Here’s one of my personal favorites. Use a 14-inch deep dish pan (dark colored) and put 16 ounces of dough into it. I like to pin the dough out so it is flat in the pan. This is your regular pizza dough, nothing special. Allow the dough to proof/rise in the pan for about an hour, then par-bake it for about 3 to four minutes. As all doughs are a bit different as are the ovens you will need to experiment a little to determine what works best for a baking procedure. Some find that they can just put the panned dough half way through the oven and it works fine, others find that they need to lightly cover the pan with a piece of aluminum foil. Once the dough piece is par-baked, turn it upside down on a wire rack or screen to cool. When cooled they can be bagged and stored at room temperature for up to three days. To make breadsticks, use a rocker knife to cut in half, then place in the oven using the center door to give it half the bake of your regular pizzas, as soon as it comes out of the oven brush with a commercial garlic flavored butter oil and sprinkle with powdered Parmesan cheese and herbs, cut into approximately 1-inch (25 mm) strips for an order of breadsticks. Serve hot with a small cup of dipping oil (Olive oil and balsamic vinegar) or marinera sauce. You can even taks a cue from Pizza Hut and serve with a cup of garlic flavored butter. You can make this into a dessert breadstick by brushing with plain melted butter as soon as it comes out of the oven and then sprinkling on a combination of cinnamon and sugar, then drizzle on a simple white icing made by stirring together powdered sugar and hot water to make a thick but pourable consistency. Put this into a squeeze bottle and squeeze onto the top of the bread sticks in a drizzle pattern (back and forth) and serve without a dipping sauce.
This is also a good way to use any old dough that you might be thinking of tossing out.
Tom Lehmann/The Dough Doctor
