Olive Garden Breadsticks

Recipe from www.jamiecooksitup.blogspot.com
Time: 1 hour
Yield: 14 breadsticks

Dough:
1 1/2 C hot water
2 T sugar
1 T salt
2 T butter, softened
4-5 C flour
1 T yeast

Topping:
3 T butter melted
sea salt
1/4 t garlic powder


1. Turn your tap water to hot. It should feel hot, but not so hot that it's uncomfortable to touch.
2. Fill up your handy measuring device with 1 1/2 C hot water.
3. Pour the water into your stand mixer. Add the sugar, salt and the softened butter.
4. Pour in about 2 cups of flour.
5. Using the paddle handle start to mix the dough on low.
6. Add the yeast.
7. Add the rest of the flour about a half cup at a time, until the dough scrapes the sides of the bowl clean.
8. Mix the dough for 5 minutes on medium speed. Until elastic-ey.
And who know if elastic-ey is even a word! If you were to touch it, it should spring back just a bit. That is what you want!
9. Spray your counter top and your hands with cooking spray. Take the dough out of the mixing bowl and roll it into a long log on your counter top.
10. Spray a sharp knife with cooking spray and cut the dough into 12-14 pieces. You can see that I cut it into 12 here....I actually ended up cutting parts off some of the bigger pieces and ended up with 14 breadsticks total.
11. Roll the pieces into long snakes. "Whoa." you might be thinking. "That looks like some kind of Pinocchio length breadstick, or somethin!" Don't worry. Once you set them in the pan, they will shrink a bit. It will work out well for you if you roll them out long....Pinocchio long.
12. Spray 2 large cookie sheets with cooking spray, and lay the breadsticks out leaveing about 2 inches between each one.
13. Place the pans in your oven with the temprature turned to 170. Let them rise for about 15 minutes, or until doubled in size.
14. Once the breadsticks have risen, remove them from the oven. Brush them with the 1 1/2 T of the melted butter and sprinkle them with the sea salt.
16. Return them to the oven and turn the heat to 400 degrees. Your dough will rise a bit more as the oven temprature increases. Once it has hit 400 degrees the breadsticks should cook for about 12 -15 minutes, or until golden brown. Half way thought the baking period open up your oven and switch the bottom pan to the top, and the top to the bottom. This will ensure they cook evenly.
17. While the breadsticks are baking combine the rest of the melted butter with 1/4 t garlic powder.
18. When the breadsticks are golden brown, remove them from the oven and brush them with the melted butter/garlic mixture.
That's it! Serve these babies hot from the oven. You won't regret it!

1 hour Rolls

I got this recipe from PheMOMenon.blogspot.com.  Here is the direct link to this recipe.  I made this last night and they were a hit!  It was the first time I used my new KitchenAid Mixer for mixing!  I love it!


1 1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
1 tablespoon instant yeast
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon sea salt
4 cups all-purpose flour, lightly spooned into measuring cup, then leveled off


In the bowl of a stand mixer, stir together warm water, yeast, and sugar. Let stand until creamy, about 5 minutes.

To the yeast mixture, add the oil, salt, and 2 cups of the flour - on low speed with the paddle attachment incorporate the flour to create a wet, sticky mixture. Still on low speed, add 1 cup of the remaining flour and incorporate. Switch to the dough hook and add the remaining 1 cup flour. On low speed, mix the dough to incorporate the final addition of flour until the dough has pulled away from the sides of the bowl. Turn the speed to medium and knead until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Lightly oil a large bowl and place the dough in the bowl - turn to coat. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 20 -30 minutes.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and gently deflate into a rectangle. Cut it in half vertically, then each half vertically again into thirds so you have 6 equal strips of dough. Cut each strip of dough into fourths by cutting horizontally to make 24 little squares of dough. Take each piece of dough and cup it lightly under the palm of your hand on a clean surface. Press lightly and start rotating and rolling the dough ball quickly so that it forms a nice little ball of dough. Once you get some practice, you can do this with both hands at the same time and really speed up the process.

Place each rolled piece of dough into a lightly greased 9x13 baking pan in rows of 4 about 1/2-inch apart. Cover the rolls in the pan with a lightly greased piece of plastic wrap and let rise to double while your oven is preheating to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C) - about 20 minutes. If you want an even more golden color to the rolls, brush them with a little melted butter before baking. Bake for 13-15 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden brown. Serve warm and enjoy!