Breadsticks

Tonight I made Creamy White Chili for dinner. I really wanted some kind of bread to go with it but couldn't decide what to make. I finally looked through some online recipes and found this one for Olive Garden type breadsticks.  They seemed easy enough, so I decided to give them a try.

Now I have tried breadsticks before. And I have not had very good luck with them.

But for whatever reason, this time it worked.  Too well,

I want to eat the whole batch.

Breadsticks

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups warm water (not too hot, not too cold, just right...kind of like warm bath water temps)
2 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp yeast (instant or rapid-rise)
2 Tbsp softened butter
4-5 cups of flour (After reading reviews, I went with bread flour...definitely the way to go)
1 Tbsp salt

Topping ingredients:
3-4 Tbsp melted butter
1 tsp garlic powder
sea salt

Directions
Pour the water, sugar, and yeast into a bowl and let it "proof" for about 5-10 minutes.

Add the butter, flour, and salt.  I would add 3 cups of flour then add more as needed to form a soft dough.  You can knead with a mixer or by hand.  Today I tried using my food processor which has a dough blade. It worked very well until the dough was thick, then it just couldn't handle it. So I finished by hand.

Let the ball of dough sit (covered) for about an hour in a warm spot.

After the dough has doubled in size, punch it down and roll it out into a log. Divide the log into 12-14 equal pieces. (I used a knife sprayed with pan spray to prevent sticking as the original recipe suggested). 

Roll each piece out into sticks, about 6 inches long. Place about 2 inches apart on a greased cookie sheet (or just use parchment paper like I do :). 

Place in the oven on the warm setting (about 175 degrees) for 15 minutes or so until the breadsticks have doubled. 

Brush with half the melted butter and sprinkle with sea salt.

Bake at 400 for 12-14 min (until golden brown).

Add garlic powder to remaining melted butter and brush onto the breadsticks.

Enjoy!