Monday, February 4, 2013

Wholewheat Garlic & Cheese Bread Sticks



This recipe for Wholewheat Cheese & Garlic Bread Sticks was born a few days back, when I was wondering what kind of bread do I bake next! Baking bread is like an addiction. The more you do it, the more you want to do! :) The ecstacy of pulling out a perfectly baked bread amidst the aroma that it lends to the entire house and the suspense that is brings with it, on whether the centre is properly baked or not... ah, its a joy every single time! :) My love affair with breads is going strong and I am enjoying every single moment of this journey.




Once, the basics are in place, the options to explore and create is endless and this is exactly what I absolutely love doing... Exploring into the world of bread baking! :) With my favourite recipe to make yeast dough, (which uses wholewheat) I ventured on to make these Bread Sticks. I had the image of these sticks in my head, from the ones we get in Pizza Hut. 


I wanted mine mildly cheesy and a little herby as well. So, here is how you can make your own Bread Sticks at home! Play around with the filling and delight your family with this pretty looking bread which is actually simple to make! :)


Makes : 8-10 bread sticks
Time (approx): 
  • Prep - 15 mins
  • Proofing - 60 mins
  • Shaping - 15 mins
  • Baking - 15 mins



Ingredients:

Wheat Flour - 1 and 1/2 cup
Plain Flour/Maida - 1/2 cup
Warm Water- 1 cup
Instant Yeast - 2 tsp
Garlic Paste - 1-1.5 tsp
Salt - 1 tsp
Sugar - 1/2 tbsp
Olive Oil - 1/2 tbsp
For the cheese spread:
Cheese - 2-3 cubes, grated
Red Chilli Flakes - 1-2 tsp
Herbs - 1-2 tsp
  
Method



  • I followed this procedure [How to make yeast dough?] to prepare the yeast dough with the addition of adding in the garlic paste while making the dough. You can substitute water with milk to get a slightly softer texture.
  • After an hour the dough would have doubled. Half it into two balls.
  • Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.
  • Dust the work floor with a bit of flour and toss the dough ball on it.
  • Knead for a minute and then roll it out into a flat round with about 3/4 inch thickness.
  • Smear some oil over it. Sprinkle grated cheese all over. Sprinkle red chilli flakes and herbs. Gently press in the spread with your palms to ensure it doesnt fall over when the dough is folded.
  • Fold the flat round dough into half. Place it on a greased baking tray.
  • Using a pizza cutter, make even slices length-wise that do not go all the way through but cut through the dough about 75% and thereby ease in cutting it when done baking.



  • Using a fork poke holes in it randomly, to ensure even cooking.
  • Sprinkle some herbs on top as well, to make it look pretty :)
  • Bake for about 10 minutes or until the crust turns a lovely brown.

    

  • Allow the bread to cool down completely before venturing on to pull out the individual bread sticks.
  • The slices that were made on the dough prior to baking make it easy for you to pull out the sticks and munch on them! :)
  • You can make this bread stick with plain flour and do away with wheat flour if you want absolutely fluffy texture. If you want to watch what you eat, then this does its job perfectly... yummy, yet healthy! :)




14 comments:

  1. its my family's fav food.. thanks for sharing it..

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  2. Those are my favourite with mushroom soup...

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  3. Looks delicious and finger licking good.

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  4. perfectly done bread sticks, i want i want ;)

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  5. Lovely recipe nice bread sticks loving it.

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  6. Yes .. bread baking is so addictive! these are wonderful sticks so much better than store bought!

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  7. Simply addictive Nandita..Perfect and I really adore them for flavors.

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  8. I am still thinking of getting some time to make the whole wheat pizza you shared, and here you are with another to do recipe!! Loved it

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  9. Nanxxxx.... ye color kaise lati ho ? i tried in convection mode ..color nahe ata..

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    Replies
    1. Brush some oil over the dough before you bake it for extra browning. Also, how long did you bake it and at what temperatute? Was the bread cooked inside? The temepratre and time settings differ from oven to oven...So, next time try keeping it for longer to get the browning. It takes longer in OTG compared to Microwave oven.

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  10. Too good, irresistible, loved that cute pizza cuter :)

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  11. hi Nandita...thnx for this post tried it yesterday only its very simple but only issue is i have a very basic OTG and i first baked it on bake mode for 10 mins when there was no colour than put it on brill mode result was that it was slightly over cooked. colour wasnt that great like ur perfect bread. I used active yeat which is not a great option for my tummy . can you suggest how to bake fresh yeast and this brill & bake option. which one is gud. I do not have temp option in my otg. also can i do it in microwave ?

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    Replies
    1. Hello NT, thanks for stopping by and trying out my recipe. I use a microwave with convection mode for baking and not and OTG. Yes, I have heard the browning doesnt come as well in OTG as in Microwave with convection mode. However, here are some tips you could try:
      1. Brush the top of the dough generously with oil prior to baking.
      2. As you said, bake for the first few minutes and then put it on grill mode. I hear that gives a good colouring to baked item. This is something i havent tried myself, but have heard about.
      3. If your microwave has convection mode, go ahead and try it out in your microwave.

      There are 3 kinds of yeast - Active Dry yeast, Instant Yeast and Fresh yeaast. Fresh yeast is not easily available in India and does not have a long shelf life. I have never used it. I would recomend you to use Instant yeast as this is a fresher than the Active dry yeast. Also, Active dry yeast is not always reliable and if used without proper proofing, it could lead to an upset tummy. Here is a post on yeasts for more details on it: http://nansyumyums.blogspot.in/2012/10/yeast-basics-how-to-make-yeast-dough.html.

      Do write in to me at nanditapai29@gmail.com if you need anything more. Also if you do have a picture of your breadstick if you could send it over, I can let you know what may have gone wrong. Hope this helps :)

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