Whisk together the flour, sugar and kosher salt in a large mixing bowl.

If you're using active dry-yeast, combine it with 1 and ¾ cups of warm (not hot) water, mix it and let sit for 10-15 minutes to activate the yeast-this is called proofing. If you're using instant yeast which is recommended, you can mix it with the dry ingredients in step 1.

Add the water and olive oil to the bowl with the dry ingredients and bring all of the ingredients together using a silicone spatula. Once the ingredients are combined, use your hands to form the dough into a ball.

Transfer the ball of dough to a floured surface and knead by hand for 5 minutes (you can instead use a dough hook to combine the ingredients and knead the dough if you would like). Shape the kneaded dough into a ball.

Place the ball of dough in a clean bowl that's been greased with 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap (or a warm dish towel) and let the dough rest in a warm place for 1 and ½ hours. The dough should double in size as it rises.

Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and punch it down with your fist to let the air out. Divide the dough in half, and form two 8-inch long logs. Use use a dough scraper or pastry cutter to cut the dough into 8 strips.

Roll each strip of dough into an 8-inch roll, tie the dough strip into a knot and tuck the ends. Divide the 16 knots between 2 large baking sheets, leave them slightly spaced apart. 

Cover each the baking sheet with a dishtowel and let the garlic knots rise again for 30 minutes. 

Preheat your oven to 425°F, and make the garlic butter by melting the salted butter in a small sauce pan. Chop the basil and add ¾ of it to the saucepan. Reserve the rest for garnishing. Mix in the garlic powder and brush each knot with garlic butter.

Bake the garlic knots in the oven for 15 minutes, brush them again with garlic butter and let them continue baking for another 5-10 minutes, until they're deep golden-brown.

Once the knots have finished baking, brush them one last time with  garlic butter, and sprinkle them with grated parmesan and the remaining chopped basil. Serve with side of marinara sauce.