Garlic Gluten Free Pizza Bread Sticks

It’s the week before Thanksgiving in the U.S., and here I am with a recipe for super cheesy garlic gluten free pizza breadsticks. Why would a person need that, this week before the biggest food holiday of the year, the one where it’s all about stuffing and turkey? I’m glad you asked, because it presents us with this chance to talk. You know that recipe for Thick Crust Gluten Free Pizza on the blog? The one from GFOAS Bakes Bread? Well it’s a major opportunity to both feed your hungry family while you’re busy making The Big Meal, and a perfect appetizer to throw together for The Big Day itself. Hear me out.

It’s no secret that I consider this thick crust pizza dough recipe to be the savior of all things. And I know that some of you have issues with the 12 hours that I recommend storing the dough in your refrigerator before shaping it and baking it, so you really don’t have to do that if you insist (see the recipe instructions below). But even though a long, slow refrigerator rise might be unfamiliar to some, I promise that it’s a time-tested way to proof bread dough not some weird practice, and those 12+ hours, if you choose to go that way, mostly just mean that you can have pizza dough at your fingertips at a moment’s notice.

The thick crust + tons and tons of cheese + garlic pressed into a gorgeous paste = pizzeria-style pizza breadsticks. I know you probably have no need for these step by step photos, but it gave my 9-year-old a chance to be in pictures (if my kids had it their way, this blog would be nothing but photos of them) and for me to show you just how quickly this comes together.

I’m seriously considering serving these for something of a lunch the day of Thanksgiving. Normally I pretty much like to starve my family until The Big Meal that day, so they’ll all have hollow legs and can eat and eat and eat, but then they hover over me in the kitchen and annoy me nonstop. These gluten free pizza breadsticks might be just the thing.

*Good talk.*

Prep time: 10 minutes       Cook time: 10 minutes       Yield: About 16 sticks

Ingredients

1 recipe Thick-Crust Gluten Free Pizza Dough from page 187 of GFOAS Bakes Bread (reprinted here on the blog) (or use this older recipe for gluten free pizza dough)

4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

4 tablespoons (56 g) unsalted butter, melted

1 ounce finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

8 ounces part-skim mozzarella cheese, grated

Directions

• Make the pizza dough according to the recipe instructions and place the dough in a sealed container or bowl in a warm, draft-free location to rise until nearly doubled in size (1 to 2 hours, depending upon environment). Full doubling is not necessary. Place the risen dough, still in a sealed container or bowl, in the refrigerator to chill until firmer (about 30 minutes). Alternatively, set the dough to rise in a sealed container in the refrigerator for about 12 hours or up to 5 days.

• Shape the pizza dough. Place a pizza stone (or overturned rimmed metal baking sheet) on the bottom rack of your oven and preheat the oven to 400°F. On a lightly floured surface, knead the pizza dough until smoother as directed in  These General Shaping Tips. Roll the dough into a ball. Sprinkle lightly with flour, and, using well-floured hands and a rolling pin, as necessary, pat and roll out the first piece of dough on a lightly floured surface into an oval shape, about 12 inches x 15 inches, rotating the dough and flouring it frequently, to prevent sticking, as shown in the gluten free pizza shaping video. Transfer the round of dough to a piece of unbleached parchment paper.

• Prepare the pizza. Using the flat side of a large knife, press the minced garlic and kosher salt together firmly to form a thick paste. Add the garlic paste to the melted butter, and mix to combine. Using a pastry brush, brush the entire surface of the pizza dough with the entire garlic butter mixture, all the way to the edges of the dough. Sprinkle evenly with the grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, followed by the grated mozzarella cheese, all the way to the edge of the dough.

• Bake the pizza. Place the crust, still on the parchment paper, on the hot pizza stone. Bake until the crust is browned and the cheese is melted and browned in spots (about 10 minutes, but time will vary depending upon how crisp you’d like the crust). Allow to set briefly before slicing down the length in the center and then across into sticks, 8 sticks per side, and serving.

• Adapted from Baked By Rachel, as chosen by you from my Must Make Gluten Free Pinterest Board—in a big way!