Your waistline will hate me for this - Olive Garden breadsticks copycat recipe

I could eat my weight in these fluffy garlicky beacons of deliciousness. When we eat at the Olive Garden and the server {rhetorically, amirght?} asks if we'd like more breadsticks I've answered in the affirmative before he's even finished asking the question. And then I shove 2 or 3 or 4 into my piehole. Mike usually sits there in awe...or disgust? Not sure. Hopefully the former. Anyway, this recipe is awesome.

Olive Garden copycat breadsticks

Printable Version - adapted from Full Bellies, Happy Kids

Dough Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups warm water (between 110 - 120°F)
1 package active dry yeast
4 cups flour (+ some for kneading)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons salt

Basting Ingredients:
1 stick unsalted butter, melted
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon salt

Ingredients

In a large bowl, dissolve sugar and yeast in warm water. Allow to sit, covered, for 10 minutes. Combine flour and salt in a separate bowl, and then add to the yeast mixture. Add melted butter.

Mix with a wooden spoon (like I did) or the paddle attachment of a stand mixer until fully combined.

And then I was so excited about eating these that I forgot to take photos of the next few steps. Sorry. I'm sure you understand ;)

Knead dough for a few minutes until just smooth. Avoid overkneading. Grease a cookie sheet and pull off pieces of dough, and roll into breadsticks. As you can see below, I'm not a stickler for making sure they are all the same size or pretty looking since they end up in my mouth about 30 seconds after they're done baking. Depending upon how large you make them, you can end up with ~10-14.

Cover the dough and let sit in a warm place for 45 minutes to an hour. I turned on my oven to the lowest possible temperature, and then shut it off after 5 minutes and stuck them in. After the time is up, preheat the oven to 400°F.

Pop them in and get your butter mixture ready: combine melted butter, garlic powder, and salt. After 6-7 minutes of baking time, baste the breadsticks with half of the mixture.

ALMOST DONE

After another 6-7 minutes, baste 'em again and EAT.

They might not be as pretty, but I promise you they are SO GOOD

And then eat some more.

Every time we make them I reduce the amount of salt a little because they are still a little salty for my taste. Let me know if you find the perfect amount. Enjoy!