Basil & Sriracha Breadsticks

So it took us more than a long while to discover the Great British Bake Off. (No idea why that took us so long) But when we finally did start watching it, there’s no surprise how inspired we were to make and bake new stuff in the kitchen! Breadsticks were one of those new things. Now we can watch people cooking breadsticks while eating breadsticks. If we took a long time to catch on with watching the Great British Bake Off, I reckon we took an eternity before we started making our own breadsticks. I mean, what were we waiting for? These little ones are like mini-baguettes, and slightly more awesome for their capacity to be dunked into practically anything yummy – salsas, hummus, curries, etc. Oh, and did we mention? They make great lightsabers for a Star Wars themed party. Or magic wands for a Harry Potter one. Or nunchucks for a Bruce Lee kungfu gathering. Ok, stop.

When we realised how crazy we could get with the flavour combinations, there was no holding back. We could use cheese, or herbs, maybe spices, or sauces.. anything! Eventually we settled on a pairing of basil and Siriracha chilli sauce, which served to be an excellent combination in settling those afternoon hunger pangs. These breadsticks taste almost like pizza!

Basil and Sriracha Breadsticks

Makes about 20 sticks

• 280g strong bread flour
• 150ml tepid water
• 5g sea salt
• 10ml olive oil
• 4g instant yeast
• 1 heaped tsp dried basil
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 heaped tsp Sriracha chilli sauce

 •••

1. Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and bring them together as best as you can. Then, divide the raggedy dough into two equal portions.
2. In the first half, add the dried basil and knead away. And in the second half, add the smoked paprika and chilli sauce and knead away. It’s double the kneading, I know, but it’s only about half the amount of time needed for each half.
3. Let them rise for an hour or until the doughs have doubled in size, before preheating the oven to 230ºC.
4. Now comes the fun bit. Take each dough out and roll them out into a rectangle, until slightly less than a centimetre thick. Roll them out so that they are roughly the same size as each other. Then, take one rectangle and place it on top of the other. Give the doughs a good press all round to make sure they stick to each other. With a good knife, or pizza cutter, slice the dough into centimetre-wide strips. Pick each strip up and twist it all the way through so that you get a nice coiled design. Lay the strips onto a baking tray lined with baking paper, and get them into the hot oven for about 8 minutes or until golden.
5. Let them cool before serving them upright.

Don’t forget our printable, saveable recipe card!

x, K

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