Pizza Today -March 2023 - 58

Next to pizza, garlic appetizers are one
of the top selling items at pizzerias. They
are simple to make, and even if you don't
have excess dough to use up, you most
likely have all of the ingredients necessary
already prepped and ready to go.
The type of garlic app - knots, bread,
sticks and rolls - you choose to serve at
your shop depends a lot on what type of
restaurant it is and the dough you make. If
you consistently have dough leftover at the
end of the night, garlic knots might be a
great way to make use of it. On the other
hand, if you have an oven with a steam
element and make your own bread/rolls,
garlic bread is a no brainer. If you have
more of a sit-down restaurant and want
something to put on the table while people
order drinks and food, garlic sticks might
be just the thing you're looking for.
Once you've decided on what
you want to make, there are lots of
different ways you can go about it.
The first component to think about, and
I would argue one of the more important,
is your base. What dough you will use,
how you proof it, what shape to cut it
into and how much dough to use are all
things to take into consideration. Another
important aspect is how you cook it: bake
or fry. If you're making garlic bread, it goes
without saying that you should proof your
rolls and bake them off before turning
them into the actual garlic bread.
Knots can be a little trickier. Since a lot
of the time, they are baked to order, you
want to make sure that they are cooked all
the way through. That being said, everyone
knows how chaotic it can get on a Friday
night with a double stacked ticket line and
an oven full of pizzas. So here are a few
things to help make this appetizer an easy
and delicious option for your menu:
* Par-bake before service. This way the
knots are almost fully baked and only
need a few extra minutes in the oven
before being tossed in garlic, fat and other
toppings.
* Make smaller knots. smaller knots
mean less cooking time.
* Turn down the heat. keep one deck of
your oven at a lower temperature and bake
the knots in that deck for a longer period
of time. For example: we have a three deck
oven and we keep the top two at 650 F for
our NY style pies and the bottom at
575 F for our Sicilians, grinders, slices,
roasted veggie sides and garlic rolls.
* Put a tent on it. Tent some foil over
your rolls as they go in the oven to trap
and circulate the heat, removing at the end
to crisp up the knots.
* Master the tie. Melissa Rickman, from
Wholly Stromboli says: " If tied correctly,
you will have a little well in the center of
our knots which holds a little bit of garlic
butter sauce and the tails are my favorite
part! "
Once you have your perfectly proofed
and cooked knots, rolls or sticks, it's all
about getting the fat and garlic just right
to create your ideal flavor profile. In
other words, what are you going to coat
your rolls in and are there any additional
toppings such as cheese or fresh herbs that
you want to add? If you are making garlic
bread, all of the toppings will be slathered
in the middle of the roll instead of tossed
and melted on top. Of course, you know
there will be garlic, fat and likely cheese,
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Pizza Today -March 2023

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