Brenda’s Breadsticks

For plain breadsticks mix together the dry ingredients then add the water and mix well. I use a stand-up mixer with the paddle attachment.

For kalamata olive breadsticks increase the flour to 1½ cups. Finely chop 20 pitted kalamata olives and add to the dry ingredients.

For cheese breadsticks add 2 ½ oz. of finely chopped cheese to the dry ingredients. I use Valley Ford Estero Gold Reserve Montasio Style or their regular Estero Gold. You can easily substitute Parmesan or Pecorino.

 

Directions

1

Once the dry ingredients have been mixed with the water, place the dough on a work surface that’s lightly dusted with flour, shape into a rectangle that is approximately 5” wide and a half inch thick, the length doesn’t matter. Place the rectangle on a lightly oiled surface (use a baking spray or olive oil) that you can cut on. Oil the top and cover with plastic wrap. Let it rest for 30 min.

2

Set up your baking sheet with parchment paper.

3

Now comes the magical part. Cut a piece of dough across the 5” width that’s about the size of a finger. Pick it up and gently stretch the dough out and place on the parchment paper. You want it to be less than a half inch wide. As they cook, they double in width, but not length.

As you pull more sticks place them 1” apart. Once the tray is full, cover with plastic wrap and heat your oven to 350 degrees F.

4

Bake for 10 minutes, turn the pan and bake for 10 more minutes. Continue baking and checking every 3 minutes or so until they’re crisp and golden. Can take up to 30 minutes or more.

Once they have cooled, stand up in a glass container to serve.

A little advice:

The cheese breadsticks are the trickiest to bake. I actually flip them once during the baking. Also check frequently, because they can darken quickly.

The olive ones are the trickiest to stretch, so I give them a little rolling to finish the stretch.