Copycat Olive Garden Breadsticks taste just like the ones you can't stop eating at the restaurant! Make these soft garlic bread sticks as a side dish for your next Italian dinner.
Prep Time15 minutesmins
Cook Time12 minutesmins
Additional Time1 hourhr
Total Time1 hourhr27 minutesmins
Course: Breads
Cuisine: Italian
Keyword: copycat olive garden breadsticks, garlic breadsticks, homemade breadsticks, how to make breadsticks
In a small glass bowl, dissolve sugar and yeast in the water. Let stand until frothy, about 5 to 10 minutes.
In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, combine 1 ½ cups of flour with the salt. Pour in the yeast mixture and oil. Stir, or mix on medium-low in mixer, until combined.
Gradually add more flour as you mix until dough pulls away from side of bowl and forms a ball. Knead on a well-floured surface, or with dough hook, adding more flour if needed, until smooth and elastic and no longer sticky, about 7 to 10 minutes.
Place dough in an oiled bowl and cover with a towel or plastic wrap. Allow to rest for about 45 minutes. It will have nearly doubled in size.
Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Carefully roll out dough on a well-floured surface into a 8 - 9 inch wide rectangle. Cut into 10 even sized strips, 8 - 9 inches long. (See Tips for how to get even-sized sticks.) Gently, and ever so slightly, roll strips to make them more rounded.
Place bread sticks on the prepared sheet, about 1.5 to 2 inches apart. Cover and let rest until doubled in size (about 30 minutes).
Preheat oven to 400°F. Bake uncovered for 12 to 14 minutes, until tops are golden brown.
Remove from oven. Brush sticks with melted butter and sprinkle with garlic salt. These are best served warm.
Notes
If you buy yeast in the packets, use 1 packet for this recipe. (1 packet = 2 ¼ teaspoons) The extra ¼ teaspoon will not affect the recipe, except that it may rise slightly faster.
You may not need to use the full amount of flour. Flour in baking is very finicky, and varies greatly depending on several factors, including the humidity level in your kitchen and altitude.
To ensure even-sized bread sticks, if you have a kitchen scale, weigh the dough then divide by the number of bread sticks you want (i.e. 10). You should easily get at least 10 out of this recipe. When you cut the dough into sticks, you can weigh each one to check the size.
This recipe can be doubled, if 10 bread sticks is not enough for you! To do this, increase the yeast to 1 tablespoon, and double the rest of the ingredients.
Can store in air-tight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.