No need to head out to eat and sit there staring at those around you eating those wonderful breadsticks. Gluten Free Olive Garden Style Breadsticks can be made in our own home and, ya’ll, they are TO DIE FOR!!!!! Soft, garlicky, and buttery, we’ll never have to do without them again.
I can’t even remember the last time I stepped foot into an Olive Garden. I do know they have a gluten free menu, but it doesn’t really impress me much. And it’s missing these breadsticks, so there’s that.
But we don’t have to worry about that anymore because, guys, these are the REAL DEAL!!!! My daughter, who goes to Olive Garden frequently, says she can’t tell the difference between ours and theirs. I’d say that’s a stamp of approval, wouldn’t you?
WHERE TO START
I’m forever trying to make the absolute BEST gluten free bread and goodies I can, so when I thought to try out these breadsticks, the first two recipes I thought to start with are my Softest Gluten Free Rolls ever and my Fabulous Gluten Free Italian Bread.
I’m torn between these two breads for good reason. They’re the best of the best. Of course, my cinnamon roll dough from the Ultimate Gluten Free Cinnamon Rolls is great, too, but that’s a sweet dough so it’s not even in the competition.
What I decided to do is combine the two best recipes and create one ultimate recipe for gluten free bread dough. Using the tangzhong in the Italian bread was EXACTLY what was needed to make these the most incredible, soft and light breadsticks!!
THE LIST OF INGREDIENTS AND ANY SUBSTITUTIONS
- Kim’s gluten free bread flour blend — as with all my breads, I strongly suggest you use my bread flour blend. If you don’t, I can’t guarantee you’ll get the best results. For dairy free, substitute pea protein for the whey protein isolate.
- Whole milk — you can substitute a non-dairy milk, such as almond or coconut.
- Yeast — for gluten free breads, I always find the best yeast to be instant or fast acting.
- Sugar — just a small amount of sugar to feed the yeast.
- Salt — for flavor and also to help the dough rise.
- Butter — substitute coconut oil or a neutral oil, such as canola. This may change the consistency of the dough to slightly looser.
HOW TO MAKE GLUTEN FREE BREADSTICKS
- Make the tangzhong. Combine a very small amount of the gluten free bread flour with a small amount of the milk from the recipe in a small saucepan. Whisk over medium heat until a very thick paste develops. Set aside to cool slightly.
- In bowl of stand mixer, combine the rest of the bread flour, yeast, salt, and sugar and whisk. Add tangzhong and slowly pour in the rest of the milk and butter. Increase speed to medium high and blend for 5 minutes.
- Remove bowl from mixer and cover with plastic wrap. Place in warm, draft-free location to rise for 1-2 hours, or until dough has at least doubled in size. Place in refrigerator for at least 3 hours or overnight.
- Knead dough on well-floured surface (using extra bread flour). Pull off 2-ounce pieces (about the size of a large golf ball) and roll into a log about 6-7 inches long.
- Place on parchment-lined baking sheet about 2-inches apart (you may need to use two baking sheets). Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise for an hour, or until doubled in size.
- Bake for 10 minutes.
- Brush with garlic butter and serve warm.
We don’t have to miss out on these wonderful breadsticks anymore!! It takes almost no hands-on time to make these beauties and they are SO GOOD!
Gluten Free Olive Garden Style Breadsticks
Ingredients
- 3 cups plus 3 tbsp (453 g) Kim's gluten free bread flour blend, divided
- 2 tbsp plus 1 tsp (29 g) granulated sugar
- 2 tsp kosher salt
- 2 tsp rapid rise (instant) yeast
- 2 cups (480 ml) whole milk, divided
- 4 tbsp (half stick or 56 g) butter, melted
FOR TOPPING:
- 3 tbsp (42 g) butter, melted
- ½ tsp garlic powder
Instructions
- Measure flour in bowl of stand mixer. Remove 3 tbsp and place into small saucepan, along with ½ cup (120 ml) of the milk. Over medium low heat, whisk until mixture thickens into a heavy paste, about 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Add sugar, salt, and yeast to the rest of the flour in the mixer bowl and whisk. Using dough hook, turn mixer on low and add tangzhong (flour/milk paste) followed by the rest of the milk and melted butter.
- Turn mixer on medium high and knead dough for about 5 minutes.
- Cover bowl with plastic wrap and place in warm, draft-free area to proof (rise) for 1-2 hours, or until doubled or even tripled in volume. Place bowl in refrigerator for at least 3 hours or overnight (the colder the dough, the easier it is to work with).
- Remove dough from fridge and knead on well-floured surface (using extra bread flour blend). Pinch off large golf ball-sized portions (about 2-ounces each) and roll into a log that is about 6-7 inches in length.
- Place on parchment-lined baking sheet about 2 inches apart (you may need to use two baking sheets). Cover loosely with plastic wrap and allow to rise until doubled in size.
- At the end of the rising time, preheat oven to 425°. Open oven door and throw 2-3 ice cubes in bottom of oven and close door. Add baking sheet(s) of breadsticks and bake for 10 minutes.
- While breadsticks are baking, combine topping ingredients in small bowl.
- Remove from oven and immediately brush with butter/garlic mixture and allow to cool slightly before serving warm or at room temperature.
These sound amazing! I can’t wait to try them!
Thanks, Jean! You’ll love them!!
Thank you for the pea protein suggestion! I’ve ordered some and I can’t wait to try your GF bread recipes this week!
I can’t wait for you to try the breads! They’re my favorite things I make. Please let me know how you like them 🙂
I would like to try your gf bread recipes but do not own a stand mixer with a dough hook. Do you think the recipes would work if mixed and kneaded by hand?
