I kind of think these easy homemade breadsticks have actual magical powers. Seriously. These bad boys have helped me make instantaneous friends at church functions when I’m the new girl and made sad people happy. They’re easy to whip up and even easier to customize. Garlic bread seasoning? Yes. Cinnamon sugar twists? Yes. There’s nothing that’s not great on a warm twisty breadstick. This is also fantastic as homemade pizza dough! If you’ve got a backyard pizza oven, you should also check out my Neapolitan Style Crust, which is my go-to for home pizza ovens.
I use this basic recipe for so many things–pocket sandwiches (like Hot Pockets, only not gross), breakfast pocket sandwiches, pizza crust, pizza on the grill, pizza pockets, whatever. One major advantage is that this dough is very, very forgiving. If you’re just getting started, we recommend, checking out these tips on how to work with yeast dough, but this is a great dough to start with if you’re a yeast dough virgin or if you’ve had bad experiences working with yeast in the past.
how to make them
To get started, you’ll need some yeast, sugar, and warm water. The water needs to be about 105-115 degrees F, which you can measure with a thermometer if you want, but I always say water hot enough that would feel like a hot shower but not so hot you wouldn’t want to wash your hair or your face in it. If it’s not warm enough, the yeast won’t activate and if it’s too hot, the yeast will die. The sugar feeds the yeast.
In a large bowl (the bowl of your mixer, if you have one), combine water,
sugar, and yeast.
Let stand for 10 minutes or until yeast is bubbly.
Add salt
and stir. Add 1 1/2 cups of flour
and mix well. Gradually add more flour (usually between 3-4 cups, depending on your elevation and your humidity) until dough starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl
and it barely sticks to your finger.
Cover and allow to rise for 45 minutes or until doubled in bulk.
before
after
While the dough is rising, line a baking sheet with parchment and set aside.
Remove from bowl and place on a surface sprayed with cooking spray. Roll into a rectangle and cut into 12 strips with a pizza cutter.
Roll out each piece of dough into a snake about 18″ long, then drape the middle of the “snake” over your forefinger
and twist the dough.
Place on baking sheet and repeat with remaining 11 pieces of dough. Try to space them evenly, but it’s okay if they’re close; pulling apart hot bread is one of life’s greatest pleasures!
Cover pan and allow dough to rise for another 30 minutes.
When there’s about 15 minutes to go, preheat your oven to 425. When done rising, bake for 12-15 minutes (it will depend on your oven) or until golden on top.
Rub some butter on top of the breadsticks (just put a ziploc bag on your hand, grab some softened butter, and have at it) and sprinkle with garlic bread seasoning
or the powdery Parmesan cheese in a can and garlic salt (or you could sprinkle them with cinnamon sugar. I did that once. It was awesome). If you’d like, you can serve with marinara for dipping.
They’re amazing hot, but I’m not gonna lie, they’re also pretty amazing at 11 pm when your kids are in bed and you’re pondering the meaning of life in the dark in the kitchen.
Breadsticks
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cup warm 105-115 degrees water
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon yeast
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 3-4 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- Butter
- Garlic Bread Seasoning
Instructions
- In a large bowl (the bowl of your mixer, if you have one), combine water, sugar, and yeast. Let stand for 10 minutes or until yeast is bubbly.
- Add salt and stir. Add 1 1/2 cups of flour and mix well. Gradually add more flour (usually between 3-4 cups, depending on your elevation and your humidity) until dough starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl and it barely sticks to your finger.
- Cover and allow to rise for 45 minutes or until doubled in bulk. While the dough is rising, line a baking sheet with parchment and set aside.
- Remove from bowl and place on a surface sprayed with cooking spray. Roll into a rectangle and cut into 12 strips with a pizza cutter.
- Roll out each piece of dough into a snake about 18″ long, then drape the middle of the “snake” over your forefinger and twist the dough. Place on baking sheet and repeat with remaining 11 pieces of dough. Try to space them evenly, but it’s okay if they’re close; pulling apart hot bread is one of life’s greatest pleasures!
- Cover pan and allow dough to rise for another 30 minutes.
- When there’s about 15 minutes to go, preheat your oven to 425. When done rising, bake for 12-15 minutes (it will depend on your oven) or until golden brown. Rub some butter on top of the breadsticks (just put a ziploc bag on your hand, grab some softened butter, and have at it) and sprinkle with garlic bread seasoning or the powdery Parmesan cheese in a can and garlic salt.
Notes
Serving suggestions:
- Omit garlic bread seasoning and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar; dip in cream cheese frosting
- Serve alongside homemade pizza sauce for dipping
Questions & Reviews
I should have reviewed this much earlier, as I have been using this recipe for over a year. I love the bread sticks, but agree with another reviewer that much more salt is needed. I have also used this for pizza and calzones and it has turned out perfect every time. I usually make a double batch and freeze 1/2 of the dough (after the first rising). I have also frozen the bread sticks after I have baked them. I wrap them in foil, sprinkle with mozzarella cheese and bake them at 350 for about 15 minutes and they are perfect. Thank you for such a versatile recipe that my family uses often!
I usually make homemade pizza on Friday night and I decided to switch it up and try this crust and your pizza sauce! My husband said it was a winner, so I will not be going back to my old recipe. Thanks for a winning recipe!
Hello! I am hosting Bunco ( a dice game ) at my house tomorrow for a bunch of church ladies. I want to make these to go along with lasagna but I don’t want to have to make them tomorrow because I will be cleaning my house all……day! Can I prepare the dough ahead of time and refrigerate until tomorrow?
These are very good! I was pleasantly surprised at how easy they were to make. I am not a novice but certainly not a pro at yeast bread making either 🙂 I made these tonight with our mushroom marinara and spaghetti. I wanted to add a little something more authentic with our meal that’s why I opted for homemade bread sticks. I am so glad I found this site! Delicious and so easy. Thank you for sharing such a wonderful recipe. I will be making these again.
~Sherlock
Can’t wait to try these tonight! Since I only cook for two, do you think I could freeze the extra sticks and just thaw out before baking next time?
I’ve never tried it, but I imagine it would be fine! 🙂
please let me know how to freeze these, and in what stage? before baking, or raw, or after?
thanks
Phyllis
Check out the response to Melissa G. just above you! 🙂
Made the breadsticks tonight and my husband actually said, “These are the best breadsticks I have ever had.” I thought all of the previous reviews were a little exaggerated, but now I finally understand the special powers of these breadsticks!!!
They made these at the Pizza Factory in St. George, UT and wrap them around a stick, then bake. Serve them in a vase. Yummy
It depends how thick you like your crust but yes, generally speaking, you could get two pizzas out of this recipe! 🙂
Hi. Love your blog!! When you make this recipe for pizza dough, does it make enough for one pizza? Or could it be enough for two pizzas?
Thank you!!
LOVE LOVE LOVE this dough! In the last two weeks I’ve made breadsticks (Parmesan batch & cinnamon sugar batch), BBQ chicken & Chicken Alfredo (with your guiltless Alfredo recipe!) pizzas on the grill and made a ham/bacon/Swiss Stromboli. This is definitely a keeper. I’ve made the Stromboli with many different doughs (store bought French dough and at least two other pizza dough recipes). My husband declared this one the favorite! And it is so easy! For some reason the last couple dough recipes I tried have flopped. Yours turns out perfect every time!