Parmesan Garlic Breadtwists

There is just something magical about homemade bread, is there not? The stretchy feeling of the dough, the amazing way it rises up,  the way it makes your house smell like it was built on the streets of heaven…I love it. I haven’t ever met anyone who doesn’t love it fresh from the oven, have you?

These Parmesan Garlic Breadtwists are a wonderful way to get a little homemade bread into your life. If you haven’t ever tried making bread before, this recipe would be a good place to start. It’s pretty forgiving, and doesn’t take as long as you might think. I used my Quick and Easy Breadstick recipe (found HERE) and then added a few additional seasonings and twisted them up. The end result is fabulous! They are a crispy and buttery on the outside, soft and pillow like on the inside.

They would make a perfect addition to many, many meals…such as…

1. Hearty Spaghetti
2. Meatball Minestrone Soup (Crock Pot)
3. Tomato Tortelini Soup
4. Classic Fettucine Alfredo

I recently found a cool photo app for my computer (called Fotor) that can make a picture collage  in under 15 seconds. Ok, it’s not really that fast but it’s about 5 bazillion times faster than my old manual method. Woo Hoo. 🙂 Prepare yourself for more picture collages in the future. Exciting, I know. Truly something to look forward to.

Now, let me show you how to make these Breadtwists, baby! Heavenly bread is in your future…

1. Preheat your oven to 170 degrees. (Yes, only 170 for now.)
2. Pour 1 1/2 cups warm water into your stand mixer.

Add 1 tablespoon yeast and 2 tablespoons sugar. Mix on low for 15 seconds or so. Just long enough that things have a chance to get combined.

3. Let the mixture sit for 5 minutes. It should bubble up for you.

4. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt…

and 2 cups flour. Mix on low and add more flour while the mixer is running…just a little at a time, until the dough starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl. You will need a total of 3 1/2-4 cups flour. Once you have enough turn the mixer to medium speed and let it mix for 5 minutes.

5. Melt 6 tablespoons of butter. Pour half of it onto a large cookie sheet and spread it out evenly over the pan. Take your beautiful dough from the mixer and let it rest on the pan for 5 minutes. Now listen here. Please, pretty please do not skip this step. If you don’t let the dough rest it will not behave. It will resist any attempt you make at stretching it to the edges of the pan. It will. This I promise you. 🙂 Let it rest, guys. Kick up your feet and eat a bon bon or something. Or fold some laundry, unload the dishwasher…wipe someones runny nose…what ever needs to be done…do it and let the dough rest. You will be a better person for it.

6. Press the dough to the edges of the pan and pour the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter over the top, spreading it around so it coats the dough evenly.

7. Into a small bowl place 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning, 1/2 teaspoon oregano, 1/2 teaspoon garlic and 1/8 teaspoon salt.

Toss it around a bit to combine.

Sprinkle the herb mixture over the top of the dough. (If you want to use Johnny’s Garlic Seasoning instead, please do!)

8. Sprinkle about 4-5 tablespoons of Parmesan Cheese over the top.

9. With a pizza cutter slice the dough into 1 inch strips. Give or take a centimeter or so.:)

Then cut the dough through the middle of the pan, making the strips a bit shorter and easier to work with.

10. Now, to twist the dough simply stretch it out a bit…

double it over on its self…wow, I have to apologize for that picture. Blurry…dim…kind of greenish…hurry and scroll down, man.

Twist the dough together pinching the end together so it will stay put.

Place the twisted dough back onto your buttered cookie sheet. I ended up pulling another sheet out to use as well. I didn’t want them to get too close together. I was hoping for a nice crispy exterior. If you use two sheets, be sure to spray the second with cooking spray before you place the dough on it.
11. Place the pans in your warm oven and let the dough rise until the breadtiwsts have doubled in size. Should only take 15 minutes or so, as they are resting in a warm oven.
12. Turn the oven temperature up to 350 degrees. Leave the pans in the oven while the temperature rises.
13. Bake for approximately 15-20 minutes…depending on how long your oven take to heat up.

Just watch them closely. Once they are golden brown on the outside and underneath, you are good to go.
14. Into a small bowl combine 2 tablespoons melted butter, 1/8 teaspoon granulated garlic and a dash of salt. Spread the mixture over the tops of the warm breadsticks.

Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from the Quick and Easy Breadstick recipe in my archives