Bread sticks

Difficulty: Easy

Time: 30 minutes + 30 minutes proving + 20 minutes baking

Serves: 12 bread sticks

Bread sticks are a great bake for little chefs as they’re really quick and easy. My kids always enjoy getting their hands messy kneading dough and these bread sticks were no exception. I love showing children that you can make something out of just a few ingredients so with only 4 ingredients these bread sticks are perfect for that. And, who doesn’t love bread when it’s fresh from the oven?!

Ingredients

450g (2 ¼ cups) strong white bread flour, plus extra for dusting
1 x 7g sachet fast-action dried yeast
1½ tsp salt
250–275ml (1 cup) warm water

Method

Start by dusting two or three baking trays with flour. Lewis enjoyed doing this with our pastry brush, but you can just sprinkle the flour with your fingers.

Measure everything into a mixing bowl

Get your kids to weigh the flour and add it into a large mixing bowl, or a freestanding mixer.

Add the sachet of yeast in one side of your bowl and the salt in another.

Measure the water into a measuring jug then get your kids to slowly add it to your bowl. Mix everything together.

Knead your dough.

Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface for ten minutes or use the dough hook of your mixer for five minutes. We tend to start using our mixer and then finish the kneading by hand, because although my kids love kneading bread dough, they don’t have the patience to do it for long enough.

If you knead by hand, get your kids to hold the dough with one hand and push it away with the other to stretch it. Bring it back together and repeat. It’s ready when it starts to look smooth.

Make the bread sticks.

Divide the bread dough into 12 equal sized balls, then get your kids to help roll them into long sausages. Ours were all about 25-30cm long and a few cm thick. Place them on the floured baking trays.

Cover the baking trays with lightly oiled cling flim and leave them somewhere warm for around half an hour until they have risen slightly

Bake the bread sticks.

Preheat the oven to 200C /390F

Pop the bread sticks in the oven for 18-20 minutes. They’re ready when they are nice and golden and feel slightly crisp to touch.

Remove them from the oven and enjoy!