So it’s almost 8am on this Friday morning and I realized I had schedule this post to go live at 3am, like I always do with my posts, but had completely forgotten to write anything before my “recipe rundown.” I didn’t write anything really to introduce you to these copycat Olive Garden Breadsticks or anything else at all. Whoops. Blogger fail. In over four and a half years of blogging, I don’t think I’ve ever done this before so that’s good at least.
It has totally been one of those weeks. I’ve been making the dumbest mistakes. If you follow me on Twitter, you may have seen I dropped a tin of cinnamon rolls upsidedown on the ground. Yesterday I made chocolate cupcakes and didn’t love how they turned out, so I baked another batch. The second batch somehow tasted like dirt. Yet despite all these little fails, I’ve been feeling really creative and inspired and have been brainstorming fun things to do next year. Where there’s a will, there’s a way. Hopefully I don’t hurt myself in the process.
The dough recipe only has six ingredients! Get your ingredients and your stand mixer fitted with the dough hook ready to go. You can make this dough by hand, just get ready to knead for about 10 minutes.
Mix your wet ingredients in the bowl of the mixer and add some of the flour. Turn the mixer on low and add the remaining flour, mixing until incorporated.
Increase the speed to medium and knead the dough for about 7 minutes.
The dough should be smooth and elastic after kneading. This dough is such a breeze to work with!
Form the dough into a ball and place in a lightly oiled bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm, draft-free place for about 1 1/2 hours, or until doubled in size.
Once doubled, your dough is ready to be portioned and formed into breadsticks!
Divide the dough into 12 equal portions. This is made easy and precise with a scale, each portion should weigh 2 ounces. You don’t have to use a scale but it makes things easier!
Roll each piece of dough into a 7-inch log shape. The logs don’t have to be perfect, they’ll puff up a bit during the second rise.
Cover again with plastic and let the dough logs rise until doubled, about 1 hour. Bake in a 400°F oven for 12 minutes, or until golden brown.
As soon as the breadsticks come out of the oven, brush with melted butter and sprinkle with the salt and garlic powder mixture. Serve warm. Be careful, these are ADDICTIVE!
Be sure to follow me on Pinterest for more scrumptious bread recipes!
For the dough:
-
1
cup
plus 2 tablespoons warm water
-
1 1/2
teaspoons
instant yeast
-
2
tablespoons
granulated sugar
-
3
tablespoons
unsalted butter, melted
-
1 3/4
teaspoons
salt
-
16
ounces
(about 3 1/3 to 3 1/2 cups) bread flour
For the topping:
-
2
tablespoons
unsalted butter, melted
-
1/2
teaspoon
kosher salt
-
1/4
teaspoon
garlic powder
-
In the bowl of a standing mixer, combine the water, yeast, sugar, and butter. Add in the salt. Attach the dough hook to the mixer and begin to gradually add the flour on low speed. Increase speed to medium and knead the dough for about 7 minutes, or until it is smooth and elastic.
-
Remove the dough to a lightly oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rest in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 1/2 hours.
-
Divide the dough into 12 (2 ounce) portions. Roll each piece of dough into a 7-inch log. Place the dough logs on nonstick baking mat or parchment-lined baking sheets, cover, and let rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
-
Preheat the oven to 400°F. Bake for about 12 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from oven and immediately brush with melted butter. Combine the salt and garlic powder and sprinkle evenly over breadsticks. Serve warm.
*When it comes to bread baking, weighing your flour will always ensure the best and most consistent results. If you like to bake, consider investing in a kitchen scale if you don't already have one, it makes a big difference!
*Want to prep the dough ahead of time? Check out my free Make-Ahead Baking Guide and follow the directions for making yeast dough in advance!
Far and away the best breadstick recipe Ive tried. Soft and pillowy, great flavor, and couldn’t be easier to put together.
Hi Betty! I’m so happy you loved this recipe! Happy baking 🙂
Hi, these taste amazing! If I need to make the dough in advance of when I need the breadsticks ready for (ie dough will need to be made on the morning but won’t want the breadsticks until evening time) would it be ok to let them rise for longer or could they be refrigerated before being cooked? And if so would they go in the fridge before rising or after? I’m wanting to prepare the dough then be able to leave it until evening and when I come home just throw it straight in the oven but not sure how it would work.
Hi Zoe! So happy you love this recipe! I would definitely refrigerate your dough, rather than letting it rise for that much longer. Dough will continue to rise in the fridge, but much slower than at a warmer temperature. We haven’t tested making this recipe ahead, so we cannot guarantee the same wonderful results … but my advice would be to let the dough rise once, shape them, and then cover well with plastic wrap (but not too tightly; again, they will slowly continue to rise; you just don’t want them to dry out in the dry fridge!). Pull them out of the fridge a little before you’re ready to bake, and ensure they have had their full second proof. The second proof could take awhile, or not much time at all – it all depends on the ambient temperature in your kitchen. Once they have appropriately risen, follow the baking instructions per the recipe. I hope that helps! Let us know how they turn out!
So good!! These breadsticks were a hit! They were tender, fluffy, just the right texture. They were declared as “Better than Olive Garden’s” by my OG obsessed husband. We’ll be making again!! Thanks fit an awesome recipe!
I made these using my bread machine. I turned my oven to 170 then turned it off to do the 2nd rise. These turned out great. I am making them again but into sub size buns for meatball subs. Definitely worth making over and over
YUM! That sounds amazing, so happy you love this recipe!
Hello,
I feel so excited to try this recipe. Quick question: o you punch down your dough after the first rise before you weigh and shape the breadsticks?
Blessings!
Alexandra
Hi Alexandra! We’ll typically use a bench scraper to divide the dough into the 12 portions, which deflates the dough on its own, but you’re welcome to punch down the dough if you prefer 🙂 Can’t wait for you to try these, let me know if you have any other questions beforehand!
Love this recipe. The first time I followed the recipe exactly. The next time I used Rapid Rise Instant Yeast and skipped the first rise. As soon as the dough was mixed I rolled it out into a 7” x 12” rectangle and using a pizza cutter cut it into 12 – 1 inch strips. They came out delicious and I saved myself a lot of work b
These are amazing! Best homemade breadsticks I have ever had and way better than anything you can buy at the store! I didn’t have a scale to measure the weight of the breadsticks, so mine ended up being shorter and fatter, but that didn’t matter! They are so soft and light, just like the Olive Garden ones. It was also a really easy recipe and I say this as I held my 14 month old the entire time I made them because he was sick and didn’t want to be set down! Thank you for an amazing recipe!
Aw, yay! So glad this recipe was easy to make and delicious too! Hope your child feels better soon
Best breadsticks. I make them all the time and they come out perfect every time!
Love this recipe. Have been told by guests that they taste better than Olive Garden. The first time I followed the directions exactly. The second time, I pressed dough out to a 7 x12 rectangle, I used a pizza cutter and cut 1” strips. The breadsticks had a much nicer appearance.
Woohoo, the ultimate compliment! So glad everyone loved them 🙂 And great idea about using a pizza cutter!
Wonderful! Dumped everything in my bread maker. Set it on “dough.” Once that was done followed the rest of the recipe instructions.
So happy you loved this recipe!