Originally published on December 10, 2016
We make pizza a lot over here and last time, I had a whole other batch of pizza dough left over. Feeling ambitious, I decided to whip up some breadsticks to serve alongside the pizza.
As I was rolling them out, I had a vision. I’ve made “twisty breadsticks” before, but found that the dough didn’t quite stick together at the ends, and I ended up with some weird bread that was kind of wrapped around more bread. Yeah, it was weird. But as I was preparing these breadsticks, I thought, what if I left them a bit wider and just sliced them up the middle, stopping just before I cut all the way through the ends? The dough would hold together because it never would have been separated, and I could end up with beautiful twisty breadsticks. And, I did.
Ingredients:
For the roasted garlic:
- 1 head of garlic $0.33
- 1 tablespoon olive oil $0.11
- 1/4 cup butter, melted
- Salt
For the pizza dough:
- 1 cup warm water (105 to 115 degrees Fahrenheit)
- 1 (1/4 oz.) envelope dry active yeast
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
Directions:
1.) In a large bowl, dissolve sugar in the warm water and add yeast and 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Stir to combine all ingredients, then let mixture sit for about 5 minutes, until foamy at the top.
2.) In another bowl, combine the flour and the salt.
3.) Add half of the flour mixture to the water and yeast mixture and mix by hand to fully combine. Stir until the dough comes together and is smooth. Continue adding the flour, 1/4 cup at a time, working the dough after each addition, until the dough is smooth but slightly sticky. (You may not need to use all of the flour.) Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth but still slightly tacky, 3 to 5 minutes.
4.) Oil a large bowl with the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Turn the dough around in it so that it is covered, then cover with plastic wrap or a clean tea towel. Place in a warm place away from drafts, about 1 1/2 hours.
5.) While dough is rising, preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Chop off the top of the head of garlic, place in a small casserole dish, and drizzle 1 tablespoon of olive oil over the top. Sprinkle with salt. When oven is hot, place garlic in and roast for 45 minutes to 1 hour, just until the garlic is soft and beginning to brown. When done, remove from oven and allow to cool.
6.) When dough is finished rising, gently punch it down and turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll out to about 1/4″ thickness and cut into strips about 1″ wide. Cut each of those strips lengthwise up the centre, stopping just short of the top end so you don’t cut all the way through it. Using the two strips you just created, twist the strips around each other (like you’re braiding it using only two pieces.) Pinch the bottom ends together to seal the dough together. Sprinkle with salt and place on a baking sheet and repeat with remaining strips of dough.
7.) Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
8.) Squeeze the roasted garlic cloves from the head of garlic into the melted butter. Stir to fully incorporate. Brush the roasted garlic butter generously over each breadstick and place in the oven.
9.) Bake breadsticks for 10 – 12 minutes, until breadsticks are starting to turn golden brown and are cooked through.
10.) Serve and enjoy!