Although I am trying to stay away from most refined carbs, that avoidance doesn’t mean that I can’t eat bread. I just eat good bread! I’ve ranted and raved about the joys of grinding your own wheat in the intro to the cookbook, so I’m not going to repeat myself here.
Versatile and Easy Breadsticks
A bread item perhaps a little fancier than a basket of plain rolls. And they don't even need butter!
Ingredients
- 3 1/4 cups Flour Freshly-ground hard whole wheat is best then whole-wheat flour from the grocery store, and then, last, regular or bread unbleached flour.
- 2 teaspoons instant yeast
- 1/4 cup olive oil Plus extra for brushing over the dough
- 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese or other types of cheese; see comments for suggestions.
- 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons coarsely ground black pepper
- 1 cup water
- 1 tsp. seasoning See below for various suggestions.
Instructions
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If you have a bread machine, dump in the ingredients and put through the dough or quick dough cycle. Or you can mix with a stand mixer and a dough hook, kneading for about 10 minutes and then allowing to rise for 30 minutes or so.
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Roll out the dough into a 10 x 18-inch rectangle, preferably on parchment paper. Cut the dough into strips 1/3" to 1/2" wide along the 18" side.. Use a pizza cutter for the fastest results. spreading the strips out slightly. transfer the strips on the parchment paper to a baking sheet. Spray the dough strips with cooking spray or brush with olive oil. Sprinkle with additional spices and/or cheese, if desired. Let the strips rise, covered, for about 30 minutes, until they look slightly puffy.
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Bake the breadsticks in a preheated 375'F oven for 18 to 22 minutes, until they're golden brown, flipping them over halfway through. Remove them from the oven, and cool on a rack.
Recipe Notes
This recipe will make around 48 breadsticks, more or less depending on how thin you cut them. Thinner sticks will bake up crisper, if you space them out on the baking sheet. This recipe is very adaptable. You can vary the cheese and seasonings to fit the rest of your menu—Parmesan plus perhaps some garlic and Italian seasoning for an Italian dinner, finely-grated Cheddar and some taco seasoning for a Mexican dinner, etc. Adapted from recipe originally printed in an issue of the King Arthur Flour product catalog.