand into a stick and partially knotted.

Ends tucked into the top and bottom, thus the knot is complete.

After the second rise...lotsa knotsas.

Slathered with EB and fresh minced garlic. Drooling as I type...

NOM NOM NOM!