Growing up, my mom would make breadsticks. They were long and skinny. And she put onions in them. I was opposed to onions. (Sorry, Mom).

So you can imagine that I have never been super excited about breadsticks. Until I saw THESE! I noticed a recipe for these breadsticks on Pinterest and thought they were GENIUS! They were bread–wrapped around sticks. I knew I had to try them!

I made a few alterations to the recipe and I think the breadsticks are just perfect! I made you a step-by-step tutorial.

First you make the dough. The dough pictured below is a little too sticky. Sorry about that. When you press on the dough with your finger, it should barely stick to your finger when you pull it back out. This dough has risen and I am about to punch it down. I used the spoon because I didn’t want the dough sticking to my fist. Don’t be like me. Add more flour to your dough in the first place.

After you punch it down, roll it out on a heavily floured surface. Generously sprinkle the top of the dough with flour before rolling so it won’t stick to the rolling pin. You’ll want to roll it out about a half-inch thick.

Then grab a pizza cutter (or sharp knife) and start cutting the dough into 1-inch strips.

Now you’re going to take each of these strips of dough and roll them into long strips.

Then you will realize that these strips are way too long and fat. Cut it and the rest of the bread strips in half so that you will have 16 breadsticks instead of eight.

Now get out your skewers. I used 8-inch skewers, which quite frankly, were not long enough. You will see why later. If you can, get 12-inch skewers.

Now you’re going to start wrapping your dough around the skewers from top to bottom. Wet both ends of the skewer. Then slide the end of a rolled piece of dough over the top of the skewer and start twisting the dough around the skewer until you get to the end. Then pull the dough over the end of the skewer so that it is sticking through the dough. (You may have to stretch your dough or move it down a little from the top, especially if you use 12-inch skewers).

My dough was really droopy because of the aformentioned lack of sufficient flour. However, hopefully you get the general idea of what they should look like after you have twisted the dough around them.

Now you are going to get a 9×13 pan and stick each end of the skewer over the edge so that your breadsticks are suspended in the air. (This is where I wish I had used longer skewers. They barely fit over the edge of the pan by a couple of slivers on each side). Let rise until doubled in size.

Next, you are going to brush the breadsticks with melted butter. Do not skip this step. Butter is good.

It is finally time to bake these amazing breadsticks! You are going to bake them at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes. Just watch them and take them out when they have become a lovely golden brown.

When you take them out of the oven, you are going to brush them with more butter that has been mixed with Italian seasoning, garlic powder, and Parmesan cheese. Then you will lightly sprinkle them with Kosher salt.

When you are done, the breadsticks will look like this?

I bet you can’t wait to eat these. I bet you’ll want to make these all the time because they are so stinkin’ delicious and so fun to look at!

You might be wondering, “How do I not skewer the roof of my mouth or accidentally poke my eye out while eating one of these amazing breadsticks?” You just hold both ends of the wooden stick and eat them like a corncob. At least that’s what I do. But this is America, so you can eat them any way you like.

Today’s Freebie!

Twirly Breadsticks

Author: Melissa Howell

Ingredients

1 Tbsp. yeast
2 Tbsp. sugar
1 1/2 cups very warm not hot water
1 Tbsp. oil
1 tsp. salt
3 1/2 cups of flour plus more as needed
1/2 cup butter melted, divided
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning
1 Tbsp. Parmesan cheese
16 wooden skewers 8" or 12" long

Instructions

Mix the yeast, sugar, and warm water together in a large bowl or your mixer bowl. Let it sit for a few minutes until the yeast is foamy.
Add the oil, salt, and half the flour. Mix well.
Add the rest of the flour. Mix and then knead (or use your dough hook) for about five minutes. (I never knead bread this long. Just knead until you can't knead no more. I was grammatically incorrect right there on purpose.)
Remove the dough and spray the bowl with cooking spray. Then put the dough back in to rise. (I admit that I never do this. I just let the dough rise in the un-sprayed bowl). Cover the bowl loosely with plastic wrap.
Let rise for about one hour or until doubled.
Punch down.
Remove dough from bowl and place on a generously floured surface.
Roll dough out into about 1/2-inch thickness. Cut the dough into sixteen one-inch wide pieces.
Roll each piece into a long "snake."
Moisten the top and bottom of each skewer with water.
Poke a hole in one end of your rolled dough and slide the dough down a little on the skewer. Start twisting the dough around the skewer until you have reached the bottom. Puncture the bottom of the dough with the skewer and slide the dough up to meet the rest of the wrapped dough.
Place the skewers over a 9x13 pan so that the breadsticks are suspended over the pan. Let rise until doubled in size.
Brush breadsticks with melted butter.
Bake in a 375-degree oven for 15-20 minutes, until golden brown.
Remove from oven. While still hot, brush with a mixture of 1/4 cup melted butter, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, and Parmesan cheese. (You may not need all this).
Sprinkle lightly with Kosher salt.