These tasty breadsticks are relatively easy to make and ideal for everyday use or entertaining guests.
I enjoy serving them accompanied by various dips and cheeses, and when hosting, I frequently wrap them in prosciutto (or thinly sliced turkey), garnished with fresh herbs or arugula.
When I bake these breadsticks, I normally make a bunch of these in various sizes and freeze them for later use.
I also sometimes use these long bread sticks as edible table decorations and place them in various colored containers and sometimes with ribbons too!
Ingredients
30 g (1 oz) fresh yeast
2 ½ cups warm water (40 - 46 C / 105 -115 F)
1 tsp ground ginger
3 tblsp honey or sugar
1 tblsp salt
1 kg / 2.2 lbs bread or all-purpose flour (approximately)
¼ cup olive oil
Sesame, fennel or poppy seeds, fresh chopped rosemary or cracked black pepper
Preparation Method
In a mixer (or large bowl), dissolve the yeast in warm water. Add the ground ginger, honey and salt. Incorporate about ¾ of the flour and mix.
Add the olive oil and knead with dough hook for a couple of minutes. Add as much of the reserved flour as needed to make a smooth but elastic dough. Remove dough from mixer and knead a little.
Place dough in a bowl, oiled with olive oil. Cover and let rise in a warm place until double in volume. Punch down dough and knead a bit.
Divide dough into 24 – 32 equal pieces and then proceed to roll them out into equally long ropes. Place on a cookie sheet which has been covered with baking paper.
Spray bread dough ropes lightly with water, or if you prefer egg-wash, and sprinkle with topping of choice (sesame seeds, sea salt, dried oregano poppy seeds, fresh chopped rosemary or a mixture of two) on one or both sides.
Bake bread sticks immediately in a pre-heated oven for about 15 - 20 minutes at 175 C or 375F. Remove from oven and place on baking racks to cool.
Tips!
For something different and more substantial, add ½ cup chopped black pitted Kalamata olives + 2 - 3 tsp dried oregano + 2 tsp orange zest to the bread stick recipe above, once kneaded.
If you like to make crunchy bread sticks, then bake bread sticks at 400 F (200 C) for 10 minutes and then lower the oven temperature to 300 F (149 C). Bake for another 15 – 20 minutes which will dry out the bread sticks and make them crunchy.
These bread sticks can be frozen and re-heated before use.
©KaritasM - February 2025
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