For the dough, you'll need:
3/4 cup plus 2 tbs warm water
1/8 cup olive oil
1 1/2 tsp sugar
2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
2 3/4 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
For the garlicky coating:
1 tbs olive oil
1 tbs butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbs chopped fresh parsley
To start, mix the warm water and the yeast and let activate. Mix the flour and sugar in a mixer or another bowl. Add the yeast mixture and olive oil and combine well. Now add the salt (salt hinders yeast production, so you want to add it at the last possible minute). If using a mixer, switch to the dough hook and knead the dough for a few minutes--I did my usual fifteen. If using your hands, just knead for as long as you wish. Lightly oil your mixing bowl, and make sure all sides of the dough are coated with oil. Cover with plastic wrap and set in a warm, draft-free place for an hour, or until the dough has doubled in size. While you're waiting, set up two baking sheets with parchment paper, and get out your rolling pin and some olive oil. When the dough is ready, punch it down and separate it into two halves, then quarters. Each fourth makes about five knots. Keep the dough you aren't working with covered, and on a well-oiled surface with an oiled rolling pin, roll out each section to about five inches by seven inches and 1/2 inch thick. Now take a pizza cutter or a knife and cut the section into five strips. Roll each strip with your hands to make the edges round. Tie in a knot, and set on a prepared baking sheet. Sometimes my strips would get too long when I rounded the edges, so I just folded them in half, and twirled to make a rope; which I then tied in a knot. When the first baking sheet is done, cover with a clean, dry kitchen towel and let rise for about twenty minutes while you ready the second sheet. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. When the knots have doubled in size, bake the first sheet for 12-15 minutes until golden brown, then repeat with the second (which should have finished proofing by then). While the knots are baking, mix the butter and olive oil in a small saucepan. When the butter has melted, add your garlic and let cook on low heat just to get the harshness out (don't let the garlic burn!). Off heat, mix in the parsley and set aside. When the first batch is done, brush on some of the garlic mixture and eat immediately!