You could try mixing them by hand, but it might be a pretty strenuous job. However, if you happen to have a handheld mixer I think that would work. A lot of them have dough hooks, but you could also just try to use the beaters.
I hope this helps! I use my stand mixer on an almost daily basis, so for me it’s well worth the money and has paid for itself over time.
Kim, I am in love! These breadsticks were phenomenal!!! So soft and full of flavor. Totally better than the original, and I used to love them at Olive Garden. Next I need to make their alfredo sauce for dipping. I have switched over to pea protein as well, mainly as a cost thing, and it works perfectly. Thank you!!!
Pam, I need to hire you to be my marketing director, haha!! As always, thanks so much for your comments!! And guess what? I’m posting my copycat recipe for Olive Garden’s alfredo sauce this week!!! Stay tuned 😋
Hi Kim. I bought the listed flours you recommend for your gf bread flour recipe and made this dough. I massed them like your instructions suggest (grams not cups) and it is by far the best tasting gf bread recipe I’ve ever had, and I’ve tried over 10 different recipes. However, I had one problem. I followed both recipes exactly but my dough was very loose and wet. When it came time to kneed the dough it stuck to my heavily floured countertop. I used about 2 extra cups of flour to try and dry it out but in the end I formed the dough on parchment and baked it as an artisan style loaf, which came out delicious. Any tips for making the dough more manageable so it can be rolled and shaped into bread sticks?
Hi, Michelle! I’m racking my brain trying to figure out why your dough would be so wet. Did you make the tangzhong at the beginning? That usually will change the texture enough to be able to roll it. It IS a wetter dough than most, but not as wet as what you’re describing. And you used all the flours I recommended? I know if the rice flour is substituted for another type of rice flour, say Bob’s Red Mill or rice flour from an Asian market, it will change the consistency drastically. I had a reader once use potato FLOUR and not potato STARCH and she had the exact same problem with another one of my bread recipes. Other than that, I can’t think of what else would be wrong.
You’re right it was the tangzhong. The first time I tried the recipe I let it cook for 2-3 minutes over med-low heat and then added it to my mixer with the rest of the ingredients. The tangzhong wasn’t very thick but I didn’t want to over cook it and ruin the recipe. The second time I tried the recipe I let it come to a very thick paste, between 5-6 min on med-low heat, and then added it to my mixer and it made a huge difference. Thank you for your advice!
Turned out amazing!! Thank you:)
Awesome! Thank you, Mars 🙂
Is it possible making this bread with 1:1 baking ( gluten free) flour mix
I’m really not sure, Nancy. I’ve only ever made any of my bread recipes with my own bread flour mix because what was on the shelves years ago didn’t ever work for me. All I can say is you could try it. It doesn’t hurt to try.
Hi Kim,
I gave your recipe a go & the breadsticks turned out really hard; I did left the dough overnight in the fridge to ferment and the baked breadstick had a rather dense and compact texture. Don’t know where I have gone wrong?
Just wondering whether can I use this recipe but instead of shaping the dough into individual breadsticks; can I just bake it in a loaf tin like a loaf of sandwich bread?
Thanks
I’m so sorry they didn’t come out! Did you use my flour blend with all the ingredients I recommend? Or did you use another store bought blend? That will make a huge difference in the texture.
You can try to make a loaf out of it, but I’ve never done it so I’m just not sure if it will work or not.
Hi Kim! It’s me again.
I did use your flour blend for my first round of bread sticks baking.
I tried using this recipe again but baked it in the loaf pan. It came out amazing!! 😋😋
My guess is for the first attempt, I may have “over-cooked” the tangzhong??Thank you for the swell recipe. Will definitely be baking again soon.
It’s been 3 years since I’ve been able to eat a breadstick and I was near tears when I pulled these out of the oven and took my first bite. Thank you!!! I have never been much of a baker but was tired of missing out on the foods I used to eat. That’s when I came across your recipes. I am looking forward to making bread, hamburger buns, sweet rolls, etc… These breadsticks are truly amazing! I’ve premixed the flour blends and am ready to tackle the next recipe.
That’s awesome, Stephanie! I’m so glad they were easy enough for you to make and that you liked them!! I can’t wait to hear about all the other breads you try 🙂
I love this bread dough and use it to make Stromboli for my daughter. Can the dough be frozen after it has sat in fridge overnight?
Yes, it can! Just wrap it in plastic wrap that’s been sprayed with a little nonstick spray, and then either wrap that in foil or place it in a ziptop bag with most of the air removed. Thaw overnight in the fridge before using. It may lose a little of its rising ability, but will still be delicious 🙂
Love everything I’ve made ! Thank you for doing this. Quick questions, last few times I’ve made bread its kind of heavy and I would like it to be more airy. What am I doing wrong?
Hmmm, maybe you’re not letting it rise long enough. Sometimes if the environment is cold, it could take hours for breads to rise properly. I always put mine in my oven that’s been heated very briefly to a very low temp, so it’s nice and toasty. Can you try that?
Ill give that a try today. Thank you!
Fantastic!! I made the dough up yesterday and baked some today for our clam chowder. I thought I’d gone to heaven. You’re a genius!! Thank you so much for doing the research and sharing your recipes.
Oh, goodness Susan! Thank you so much, and I am so glad you liked them 🙂
These were amazing! I followed the recipe exactly and was thrilled with the results. They were soft and flavorful with a “real bread” texture that I haven’t experienced since going GF. Absolutely delicious and every bit as good as the original, if not better!
Awe, thank you so much, Melissa!! I really appreciate your kind words 😍