Cream Cheese Breadsticks are soft, fluffy, creamy, cheesy, and easy to make at home. This recipe involves making your own pizza dough from scratch, but you can easily purchase it from the grocery store.
I have baked these in many different ways: in a regular kitchen oven with a baking sheet, on a pizza stone, and even in a pizza oven. All methods work well, but the pizza oven does it the best. The crust is fluffier and moister and the bottom of the crust gets a beautiful golden brown color. However for this recipe, I've developed it for the standard kitchen oven.
How to know when the dough is proofed?
The dough should be at least doubled in size. This is usually a good indication that the dough has enough air bubbles that the final result will be soft and fluffy. It usually takes anywhere from 1-3 hours, depending on how hot/cold your home is.
One trick I have learned is to put the dough in the oven with the light on. The light provides the perfect amount of heat for the yeast to multiply quickly. To kickstart the heat, I will also preheat my oven for about 30 seconds and then turn it off.
How to make cream cheese breadsticks
Once the dough is proofed, use your hands to stretch the dough into a circle or rectangle depending on the shape of the pan you are using.
Spread on the cream cheese topping. My cream cheese was still very firm so I had to heat it up in the microwave for 15 seconds to soften it first. Then sprinkle on the mozzarella cheese.
At this point, I like to rest the dough in the pan for another 15-30 minutes to give it a little more rise. Then bake on the middle rack for 10-12 minutes. Once the cheese starts turning golden brown in many spots, the cream cheese pizza is ready. Slide the pizza onto a large cutting board and cut it into sticks.
Cream Cheese Breadsticks
Ingredients
Dough
- 2 cups all-purpose flour (244g; plus extra for dusting)
- 1 teaspoon instant yeast
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- ¾ cup water (175g)
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (or melted butter)
Cream cheese spread
- ½ cup cream cheese (120g)
- 2 tablespoons melted butter
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
Toppings
- 2 cups mozzarella cheese
Instructions
- In a stand mixer bowl, whisk together the flour, yeast, salt, and sugar.
- Add the water and oil and mix using the hook attachment for 3-4 minutes. You can also knead by hand but the dough is quite sticky at first so it is quite difficult.
- Cover the dough with plastic wrap and let it sit in a warm place until doubled in size. This can take anywhere from 1-3 hours depending on how hot/cold your home is.
- In a small bowl, combine the cream cheese spread ingredients and mix well.
- Preheat your oven to 450°F and place the rack in the lower-middle position. Lightly grease a pizza/baking pan. I usually preheat my oven for at least 20 minutes so that the oven walls have enough heat to rise the pizza quickly.
- Thoroughly dust your hands and the dough with some flour to prevent sticking. Place the dough in the center of the pan. Use your hands to flatten the dough until it's ½ inch thick.
- Spread on the cream cheese spread. If the cream cheese is hard to spread, microwave it for 15 seconds until it's warm. Sprinkle on the mozzarella cheese.
- Let the dough rest for another 15-30 minutes.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes until the crust is golden brown and the cheese is browning in many spots. Slide onto a large cutting board and cut into sticks. Enjoy!
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