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These sourdough discard garlic knots are soft, fluffy, and brushed with buttery garlic and herbs for a classic, irresistible flavor. Made with sourdough discard and a little instant yeast, they’re quick to bring together and don’t require a long fermentation. They bake up golden and tender with just the right amount of chew, and are best served warm straight from the oven.
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love This Discard Recipe!
Quick and Easy – Using sourdough discard with instant yeast means you get all the flavor without waiting hours for a full sourdough rise. They’re ready much faster and great for last minute baking.
Perfect Texture – Just like my soft sourdough breadsticks, these knots bake up perfectly soft and pillowy with a light, tender crumb and just a hint of chew from the sourdough.
Great Way to Use Discard – If you’ve got extra sourdough discard sitting in the fridge, this is an easy and delicious way to put it to good use.
Ingredients
- Sourdough Discard – You can use discard straight from the fridge for this recipe. It adds such a nice depth of flavor without needing to be active. You can of course use active starter and skip the yeast if you prefer.
- Water
- Honey – Adds a bit of sweetness and helps give the yeast a little boost. You can substitute for sugar if you’d like, but I love the slight honey flavor.
- Olive Oil – Keeps the dough tender and gives the knots a soft, enriched texture.
- Bread Flour – Bread flour is best here because it gives the knots structure while still keeping them soft and chewy.
- Salt
- Instant Yeast – Helps to make these garlic knots come together quickly and makes the knots soft and fluffy.
- Butter – Melted and brushed over the knots while they’re still warm so it soaks right in. You can use a homemade butter or homemade cultured butter for added flavor.
- Powdered Garlic – Gives the knots their signature garlic taste.
- Parsley – You can use dried or fresh parsley. It adds a nice bit of flavor and color.
- Flaky Sea Salt – You just need a little sprinkle on top to help bring out the flavors.
How To Make Sourdough Discard Garlic Knots
Add the sourdough starter, water, honey and olive oil to a medium sized mixing bowl or the bowl of your stand mixer and give it a good stir to combine the ingredients.
Now add the bread flour and salt on top of the liquid ingredients. If you are using a stand mixer, use the dough hook attachment to knead the dough until it’s soft and supple (around 2 to 3 minutes on speed 1-2).
Kate’s Tip
Kneading by Hand
You can knead this dough by hand if you want to. Use your hands to bring the ingredients together into a rough dough in the bowl and then tip out onto a clean surface and knead by hand until the dough is soft and supple. This takes around 5 minutes by hand (unless you’re doing a double batch, it may take a bit longer).
Once the dough is kneaded, place it into a bowl and let it bulk ferment until the dough has risen around 50% in the bowl. This will take a good few hours as the dough is enriched. Placing it somewhere warm always helps to speed this along.
Once the dough has risen, you need to divide it into 12 equally weighted pieces. I have made these around 44g each.
Take each piece of dough and pinch it into a ball. Let these balls of dough sit for around 10 minutes so the gluten can relax.
Now shape your knots. Roll each ball of dough into a short rope (I made mine around 7″ long).
Once they’re all into ropes, take each piece and “tie a knot” in the middle. You can tuck the ends under like I have, or leave them out.
Place the sourdough knots on a parchment lined baking sheet and cover with a damp dish towel and allow them to proof. You want them to get really soft and puffy before you bake them. Because we are using instant yeast, this does not take long.
When you’re ready to bake, preheat your oven to 175ºC / 350ºF. Once it’s at temperature, lightly spray the knots with water and bake for around 30 minutes or until they are beautifully golden brown.
While they’re baking, prepare the topping. Melt the butter and add the garlic powder into this. Set aside with flaky salt and parsley.
Once baked, remove them from the oven, and while they’re still on the tray, brush with the garlic butter, sprinkle with a little flaky salt and parsley.
What To Serve Them With
These sourdough discard garlic knots are best served warm and make the perfect addition to so many easy meals.
For a simple appetizer, serve them with a bowl of homemade pizza sauce for dipping. The rich garlic butter flavor pairs perfectly with a tangy homemade ketchup too!
If you’re planning pizza night at home, these garlic knots fit right in. You can bake them alongside a batch of sourdough discard pizza dough and serve everything together with dips, salads, or a few simple toppings.
They’re also perfect with a pasta dinner. Try serving them with homemade sourdough pasta and a simple sauce. The soft, buttery knots are ideal for soaking up sauces and turning a simple meal into something everyone will love.
How to Store + Freeze
Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days. Reheat slightly before serving for best texture.
You can freeze the knots after baking for up to 3 months. Let them cool completely, then add to a zip-top freezer bag. Reheat in the oven until warmed through when you’re ready to eat.
Sourdough Discard Garlic Knots
Equipment
- Stand Mixer (it's so easy to knead this in a stand mixer, but as always you can easily knead this by hand too).
Ingredients
Dough
- 100 g Sourdough Discard
- 140 g Water
- 20 g Honey
- 20 g Olive Oil
- 270 g Bread Flour
- 7 g Salt
- 7 g Instant Yeast
Toppings
- 50 g Butter, (melted)
- 3 g Powdered Garlic
- 1 tsp Parsley, (you can use dried or fresh)
- 1 tsp Flaky Sea Salt, (just a sprinkle)
Instructions
- Add the sourdough starter, water, honey and olive oil to a medium sized mixing bowl or the bowl of your stand mixer and give it a good stir to combine the ingredients.
- Now add the bread flour and salt on top of the liquid ingredients. If you are using a stand mixer, use the dough hook attachment to knead the dough until it's soft and supple (around 2 to 3 minutes on speed 1-2). If kneading by hand, use your hands to bring the ingredients together into a rough dough in the bowl and then tip out onto a clean surface and knead by hand until the dough is soft and supple. This takes around 5 minutes by hand (unless you're doing a double batch, it may take a bit longer).
- Once the dough is kneaded, place it into a bowl and let it bulk ferment until the dough has risen around 50% in the bowl. This will take a good few hours as the dough is enriched. Placing it somewhere warm always helps to speed this along.
- Once the dough has risen, you need to divide it into 12 equally weighted pieces. I have made these around 44g each. Take each piece of dough and pinch it into a ball. Let these balls of dough sit for around 10 minutes so the gluten can relax.
- Now shape your knots. Roll each ball of dough into a short rope (I made mine around 7" long). Once they're all into ropes, take each piece and "tie a knot" in the middle (see my photos for a diagram of this). You can tuck the ends under like I have, or leave them out.
- Place the sourdough knots on a parchment lined baking sheet and cover with a damp dish towel and allow them to proof. You want them to get really soft and puffy before you bake them. Because we are using instant yeast, this does not take long.
- When you're ready to bake, preheat your oven to 175ºC / 350ºF. Once it's at temperature, lightly spray the knots with water and bake for around 30 minutes or until they are beautifully golden brown.
- While they're baking, prepare the topping. Melt the butter and add the garlic powder into this. Set aside with flaky salt and parsley.
- Once baked, remove them from the oven, and while they're still on the tray, brush with the garlic butter, sprinkle with a little flaky salt and parsley.
- Serve warm with homemade pizza sauce!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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