Breadsticks and Garlic Knots | Prelude to a Pizza

Breadsticks and garlic knots are a low-cost way to whet appetites and boost overall ticket sales

Fluffy. Buttery. A dusting (or a handful!) of cheese. The best breadsticks and garlic knots are simple yet delicious. Since these starters often are made with the same dough used for pizzas – and served with sauces and cheese already on hand for salads or entrées – breadsticks and garlic knots represent a quick win to drive up ticket values while requiring little extra work by kitchen staff.

Next month, 75 chefs from around the country will compete for the title of America’s Best Breadsticks/Garlic Knots at the Great American Pizza Challenge held during Pizza Expo Columbus. Ahead of the Oct. 26-27 event, Pizza Today is getting advice from the pros about how they make crave-worthy garlic knots and innovative, seasonal breadsticks that serve as an additional revenue stream.

Making Breadsticks and Garlic Knots from Pizza Dough | Knot a Lot To It

Like pizza, breadsticks and garlic knots most often are served pre-portioned, so they are easy for groups to share. New Orleans-based Pizza Delicious serves up tiny, fluffy knots coated in garlic butter, Parmigiano-Reggiano and a sprinkle of parsley. The pizzeria includes 10 to 12 knots per order, served in a basket lined with foil to keep the garlic butter contained – either to a basket in the Pizza Delicious dining room or a to-go bag for carryout orders.

Despite the simplicity of these doughy treats, Pizza Delicious Co-owner Mike Friedman says everyone does them a little differently. The pizzeria makes its dough two days ahead, and staffers slice the dough into strips and roll them into a “log shape” before tying them into knots. “The kitchen crew will be tying them for the next day, and they’ll proof overnight,” Friedman says, adding that the knots are tossed in oil before being spread out on trays and baked at 500 F.

Typically, kitchen staff bakes half of the knots in the morning and another set in the afternoon to ensure freshness. Garlic knots should be puffy and slightly brown when removed from the oven, Friedman says. He warns not to overcook the knots, since they’ll be reheated to order in the same counter-top oven staffers use to reheat slices.

The pièce de resistance – Pizza Delicious’ garlic butter – is created by cooking garlic until it’s sweet and fragrant but not burned. “It’s something you’ve got to pay attention to when you make it, but it’s fairly simple,” Friedman says, adding that offering more, smaller knots per order means more surface area for butter, cheese, salt, pepper and oregano, boosting the flavor of these savory bites.

Breadsticks Business | Standalone Breadsticks Marketplace

Breadsticks aren’t just an add-on menu item at Saratoga Springs, Utah-based The Place Pizza. For the past year and a half, the Peek brothers have run In the Stix, an online marketplace dedicated solely to breadsticks.

“The idea behind that store was to add marketplaces to DoorDash, UberEats and GrubHub, just to get more consistent orders coming in,” Devin Peek tells Pizza Today, adding that while the brick-and-mortar pizzeria features a whopping nine types of breadsticks that sell for between $4.99 and $7.99 per order, In the Stix customers can choose from even more varieties.

Unlike their pizzas, which use a family sourdough recipe before being fired in a woodburning oven set to 700 F, The Place’s breadsticks are made with baking powder instead of yeast, which means dough can be used the same day. “We offer sweet breadsticks and savory breadsticks – and because it’s a sweeter dough, it works with both of them really well,” Peek says.

The most popular order, Stuffed Cheese Breadsticks, contain shredded mozzarella, an Asiago-Fontina mix, Parmesan and Mexican queso. Peek says up to 70 percent of dine-in customers order breadsticks to go with their meals, and his favorite flavor is the Spinach, Feta and Bacon. The Place Pizza also offers a rotating seasonal flavor – currently Peaches & Cream Breadsticks.

The popularity of their breadsticks – made using a dough recipe the Peeks got from their grandmother – came as somewhat of a surprise. “We weren’t even thinking about breadsticks until the very, very end,” Peek says of the pizzeria’s opening nearly three years ago.

To create the stuffed breadsticks, the kitchen makes batches of about 45 at a time, with dough cut into sheets measuring 4 inches by 10 inches. “We make a rectangle with it and then sew one side and fold it, hamburger-style,” Peek says.

In The Place’s wood-fired oven, baking breadsticks takes about half the time as cooking sourdough pizzas. Savory orders come with six to eight breadsticks, while stuffed dessert varieties include 12 bite-size pieces.

Specialty breadsticks limited to the In the Stix online marketplace include the Hawaiian – stuffed with shredded pork, red onion, pineapple and bell pepper with house-made pineapple barbecue sauce – as well as chicken parm, buffalo chicken and build-your-own options. If dine-in customers want to order breadsticks styles reserved for In the Stix mobile customers, they are encouraged to scan a QR code on their table to order them in-store.

The Peek brothers also own mobile ovens that allow them to take In the Stix on the road. “We’ve done breadsticks for weddings as well,” he says. “Last time I checked, we were doing around $3,000 a month on the breadsticks store.”

Garlic Knots Recipe

Get the garlic knots recipe that includes finishes and garlic knot folding instructions.

KATE LAVIN is Senior Editor at Pizza Today.