Munch Madness 2015: Olive Garden breadsticks

Nicole Smeltzer of The Middlest Sister is here to test out Pinterest’s most popular Olive Garden Breadsticks copycat, as posted by Chef-in-Training.

[divider]

I was so excited when I landed my Munch Madness copycat recipe: Olive Garden Breadsticks! Breadsticks are obviously the best part of the Olive Garden experience, and I was fully prepared to live happily ever after with my copycat recipe in an avalanche of buttery, garlicky goodness.

Most of the time, a decent bread recipe takes the better part of a day. Kneading, punching, rising, repeat, repeat, repeat… but this one promised to come together in just about an hour. And it did!

Sadly, my breadstick castle in the sky started crumbling down around me once I took a closer look at the ingredients.

It really did say 1 tablespoon of salt.

It was incredibly difficult for me to follow the directions to the letter. I bake a lot and I KNOW that’s too much salt. But I did it. Against my better judgment, I added one full tablespoon of salt. That’s three teaspoons, by the way. Three of them.

I moved on. I mixed and I kneaded. The recipe said to “add more or less as needed” when it came to the flour. I definitely needed more.

A lot more.

Once I managed to roll the sticks into shape, I left them to rise for 45 minutes. They rose beautifully, and I popped them into the oven with regaining optimism. It was now time to make the butter topping!

Again, I had to grit my teeth and waste, er, use ½ a cup of butter. That’s a full stick of butter, y’all!

And yes, it was WAY TOO MUCH.

Finally, the breadsticks were done, and they smelled so yummy. It was time for the taste test! I called my family over for the verdict.

And we all died of salt poisoning.

With a little tweaking, this recipe might be a decent copycat, but as written, I’m sorry to say it didn’t hit the mark. Goodbye, breadstick castle. I’ll see you tonight in my dreams.