Homemade braided breadsticks are a gorgeous and delicious idea for any occasion. With a golden crust yet soft and chewy, topped with sea salt or cheese, these breadsticks are going to be your new favourite snack.
Not that long ago, I was making a delicious stuffed Turkish pide, again. Ohh, I like this dough so much! Therefore, I decided on making these delicious breadsticks. Moreover, I made two versions; half I sprinkled with sea salt and a half I covered with grated cheese. Yummy!
You are going to be surprised, how easy it is to make homemade braided breadsticks. In fact, making the yeast dough from scratch has never been easier. Moreover, this dough is simple and basic. The only thing to take care is the yeast. In fact, cold milk or high temperature will kill it.
Furthermore, make sure to take them out of the oven when they just start turning golden brown. Yeah, keep an eye on them. Consequently, they will still be tender and chewy in the middle.
Butter makes the crust shiny and soft
Also, one really important step after baking, to keep the crust soft, is to brush the salty breadsticks and the cheese ones (but only where the dough is exposed) with melted butter. This final touch of butter has a wonderful result and it shouldn’t be skipped. Wink.
Furthermore, these homemade braided breadsticks are wonderful to serve with soups or salads. You might check this hearty bean and sour turnip soup jota, which I served with the breadsticks.
In addition to that, there are plenty of other soups to enjoy; for instance, this colourful red cabbage soup, a delicious roasted cauliflower pear soup, a quick avocado yogurt soup, a healthy cauliflower spinach soup, a detox beetroot raspberry soup or delicate cauliflower-leek coconut soup.
Anyway, I also enjoy them with salami or prosciutto. Dipping them into yogurt or some other dip (for example, creamy hummus or a delicious baba ganoush) can make a great movie or party snack, too. There are plenty of occasions when to enjoy these breadsticks.
In conclusion, I would recommend eating them within 3-4 days, as they tend to get a little dry. But, who can resist so long without eating them, right? Wink. Some people like to freeze them as well, but I prefer making them fresh, every time I crave for them.
Ingredients for about 12 homemade braided breadsticks:
- 160 ml of milk (room temperature)
- 2 tsp of sugar
- 9 g dry yeast (one package and one third)
- 5-6 tsp of salt
- 400 g flour
- 40 ml of warm water
- 32 ml of olive oil
- 1 egg (beaten)
- sea salt flakes
- grated cheese
- 20-30 g butter (melted)
In a small bowl, combine milk, sugar and yeast. Stir with a fork and place in a warm place. I usually choose the oven with the light turned on. Leave it there until it starts getting frothy. It will take the yeast about 10 minutes to get active.
Meanwhile, put the flour in a larger bowl and add the salt. Stir quickly with a wooden spoon. Then, add the water, olive oil and the frothy yeast and keep stirring to combine. Once it becomes impossible to stir with a spoon, continue with your hand. Simply knead it until soft but still slightly sticky (it shouldn’t be sticking to your fingers too much).
Furthermore, transfer the dough on your working surface (which you sprinkled with some olive oil, rather than dust with flour) and continue kneading for 5-7 minutes.
Once the dough reaches a lovely smooth and elastic texture, put it back into the bowl (slightly greased with olive oil) and cover, first, with a plastic wrap and second, with a kitchen towel.
Turn on the oven light
In order to allow the dough to rise nicely, place the bowl in the oven, with the light turned on (just like before) and leave it there for about 50 minutes. When the dough has doubled in size, you are ready to form the braided breadsticks.
Further, flip the dough on the working surface and divide it into 12 portions. Keep the 11 pieces covered with the plastic wrap, while you work on the first breadstick. With your palms, roll the dough into a 20 cm long cord and then cut it in half. Then, continue rolling each half into a slightly thinner cord by stretching them into 30 cm long cords.
Preheat the oven to 200º C and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Braided look bread
Moreover, lay the two “ropes” parallel to each other, join one of the ends, by pinching them together and braid them down to the other end. Pinch the other end together, too. Then, place it on the baking sheet and continue until you have four braided breadsticks next to each other. Yeah, I baked 4 breadsticks at a time.
Before baking them, brush them with a beaten egg and sprinkle generously with sea salt or cheese. I started with sea salt and then the next 6 breadsticks, I covered with cheese. Put them to bake for about 15 minutes or until slightly golden-brown.
In the meantime, prepare the next four and keep them covered with a plastic wrap. Furthermore, right after you take them out of the oven, spread them with melted butter (this applies only for the salty breadsticks). As a result, they will stay soft and shiny.
Homemade braided breadsticks taste great with salads, soups or meat. Also, they are a wonderful snack to enjoy in your break or a lovely idea for a party snack as well. Cheesy or salty, they will bring joy to whoever eats them, no matter which one you make.
Enjoy!
PS
If you like the recipe, if you make the recipe or if you have any new ideas how to improve or change it, let me know in the comments section below or alternatively share your photos and reactions with me on Instagram (@Passionspoon), Facebook or Twitter (@PassionSpoon1). Simply use the hashtag #passionspoonrecipes in your posts. I would love to see them! (wink)
