What's for Dinner? - Little Caesar's Copycat Crazy Bread

We are definitely a bread eating family at our home.  My son and my husband are especially fond of just about any type of homemade bread I make for them.

Here is another recipe that our family really enjoys.  It is a copycat recipe for the Little Caesar's Crazy Bread that you buy at most Little Caesar's Pizza restaurants.  We usually have this bread once a week with a pasta dish or along with our homemade pizza.  It is so easy and can be completed from start to finish in about 35-40 minutes!

Little Caesar's Copycat Crazy Bread

Ingredients:

1 cup warm water

1 package yeast (or 2 ¼ tsp. of bulk yeast)

2 tsp. sugar

2 ½ cups Flour

1 tsp. salt

3 Tbsp. Butter

1/2 to 1 tsp. garlic salt

Directions:

Mix warm water, yeast, and sugar together and set aside for 10 minutes until foamy.  

I use my hottest tap water.  You need the temperature of your water to be roughly 110 degrees and no more.  

Add the flour and salt.  Mix well and knead for 4-5 minutes until a nice pliable dough forms.  Set the dough aside for 10 - 15 minutes to rise.  

Flatten the dough in a pizza pan and use a pizza cutter to cut the flattened dough into "sticks" (about 7-8 times across and once the opposite way across the middle).  


Allow the "sticks" to raise for about 10-20 more  and bake at 450 degrees for 6-8 minutes or until golden brown.  

While baking, melt 2 tablespoons real butter (not margarine).  Add ½ to 1 tsp. of garlic salt to the butter (check the taste as you add the garlic to see how garlicky you like it).  


When the bread sticks are removed from the oven, immediately brush them with the garlic butter mixture on the top and bottom.  Then, lightly sprinkle Parmesan cheese on the top.  

Tips:

1.     Real butter is a must for me in order to get that true copycat bread stick flavor.  I have used margarine, and while it is good also, the real butter enhances the flavor much better.

2.     This recipe can also be used as a pizza crust.  Just press the dough into the pan  after the first 10 minute raising time and "decorate" it as you would your favorite pizza.  If you use a 12 inch pizza pan, it will produce a thicker dough.  Or, you can divide it up into a couple of pans or one larger pan.  Bake at 425 degrees until cheese is bubbling and lightly browned.

3.     I use my toaster oven.  It cooks quickly, doesn't heat up my kitchen as much in the summer, and it gives the top a nice browned look.  However, if you use the toaster over, make sure you turn the bread half way through the cooking process. I usually cook the bread sticks for 4 minutes and then turn them to cook for another 3 minutes.  My toaster oven only takes about 7 minutes for the cooking time.

4.     Another great way to raise the bread sticks for the final rise time is to set the bread stick pan on top of the toaster over and allow the heat of the oven to raise the dough more quickly.  The top of my Black & Decker Toaster over gets really warm.  There is just enough room between my oven top and the bottom of the cabinet to be able to provide a nice "proofing" area.

5.     Here's a thought...When you purchase Crazy Bread from Little Caesar's, you spend about $1.29 for an 8 piece bag.  These are so much cheaper to make.  Making them homemade you get a little over twice the amount (about 18 pieces) and pay roughly $.25 to $.30. 

6.     I make a lot of homemade breads at our house whether it be pretzels, doughnuts, bread sticks, or bread rolls.  So, I purchase the bulk packages of yeast at Sam's Club.  It comes in  2 - one pound packages (2 pounds) of yeast for about $4.50.  A one pound package of yeast is roughly 42.66 of the individual packets of yeast that you purchase typically in a 3-pack at most grocery stores.  In essence, I pay approximately $.15 (my would be cost for a 3-pack) for what is typically $.99 -1.29  at the grocery store.  It is a great way to save, and the yeast lasts a long time in a sealed container or Ziploc bag!

Mmm...Mmm...good!