Homemade Breadsticks

Traditionally found alongside large bowls of pasta, breadsticks have become a staple in our house. We are a family who loves options: biscuits, dinner rolls, and now breadsticks. Dinner is just never complete without a side of bread of some sort! The kids love to help roll out the ‘snakes,’ and we love that this is one of those recipes that gets everyone involved. The only unfortunate thing about this recipe is that 12 breadsticks are never enough! They are addictingly good, and we never have leftovers! You might want to consider doubling this and hiding some away for yourself!

Make by hand Instructions:

You can make this in either a stand mixer or by hand. If you want to make by hand, you’ll need a large mixing bowl to stir it all together with a wooden spoon. Once it becomes too difficult to stir with a spoon, you can switch to your hands. Proceed to kneading with your hands on a clean, lightly floured surface for 5-10 minutes.

Flour Options for Homemade Breadsticks:

This recipe can work well with either all-purpose flour or bread flour. Remember, if you want to substitute in whole wheat flour, you never want to use more than 50% whole wheat flour. Any addition of whole wheat flour will produce a more dense breadstick.

Active Dry Yeast vs. Instant Yeast:

We love the convenience of instant yeast, and how we can just throw it in with the rest of the ingredients without any proofing time. If you wish to use active dry yeast, you’ll want to first stir together the warm water and yeast and let sit for 5-10 minutes while it bubbles and activates. You may then proceed on with the rest of the recipe as written.

Need your breadsticks faster?

These breadsticks are ready to eat in just less than 90 minutes. If you need to speed things up, you can allow your breadsticks to rise in a warm place by preheating your oven to 100 degrees F. Allowing your dough to rise in this setting will cut your rising time by about half. Just be sure to remove your breadsticks from the oven before preheating the oven fully for baking. The fastest you can make this recipe using this trick is about 50 minutes.  

Freezer Instructions:

After baking, let your breadsticks cool completely. Wrap breadsticks in plastic wrap and then place into a freezer-safe zip-top bag. They should last for up to 3 months in the freezer. When ready to eat, let thaw in the refrigerator overnight before reheating.

Storage and Reheating Instructions:

Store in an airtight container or bag for up to 5 days. Wrap in foil and reheat in an oven preheated to 300 degrees Fahrenheit for 7-10 minutes.