My Easy No-Knead Miso Garlic Knots (Impossibly Fluffy!)

Hi friends. I often think about the mom and pop pizzerias of South Brooklyn. In the 90s, the best slices of pizza were about a dollar a slice and a bag of fresh garlic knots was only $2! People always say there’s something about the water in NYC that makes the bagels and pizza just so unique and tasty.

Did you know that garlic knots originated in NYC pizzerias (at least according to Google) in the 1940s? As a New Yorker for over 30 years, I’m ashamed to say I have never baked my own garlic knots before! (Now I am a Washingtonian!) So here you have a former New Yorker baking milk bread garlic knots in her Seattle suburbs kitchen!

What I love about this recipe is that any baker can make this. The dough requires no kneading! You can of course mix it with a stand mixer, but the no-knead way would be to add all the milk bread dough ingredients into a mixing bowl and chop it all into each other with a spatula until a shaggy dough forms! You don’t even have to shape it into a ball before it rises. You can even cold-prove the dough for 24 to 48 hours in the fridge! This will be a wetter, shaggier dough, so when you’re shaping it, you will have to flour your hands and work surfaces!

I love how crispy the top of the knots became, sorta like laminated dough or croissants! These are packed with flavor and umami, so if you’re a fan of garlic knots, be sure to try this super easy, no-tangzhong, no-yudane, no-knead milk bread recipe!

Note: If you want to make these vegan, use vegan butter, plant-based milk like soy or oat milk, and an egg substitute like mashed silken tofu, a flax egg, or 50 g of ripe mashed banana.

How To Store

The main enemy of milk bread is air, which makes it stale, and the refrigerator, which can make it hard and gritty.

Short-Term Storage (Up to 2-3 Days)

1. Cool Completely: Let the bread cool completely on a wire rack before storing.

2. Airtight Container: Place the completely cooled loaf or rolls into a rigid, airtight container or a heavy-duty reusable plastic bag. A bread box also works well if you have one.

3. Store at Room Temperature: Keep it in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight. The texture will be at its best for 2-3 days this way.

Longer-Term Storage (2-3 Months)

Freezing is highly recommended for any milk bread you won't eat within a few days. It preserves the fresh-baked texture perfectly.

For a Whole Loaf:

1. Let the loaf cool completely.

2. Wrap the entire loaf tightly in two layers of plastic wrap, squeezing out all the air.

3. For extra protection, place the wrapped loaf inside a heavy-duty freezer bag or wrap it in aluminum foil. Freeze for up to 3 months.

For Slices or Rolls:

1. Cool completely.

2. Slice the bread if desired.

3. Place slices or rolls on a baking sheet and freeze for 1-2 hours until solid.

4. Transfer the frozen pieces to a freezer bag. This prevents them from sticking together. Freeze for up to 3 months.

To Thaw:

• Room Temperature: Let it thaw, still wrapped, at room temperature for a few hours.

• Oven/Toaster Oven (Best for Crispness): For slices or rolls, you can toast them directly from frozen. For a whole loaf, I recommend thawing at room temperature.

Happy Baking! - Sharon Hsu (@SparkleCakerie)

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108 Asian Cookies: Not-Too-Sweet Treats from a Third-Culture Kitchen

By Lieu, Kat

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Yield -9+

Author Kat Lieu

Prep time

35 Min

Cook time

35 Min

Inactive time

2 Hour

Total time

3 H & 10 M

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Fluffy No-Knead Milk Bread Miso Garlic Knots Recipe by Kat Lieu

( 0 reviews )

IngredientsUSMetric

For the milk bread dough

• 195 g bread flour (we recommend organic)
• 55 g cake flour
• 30 g granulated sugar, adjust to taste
• 1 large egg (or 50 g silken tofu or 50 g mashed banana for vegan substitute)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt or 1/2 to 1 teaspoon miso (red or white)
• 2 tablespoons or 30 g salted or unsalted butter, softened
• 2 to 3 g active dry yeast
• 125 g milk (warmed to 110°F)
• olive oil
• Panko for sprinkling on top, optional

For the miso garlic butter

• About 3 to 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• About 4 cloves garlic, crushed (or minced)
• 1 small handful of fresh parsley, scallions, basil, or whichever herb you love and have handy, chopped
• 1 teaspoon miso (red or white)
• paprika, garlic powder, pepper

InstructionsFahrenheitCelsius

1. In a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment, add the flours, sugar, egg, salt (or miso), butter, and set aside.
2. Combine the yeast (and a pinch of sugar) with the warmed milk. Mix and then set aside for 10 minutes before adding to the stand mixer. Mix, on low speed, until an elastic dough forms, a few minutes. If the dough is too wet, add a little flour. This should be a wet, tacky dough, but the dough should not stick and leave residue on your fingers. Form into a ball, cover, and let rise at warm room temperature for about 60 minutes.
3. Alternatively, use a mixing bowl and spatula and chop all the ingredients together until a wet shaggy but cohesive dough forms. This dough does not need kneading. Let rise (see above instructions).
4. Either generously grease or line a 9-inch baking dish with parchment paper and set it aside for now
5. Degas (deflate) the dough and turn out into a lightly floured surface. Knead the dough a little and roll it out into a large rectangle about 1/6 inch in thickness. Roll into a jelly roll and divide into 9 even pieces. I did 8. Working one at a time, shape each piece into a ball then roll flat into a log (or snake or tube, LOL) about 3 to 4 inches long. Fold over to make a knot. Repeat with the rest of the dough pieces and transfer to the prepared dish, lined up in a 3 by 3 array.
6. The garlic knots will expand into each other. Lightly brush them with olive oil. Proof for about 60 minutes until roughly doubled in size. I like to use my oven's proof feature.
7. An alternative way to make these knots is to divide the dough into 12 to 16 even pieces and make smaller garlic knots, transferred to a parchment paper-lined baking pan and spread apart. You'll have small knots versus 9 bigger knot buns.
8. About 25 minutes before you're ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350°F or 180°C with a rack in the center.
9. Make the miso garlic butter by adding all the miso garlic butter ingredients in a heavy saucepan and cook until the butter has melted and the garlic is extra fragrant, reminding you of a pizzeria!
10. Brush the tops with the melted miso garlic butter and sprinkle with panko if desired. Bake for about 15 minutes. Carefully pull the rack out (using oven mitts of course) from the oven and generously coat the knots with the butter again. Cover with a tented foil and bake for about another 15 minutes, until the knots are golden brown. (If you are making smaller knots, they only need about 20 minutes of baking.)
11. Remove the buns from the oven. Optionally, brush more melted butter on top of the hot knots. Sprinkle on parmesan cheese if desired!
12. Enjoy! These buns will be gone fast!

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About the Baker

Kat Lieu is the founder of Subtle Asian Baking and this website modernasianbaking.com, and she is the author of Modern Asian Baking at Home. Currently, Kat is a full-time author and recipe developer. Follow her on instagram and check out her blog Phil and Mama.

Here she is seen with a classic bowl cut, seated next to her Ah Ma in Montreal. Circa 1985