In high school I used to eat breadsticks for lunch multiple times a week. I know, I was pretty much living the dream life. These days my bread consumption had shifted to the morning, as I’m usually enjoying slices of homemade bread or a toasted bagel with a cheesy spread for breakfast. But that doesn’t mean I ever stopped loving breadsticks, I just got more practical about my consumption. I’ll regularly make a batch of breadsticks when I’m making pizza, my typical pizza dough recipe makes 3 balls of dough, and I’ll turn one of those into breadsticks instead of pizza. When it comes to making pizza I’m pretty adamant about making slow rise dough, because the flavor, texture, everything is better. But sometimes, even I’ll admit, that you shouldn’t let stubbornness hold you back from enjoying last minute cravings for breadsticks. These breadsticks are everything I want breadsticks to be. They’re soft and doughy, with a delicious garlicky, salt-flecked finish. They’re baked in a thin layer of olive oil so that the bottoms are as rich tasting as the tops, which are brushed with olive oil before baking. While you could use some melted vegan butter if you’d prefer, I particularly love them with the fruity, slightly bitter complex flavor of olive oil. Smart folks may even realize that an additional light layer of olive oil after baking takes them to the next level. So, this recipe came about recently when I had a craving for breadsticks around 5pm, and instead of ignoring it, I decided to throw together a quick yeasted dough. There are only 4 ingredients in this dough: flour, water, salt, and yeast because it’s all you need for a perfect dough! I chose bread flour for a chewier texture, and used a higher ratio of water to flour for a soft dough. A wetter, more slack dough helps the gluten develop and the yeast proliferate. The dough only needs a few minutes (like, 3 or 4.. at most 5) of kneading to develop the gluten. I usually just do this by hand so I can easily adjust the flour if needed, though you could use a stand mixer if you’d prefer.
After kneading the dough gets a quick rest so the gluten can relax and the dough can be shaped into breadsticks. Once shaped, the breadsticks are placed on the prepared (read: greased with olive oil) baking tray and covered for their single rise. A few minutes into the rise I turn the oven on to preheat to 450 ºF so that it gets nice and saturated with heat. The dough rises for just 1 hour (maybe a little more or less depending on the temperature and what else you’re doing) before being brushed with some olive oil and sprinkled with granulated garlic and salt (if you have garlic salt, you can probably use it here… I just don’t buy the stuff). The breadsticks bake just for 8-10 minutes, or until they’re lightly golden. I like to keep the breadsticks nice and soft so don’t overdo the baking time. You can always lift one to check the underside for that beautiful light golden hue. These breadsticks can be gobbled up hot from the pan, but why not finish them off with a nice spicy marinara dipping sauce? Because yeah, they’re even better that way. [side note: As a teenager, I would choose that gross cheese dipping sauce for my breadsticks.. and like 10% of me wants to try and recreate a vegan version of it. Anyone want to encourage me?] The marinara is so easy to make. Fry a generous amount of garlic and crushed red pepper in olive oil, along with a bit of dried thyme and salt, then add canned tomatoes and simmer on low heat for 15 minutes. Then blitz it up a little for a smoother texture and let it sit until the breadsticks are ready. If you don’t want a spicy sauce you can always decrease or leave out the crushed pepper. I hope by now I’ve convinced you to add breadsticks to your next meal. They go great with pizza, pasta, or a large plate of salad. Also, they don’t make a bad breakfast, if I do say so myself ;-). Let me know if you try the recipe! Leave a comment below, and tag your photos @thecuriouschickpea and #thecuriouschickpea on Instagram, or share with me on Facebook. Happy dipping friends!
Notes:
You can easily half the recipe for 8 breadsticks, but unless you’re just 2 (maaaaybe 3) people, you’ll probably want the full recipe. I served them alongside a dinner with friends, and there were 4 of us, 16 breadsticks, and plenty of other food, and only 1 breadstick was left at the end. They’re pretty delicious, what can I say?
*you can use whole tomatoes, diced tomatoes, or crushed tomatoes. If using whole tear them apart a little before adding.
