Over-The-Top Breadsticks!

Spring is in the air....at last!!!! The sunshine, the fresh air, the green grass.....it all really puts me in the mood to celebrate, even though there's nothing in particular to celebrate! But wait.....if I think about it a little longer, there's ALWAYS something to celebrate! Nuthin' wrong with celebrating the first daffodil, or the fact that I can put my winter clothes away or that the lawn needs mowing , or.....or.....or.......I could go on, but I'm sure you can dream up your own "Day of Celebration!"

This week I celebrated friendships that have lasted decades (Ooooo, it makes me sound old to say that!) Our card club (again, I sound old.....lol!)  has been getting together monthly for about 25 years. We've had a rotation of girlfriends in and out of the group as our life circumstances have changed, but it's always been a good, solid group who pray before our meals, aren't too serious about our card games, laugh A LOT (and cry together on occasion) and just plain love being together.  The pic you see here is one of "me and the girls" at my place earlier this week. We had been jamming to some songs we had been playing on my dad's old jukebox - what a great celebration we had together!! 

I hope YOU'LL decide to celebrate something, somehow, somewhere this week! I served these breadsticks at my "celebration" and they were a big hit! I hope you enjoy them! 

Over-the-Top Breadsticks!

Dough:

1 Cup warm water

1 Tbsp/ Packet Red Star Platinum Yeast

2 ½ - 2 ¾ Cup unbleached all-purpose flour

1 tsp. salt

1 Tbsp. sugar

2 Tbsp. olive oil

2 Tbsp. garlic bread seasoning (see recipe below)

Garlic Bread Seasoning:

¼ Cup Parmesan cheese

½ tsp. coarse kosher salt

1 Tbsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. dried oregano

1 tsp. dried basil

1 tsp. dried parsley

Combine ingredients in a small bowl. Place in a covered container. Refrigerate leftover for future use.

To make:

Place warm water and yeast in EZ DOH bucket and stir to dissolve yeast. Let rest 1 minute. Add one cup of flour, then additional dough ingredients. EZ DOH-it for 2-3 minutes, or until dough is smooth and soft and all ingredients are incorporated. Remove dough from bucket, spray bucket with cooking spray, “smooth” dough and replace in bucket. Cover and let rise until doubled.

Remove dough from bucket and deflate. Roll out into a 8x14” rectangle. Brush with softened/melted butter. Cut rectangle into 8 -14” strips. Fold each strip in half and twist. Place “twists” side by side in a 6 ½”x 10” (or similar sized – a little larger wouldn’t hurt) baking pan/dish. Let rise until doubled/puffy. Bake at 375 for 20-30 minutes until golden. Remove from pan and let cool on a wire rack. Brush with butter while warm. Sprinkle a small amount of the seasoning on top. ENJOY!! 

Over-The-Top Breadsticks!