Caraway Seed Breadsticks
I've always wanted to try and make homemade breadsticks, and winter seems like the time to play around with this. They don't take as long to rise as regular bread, which is the main reason I wanted to try it out. One note is that I used bread flour. I've used all purpose flour in the past for other breads and it just doesn't have the same consistency. Also, I let the dough rise in a slightly warm oven (the oven is not on)- it seems to rise more this way.
Ingredients
3/4 cup warm water
1 tbsp active dry yeast
1 tsp honey
3/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp caraway seeds
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tbsp Parmesan cheese
2 cups bread flour
1 tbsp milk
1 tbsp olive oil
coarse cornflour / cornmeal to sprinkle on the bottom of the bread sticks
Directions
1. In a mixing bowl, stir the yeast and honey into the water. Cover and let sit for 10-15 mins (top will look frothy).
2. Add the caraway seeds, salt, onion powder, garlic powder, Parmesan cheese. Beat at medium speed with egg beater until blended.
3. Add the flour, 1/2 cup at a time, beating until well incorporated (dough will be sticky at first).
4. Add the milk and oil, beating for about 5 mins (dough will be soft but formed). Cover and let the dough sit for 15 minutes.
5. Take the bread out of the bowl and knead it on a floured surface until it's soft and elastic, add more flour if needed. I test it by lightly poking it and seeing if it bounces back.
6. Once it's kneaded, cut it into 15-16 pieces. Roll each piece into 6-8 inch ropes- I do this by rolling it between my hands and the table. Flour the surface as needed to keep it from sticking.
7. Dip the bottom of each rope in the cornflour and arrange in a 9 x 13 baking pan (8 pieces per pan). Let the breadsticks rise 30-45 min.
8. Bake in a preheated oven at 450 F for 15 minutes. (Optional: spray the oven with water at 5 min intervals- makes the bread crustier). Bake until the breadsticks are golden brown. Let them sit for a a minute, then transfer to cooling rack or serve hot!