- 3 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon dry parsley (optional,
for decoration)
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 cup milk
- 1/2 cup margarine (1 stick)
- 1 more teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)
These are good and easy and they get eaten
up so fast that you may have to make a
double batch.
Begin with your favorite big bowl. Measure
your flour, salt, garlic powder, parsley and
baking powder into it. Stir the dry
ingredients together so that the salt,
garlic powder, parsley and baking powder are
evenly distributed throughout the flour. Now
pour in your milk. Stir with a big spoon
until you get a ball of dough that leaves
the sides of the bowl. You may have to dust
the ball of dough with a little flour if it
seems sticky to you. Gently knead the ball
of dough right there in the bowl about 5 or
6 times. Now place your dough on the
counter. You may place a sheet of waxed
paper under it you like. Using a rolling pin
or sturdy bottle roll the dough out into a
rectangle shape. If the edges get all
scraggly then use your hands to press them
back up into main rectangle. It doesn't have
to be perfect. You are aiming for a
rectangle that will fit into a 9 by 13-inch
pan. When you get the dough the right size,
set it aside.
Meanwhile place the margarine in a 9 by
13-inch pan. Place the pan in the oven at
425°. Allow the pan to preheat and the
margarine to melt. When the margarine is
melted, carefully remove the pan from the
oven. It will be very hot, so don't burn
yourself. Sprinkle the second teaspoon of
garlic powder and the 1/2-teaspon of salt
into the pan. You do not have to use the
extra salt. My crew likes their bread sticks
salty so I always use it, but it isn't
vital. Now, very carefully lay your
rectangle of dough into the pan, over top of
the margarine. Next cut the rectangle into
narrow strips. I use a pizza cutter for this
because it seems to work the best. A sharp
knife will work too though, so use what you
have available. My method of cutting is to
cut the dough in half and then cut each half
in half and then each quarter in half, going
on and on until I have a lot of narrow
strips of dough. The margarine will creep up
between the strips. This is normal. It is
what gives these bread sticks their texture.
After cutting your strips, place the pan in
the oven, still at 425°, and bake them for
20 minutes. They will be brown and crispy
when they are done. If desired you may serve
them with small cups or bowls of spaghetti
sauce or seasoned tomato sauce as a dip.
Alternatively, they make a great hot bread
with any Italian style meal like lasagna,
spaghetti or anything of that ilk.
The parsley is simply for decoration. It
makes the bread sticks look more "gourmet"
but it adds little to the flavor or the
texture. Leave it out if you don't have any
or are running low. If desired you may
sprinkle the bread sticks with a little bit
of parmesan cheese before or after baking.
This tastes good, but once again, it is
optional. This recipe is one of my most
often requested one here at home. Family and
friends alike have all fallen in love with
it and beg me to make it for pot lucks and
for regular family dinners. Essentially it
is based on my recipe for
Buttery Bread Sticks.
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