Olive Garden Breadsticks
Soft, faintly sweet Olive Garden Breadsticks made from an enriched milk and yeast dough, baked pale gold and brushed with melted butter and garlic salt the moment they leave the oven. Twelve from one batch, and almost all of the three hours is hands off.
Ingredients
Dough
- 1 cup whole milk warmed to about 110°F
- 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast one standard packet
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar divided use
- 3 cups all-purpose flour plus up to 1/4 cup more as needed
- 1 1/2 teaspoons fine salt
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter melted and cooled slightly
- 1 large egg beaten, for brushing before baking
Garlic Butter Topping
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
Equipment
- Stand Mixer (optional)
- Mixing bowls
- Baking Sheets
- Plastic Wrap or Kitchen Towel
- Parchment paper
- Pastry brush
Instructions
Make the Dough
- Bloom the yeast: Stir the warm milk, yeast and 1/2 teaspoon of the sugar together in the bowl of a stand mixer. Leave it for 10 minutes, until a foamy cap has formed across the surface. If nothing happens, the yeast is dead and the batch will not recover.
- Start the dough: Add the remaining sugar, 1 1/2 cups of the flour, the salt and the melted butter. Mix on low with the paddle attachment until it comes together as a loose batter.
- Knead: Switch to the dough hook. Add the remaining flour a little at a time and knead for 7 to 8 minutes, until the dough is smooth, elastic and pulling cleanly away from the sides of the bowl. Add up to 1/4 cup more flour, a tablespoon at a time, only if it still sticks to your fingers.
- First rise: Turn the dough into a lightly greased bowl, cover it, and leave it somewhere warm for about 90 minutes, until doubled. A turned-off oven with the light on works well.
Shape and Rise Again
- Divide: Punch the dough down and turn it onto a clean, dry counter. Cut it in half with a bench scraper.
- Cut twelve pieces: Work each half into a round and cut it into 6 even wedges, so you finish with 12 pieces of roughly equal weight.
- Roll the ropes: Roll each piece into a rope about 8 inches long on an unfloured surface. Space them well apart on two parchment-lined baking sheets.
- Second rise: Cover the trays loosely and let the ropes rise for about 1 hour, until visibly puffed and airy when nudged. Do not cut this short.
Bake and Butter
- Bake: Heat the oven to 425°F (220°C) during the last 10 minutes of the rise. Brush the ropes lightly with beaten egg, then bake one tray at a time on the middle rack for 11 to 13 minutes, until the tops are the color of pale straw.
- Butter and finish: Stir the garlic powder and salt into the melted butter. Brush it generously over the breadsticks the moment they come out of the oven, while steam is still rising, and serve warm.
Notes
Measure the flour by weight if you can. Three cups scooped from the bag can vary by 40 grams, which is the difference between a soft dough and a stiff one.
To make it ahead, refrigerate the dough after the first rise for up to 24 hours, or shape the ropes and refrigerate them overnight on the trays. Let shaped ropes come back to room temperature and finish puffing before baking.
Store baked breadsticks in a sealed container at room temperature for up to 2 days, or freeze for up to 3 months. Reheat wrapped in foil at 350 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes. Unbaked shaped ropes freeze well too: thaw and rise for about 3 hours, then bake as written.
Use garlic powder rather than fresh garlic in the topping. Fresh garlic burns on contact with hot bread and turns bitter.
Nutrition values are an estimate.
Nutrition
Calories: 190kcal | Carbohydrates: 28g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 16mg | Sodium: 320mg | Potassium: 70mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 180IU | Calcium: 35mg | Iron: 1.6mg