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This Copycat Olive Garden Breadsticks Recipe is super simple to make and makes the softest, garlicky breadsticks reminiscent of those at the famous restaurant. Be sure to enjoy these with my Olive Garden Fettucine Alfredo Recipe, it’s such a great pairing!
Ingredients needed to make this recipe
- BREAD Flour (not all purpose)
- Water (warmed to 105F to 114F)
- Active Dry Yeast
- Granulated Sugar
- Table Salt
- Olive Oil
And for the topping:
- Butter, melted
- Garlic Powder
- Parsley, dried or freshly chopped
How to make my Copycat Olive Garden Breadsticks Recipe
The first thing you’ll need to do is proof the yeast. Add yeast to warm water with a teaspoon of sugar and wait. This is calling “blooming the yeast”. The purpose here is to make sure that the yeast is active and will perform as expected. I am literally obsessed with the Red Star Platinum brand below because just look at this after just 5 minutes!
That foamy top is what you are looking for and it could take anywhere from 5 to 10 minutes. Pour it into a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Alternately, you could do all of the mixing and kneading entirely by hand. It may just take longer.
To the yeast mixture, add the olive oil and salt. At this point, you could opt to add a bit of garlic powder to make these garlic breadsticks, although I added mine to the topping instead.
Add about half of the bread flour and mix to combine. From here, you may or may not need all of the flour in the recipe. This has a lot to do with your flour and the humidity (or lack thereof) in your location. The goal is a slightly sticky but able to be handled dough.
Add some flour to your bench and begin to knead the dough by hand for about five minutes. You’ll see the dough has become smooth and elastic.
Oil a bowl and place the dough into it. Cover with a towel or plastic wrap. One hour later, it should have now doubled in size. This is why we bloomed that yeast. To make sure it would do THIS!
Place the risen dough onto a floured work surface and dust with a bit as well. It should deflate slightly and using a bench scraper or knife, you can cut into breadsticks. I try to form the risen dough into a rectangle shape, but the more you handle it, the harder it is to work with. It’s very soft and pillowy.
At this point, they are rolled to the correct dimensions at about 5-7″ long, but these are homemade so they do not have to be perfect. Allow them to rise for another 30 minutes and they’ll look great!
Bake at 400 degrees for 10-13 minutes or until golden.
Brush with melted butter that you have seasoned with garlic powder. Add a bit or parsley and feel free to sprinkle with parmesan at this point if you’d like. I just gave them a sprinkling of salt. The butter will absorb in a few minutes.
Just LOOK at that texture! They are so soft and addictive. Oh my gosh. There just aren’t words. Serve with my Olive Garden Fettucine Alfredo Recipe. Just amazing.
Did you make my Copycat Olive Garden Breadsticks Recipe? Leave a comment below and let me know what you thought. You can also tag me with your photos on Instagram @aimee_stock I love seeing your creations 🙂
Copycat Olive Garden Breadsticks Recipe
Equipment
- Stand Mixer (you could also make this entire recipe by hand)
- Large Bowl
- Lined Sheet Pan
Ingredients
- 3/4 c Warm Water warmed to approximately 105-115 F (40-46 C)
- 1 1/2 tbsp Sugar divided, (1 tsp used for blooming the yeast)
- 2 tbsp Olive Oil
- 1 tsp Salt plus more for serving
- Garlic Powder OPTIONAL (I added mine in the topping)
- 2 1/3 c Bread Flour NOT all purpose. Please note: you may not need all of the flour (see blog notes)
FOR TOPPING:
- 3 tbsp Butter melted
- 1/4 tsp Salt (skip this if using salted butter)
- Garlic Powder optional, to taste
- Dried Parsley or freshly chopped
- Grated Parmesan Cheese OPTIONAL, for sprinkling
Instructions
- Proof the yeast by adding yeast to warm water with 1 teaspoon of your sugar. Allow to sit for 5 to 10 minutes until foaming. Add to a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook (or to a bowl, if doing the recipe by hand).
- Add the oil and salt, plus one half of your bread flour and mix to combine.
- Gradually add more flour until you get a slightly sticky, but still able to be handled dough. Place on a floured worksurface and knead for 5 minutes until smooth and elastic. If it's still too sticky, add a bit of your bench flour as you go but take care not to add too much.
- Cover and allow to rise in a warm (not hot) place for one hour. It should have doubled in size.
- Place the dough onto a floured worksurface and it will deflate. Form into a rectangle and flatten. Using a sharp knife or bench scraper, cut into 10 even breadsticks. They don't have to be perfect. Place onto a baking sheet and cover, allowing to rise another 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bake the breadsticks for 10-13 minutes or until golden.
- Make melted butter mixture and brush over baked breadsticks. This will soak in after a few minutes.