Another copy cat recipe

This weekend I tried another "Almost Famous" recipe from Food Network magazine. As some of you may remember, this past winter I successfully recreated Panera's Broccoli-Cheddar soup so I thought I would try another recipe. This time I wanted to make Olive Garden's amazing bread sticks. I followed the recipe and they actually tasted almost exactly like Olive Garden's. The recipe was pretty easy to follow...but time consuming. The dough can be very sticky at one point and was annoying to knead. Thankfully the results were delicious! Here's the recipe.

Ingredients

For the Dough:

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• 1 package active dry yeast
• 4 1/4 cups all-purpose flour,plus more for dusting
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter,softened
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon fine salt

For the Topping:

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• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter,melted
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• Pinch of dried oregano

Directions

Make the dough: Place 1/4 cup warm water in the bowl of a mixer; sprinkle in the yeast and set aside until foamy, about 5 minutes. Add the flour, butter, sugar, fine salt and 1 1/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons warm water; mix with the paddle attachment until a slightly sticky dough forms, 5 minutes.

Knead the dough by hand on a floured surface until very smooth and soft, 3 minutes. Roll into a 2-foot-long log; cut into 16 1 1/2-inch-long pieces. Knead each piece slightly and shape into a 7-inch-long breadstick; arrange 2 inches apart on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Cover with a cloth; let rise in a warm spot until almost doubled, about 45 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Make the topping: Brush the breadsticks with 1 1/2 tablespoons of the butter and sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt. Bake until lightly golden, about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, combine the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt with the garlic powder and oregano. Brush the warm breadsticks with the remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons melted butter and sprinkle with the flavored salt.