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
Thank you so much! This is the breadstick recipe I’ve been looking for!
Yep, the best pizza dough ever. I will never buy the refrisgerated roll again, can even compare, plus it is really easy to put together. I would love to see a whole wheat variation.
Is there a specific kind of thermometer i need to use to check the water temperature?
Also, when i add the flour to the yeast mixture do i need to use my hands to mix it or use a specific tool?
I’m new at this but i CAN’T wait to try this at home.
Maria–You can use a candy thermometer or you can just gauge it by touch–my rule of thumb is that it should be hot enough that you’d want to take a very warm shower in, but not so hot that you wouldn’t want to wash your face or hair in it.
As far as adding the flour to the yeast mixture, if you have a stand mixer, you can use that. Otherwise, just use your hands! 🙂 Just be careful not to add too much flour–that’s really easy to do when you’re mixing dough by hand.
You can TOTALLY do this! 🙂
Thank You soo much Kate for the easy tips. I’m definitely trying this tonight. My family are such bread lovers. I take it that if i want to make more, i just double the recipe right?
You got it Maria!
I’m cruising this recipe to make for a vegan crowd this weekend and this tip about how hot is right hot is AWESOME.. I know exactly what that would feel like and thus wala!! 🙂 THANKS
This makes the best pizza crust!! The recipe along with your tips from the cookbook turned out a perfect pizza.
A few clicks and I'm not sure how I stumbles across this blog, but I have fallen in love! I've been looking for an easy, tasty pizza dough recipe, and I can NOT wait to try making these breadsticks… YUM! We also made your peanut butter playdough today, and my toddler loved it! So did the other kids we had over… kids between the ages of 2 and 11, it was a hit across the board. I can't wait to explore this blog some more!
I was just wondering if you could make the dough in the morning and put it in the fridge to rise for later?? I LOVE this recipe and use it 2 or 3 times a week, but today I need to make it ahead! Thanks so much! I love your site and I ordered yoru cookbook!
I have totally made these before and love them. However tomorrow I am planning to make them for a crowd. Can you double the recipe and have it rise the same, etc? Or do I need to make two seperate bowls of dough? Also, for the future has anyone tried freezing this or making it ahead and keeping it in the fridge? Thanks!
I just made these tonight and they are AWESOME! I was so proud of myself after making them because they looked and tasted SO good.
Mary–You can always add more flour, but I'd do it in the initial mixing phase (although if you're rolling it on a floured surface, some will make it in that way, too). It's pretty much impossible to give an exact figure of how much flour goes in, just because there are so many variables, so just add enough until the dough barely sticks to your finger when you touch it and you'll be golden. 🙂 Hope that helps!
I made these again tonight and both times I'm having a hard time twisting them because they are so soft. Have you ever added more flour after letting them rise? Would that hurt it if I did?
If anyone is thinking of making these but doesn't have all the ingredients to Kate's magical garlic seasoning – wait because the seasoning is OH MY GOSH! My husband called these a drug!