These sourdough garlic knots are light, fluffy and made from my favorite sourdough pizza crust! Topped with cheesy garlic butter and dipped in my homemade marinara sauce, they're sure to be a crowd pleaser!

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Ingredient Notes
You just need a few simple ingredients to make the best sourdough garlic knots!
- Sourdough starter - Don't have a sourdough starter? Never fear! Just check out my Sourdough Guide for all my tips and tricks
- Italian flour - I always use Italian style flour to make the dough super light and tender. But all purpose flour works in a pinch!
- Pizza dough flavor - This is completely optional, but I just love the extra flavor it gives to the dough!
- Homemade marinara sauce - I use my favorite homemade marinara to dip the garlic knots in!
How to Make Sourdough Garlic Knots
For all of my sourdough recipes, I measure my ingredients in grams. If you don't have a kitchen scale, I highly recommend getting one! You can find lots of affordable ones on Amazon that work great!
In a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine all of the dough ingredients and knead until the dough comes together in a cohesive ball that pulls away from the sides of the bowl (5-10 minutes). It should be somewhat smooth but still a little wet and tacky. If the dough doesn't come together, add 1 tablespoon of flour at a time until it does.
Cover the bowl and let the dough bulk ferment at room temperature for 3 hours. Perform a set of stretches and folds every 30 minutes (3 sets is plenty) and let the dough rest for the remainder of the 3 hours.
To stretch and fold the dough, you'll do one stretch north to south, and one east to west.
- Grab the top edge of the dough and stretch upwards as far as you can without the dough breaking.
- Then fold it over on the bottom.
- Repeat the same motion from side to side.
Shape the dough into a tight ball and place into a lightly oiled bowl. Cover and place in the fridge overnight (up to 48 hours).
In the morning: Remove the dough from the fridge and divide into 8 equal pieces (about 84 grams each).
Roll each piece into a rope about 10 inches long and 1 inch thick. Tie each rope into a knot and place on a parchment lined baking sheet, cover lightly, and let rise at room temperature until puffy (about 1 hour).
While the garlic knots are resting, preheat the oven to 400°F.
Stir together the melted butter, garlic, parsley, parmesan, and salt and lightly brush over the shaped knots.
Bake at 400°F for 15-20 minutes or until lightly golden brown.
Remove from the oven and brush with the remaining garlic butter. Serve warm with homemade marinara sauce.
These sourdough garlic knots are best eaten the same day but will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Tips for Success!
For best results I always recommend using weight measurements (especially when baking) because it's the most accurate. Kitchen scales are super affordable and also reduce the number of dishes you have to do! However, all my recipes also include US customary measurements for convince. Use this chart to convert measurements for common ingredients!
Substitutions: In all my recipes, I've included substitutions that I know will work, but I cannot guarantee results if you substitute ingredients that I have not recommended. [For example, granulated sugar and honey are indeed both sweeteners but they have very different properties so they can not always be swapped 1:1. Using honey in a cookie recipe that calls for granulated sugar will yield a giant mess.] In the recipe card you'll find links to the specific ingredients/brands that I use.
A note on salt: I almost exclusively use Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt because it's the best all-purpose salt for cooking and baking. If you're not using kosher salt, consult this handy guide for a conversion chart! When in doubt, if you're using table salt just reduce the amount by half for baked goods. When cooking, I prefer to under-salt because you can always add more! If you've over-salted, adding a little bit of acid (like lemon juice) can help.
More Recipes You Might Like!
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Recipe Card

Sourdough Garlic Knots
Ingredients
Dough
- 85 grams sourdough starter
- 340 grams Italian flour, substitute all purpose flour
- 162 grams water
- 26 grams olive oil
- 4 grams kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon pizza dough flavor, optional
Garlic Butter
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
- 2 tablespoons parmesan cheese, grated
- 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
Serve with
Instructions
- In a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine all of the dough ingredients and knead until the dough comes together in a cohesive ball that pulls away from the sides of the bowl (5-10 minutes). It should be somewhat smooth but still a little wet and tacky. If the dough doesn't come together, add 1 tablespoon of flour at a time until it does.
- Cover the bowl and let the dough bulk ferment at room temperature for 3 hours. Perform a set of stretches and folds every 30 minutes (3 sets is plenty) and let the dough rest for the remainder of the 3 hours.
- Shape the dough into a tight ball and place into a lightly oiled bowl. Cover and place in the fridge overnight (up to 48 hours).
- In the morning: Remove the dough from the fridge and divide into 8 equal pieces (about 84 grams each). Roll each piece into a rope about 10 inches long and 1 inch thick. Tie each rope into a knot and place on a parchment lined baking sheet, cover lightly, and let rise at room temperature until puffy (about 1 hour).
- While the garlic knots are resting, preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Stir together the melted butter, garlic, parsley, parmesan, and salt and lightly brush over the shaped knots.
- Bake at 400°F for 15-20 minutes or until lightly golden brown.
- Remove from the oven and brush with the remaining garlic butter. Serve warm with homemade marinara sauce.
Notes
Nutrition
The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Amy says
Is this supposed to be made with sourdough discard or activated starter?
Thanks!
Kyleigh Sage says
This recipe is designed for active starter! However, if you wanted to use discard you can add in 2 teaspoons of instant yeast. And then adjust the first rising time to 1 hour (no need for stretches and folds) and then immediately move on to step 4 (no need for overnight in the fridge). Or you can immediately put it in the fridge and let rise overnight.
Jessica Formicola says
You can never go wrong with garlic bread, but sourdough?? I am dying over deliciousness! Thanks so much for sharing!
Erin Gierhart says
Garlicky, buttery, and soft! What could be better?!?