Copycat Olive Garden Breadsticks…

‘Tis at last comfort food season. A time for warm casseroles, wool socks and all the pumpkins…

My favorite thing to do with all of our tomatoes, is to roast them. Cut them in half the long way, flip them seed side up, drizzle in olive oil and roast for an hour at 400 degrees. Then pulse in the blender with some herbs and garlic. The possibilities are endless. I’ve added fresh herbs, veggies and dried herbs while roasting too! With this delicious pasta sauce comes the ever popular breadstick. Now, this isn’t something I make all the time, but once you have homemade breadsticks, you won’t go back to the store-bought, processed ones…I promise! I guarantee you have all of the ingredients already at home. They are inexpensive to make, require no preservatives or extra junk. Just whole ingredients.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups warm water
• 1 packet active dry yeast
• 2 Tablespoons sugar
• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (whole grain, unbleached works great). I use closer to 4 cups of flour while kneading in my mixer with the dough hook. Add enough flour to make it form a dough ball in the bottom of the mixer.
• 2 TBSP melted butter
• T TBSP salt

Butter Topping

• 1/2 cup butter
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp salt (original recipe called for 1 tsp, but it’s a little salty for me)

Directions:

Grab your Kitchen-Aid mixing bowl (any large bowl will do)l, dissolve the sugar and yeast in warm water. Allow to sit for at least 10 minutes to activate the yeast.

Next, add the flour, salt and melted butter. Mix with your paddle attachment until combined. Then switch to our good friend, the dough hook. A Kitchen-Aid isn’t necessary for these to turn out. You could use a wooden spoon and your hands with the same end result! Mix until a dough ball forms in the bowl. You can add more flour here if the consistency is too sticky.

Spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray. Pull small chunks of dough off, form long rolls and place onto the sheet. Cover with a lightweight towel (I always use flour sack towels for bread proofing). Put the pan into a warm place for about an hour. My favorite place to proof bread is in my microwave with the door ajar. There is just enough heat from the lightbulb in the microwave to provide ample heat for rising, but does not get too warm. Works like a charm every time!

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Place the cookie sheet into the oven and bake for about 6 minutes. Meanwhile, melt the butter, garlic and salt on the stove top. Remove the breadsticks from the oven, brush on half of the butter mixture. Put them back into the oven and back for another 5-8 minutes or until slightly golden. Remove from the oven and brush the rest of the butter mixture onto the sticks. Done and DONE!

Recipe adapted from: Chef-In-Training.com

Original recipe: FullBellies.blogspot.com