Copycat Olive Garden Breadsticks

In a small bowl, whisk together the warm water, yeast and ½ teaspoons sugar until well dissolved. Set aside and let it stand for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine remaining 1 tablespoon plus 2 ½ teaspoons sugar, 1 ½ cups flour, salt, and vegetable oil. Gradually mix in the yeast mixture. Stir until well combined (if you have a stand mixer with dough attachment, you can use it now). As it stirs, add the remaining 1 ½ cups flour. Then, if dough is too sticky, add up to ½ cup additional flour.

Lightly spray a bowl with vegetable oil spray or lightly coat it with some butter and place dough inside. Cover with plastic wrap and let it rise for about 1 ½ hours, allowing it to double in size. Make sure it’s in a warm place.

Punch down the dough and divide into 12 equal pieces. Roll each into an 8-9 inch rope and place on a sheet of wax paper. Cover the top with more wax paper and let dough rise for another hour.

Preheat the oven to 375 F during the last 10 minutes of rising. Place breadsticks on a parchment paper lined baking pan and bake for 15 minutes, until it turns a light golden brown. Keep an eye on your breadsticks during baking as ovens vary and you don’t want to bake them too long.

While breadsticks bake, combine the topping ingredients in a microwave safe bowl. Put it in the microwave and heat for 30 seconds at a time until melted. Stir until well combined. Set aside.

When breadsticks are done remove them from the oven. Brush butter mixture on top of each baked breadstick then bake in the oven for an additional 5 minutes, until golden brown.

Serve warm, perhaps with some unlimited salad with my spot-on Copycat OG salad dressing on the related blog link.

Recipe from: CookingClassy.com.