Crunchy Everything Bagel Breadsticks #BreadBakers

These Crunchy Everything Bagel Breadsticks are made with everything bagel spice mix inside and out. Baked until golden and crispy, they are the perfect accompaniment to your favorite cocktail or glass of wine. 

Anyone who has ever tried to top a bagel, bun or even cupcake with seedy things or decorative sprinkles knows that a quite a few are going to bounce off and onto your countertop or tray. And, ugh, floor. That’s just the way it works no matter how much egg wash or icing you slather on first.

I know I have often regretted the waste when my sprinkle colors or seeds got mixed up and I had to sweep them up and discard. It made me really happy to learn recently that avoiding that waste is how young bakery worker David Gussin and his boss Charlie started to make everything bagels, by using up the leftover mixed toppings from each day’s baking. Brilliant, right? And, oh so popular!

According to an article in USA Today on January 15, 2022 - which happened to be National Bagel Day - everything bagels are the third most popular, right after blueberry and cinnamon raisin. 

My favorite bagel is cheddar and jalapeño, but I do like using everything bagel spice mix for other things, especially crispy baked goods. It adds some extra crunch and flavor that is most welcome. 

Crunchy Everything Bagel Breadsticks

My particular bag of everything bagel spice mix came from The Spice House in Chicago and was a gift to my daughter from a close friend. I highly recommend it because it’s not too salty, which some mixes can be. Of course, you can use your favorite brand. 

Ingredients

For the dough:

3/4 cup or 180ml lukewarm water (about 125-130°F or 51-54°C)

1 teaspoon active-dry yeast

1/4 teaspoon sugar

2 cups or 250g strong bread flour, plus more if needed

1 tablespoon everything bagel seasoning

Drizzle olive oil for the dough bowl

For baking:

1 egg, beaten

1 teaspoon everything bagel seasoning

Method

Put the yeast and sugar in the bowl of your stand mixer. Pour in the warm water and give it a stir. Set aside for a few minutes. It should start to get foamy on top. If it does not, your yeast is dead and you will have to buy more and start over.

Add the flour and spice mix to the yeast mixture and mix well to form a soft dough.

Using the dough hook on the stand mixer, or kneading by hand against the counter, knead the dough until it forms a smooth, slightly tacky ball that springs back when you poke it, 5 to 8 minutes. If the dough sticks to the bowl or your hands, add a tablespoon of flour at a time until it’s easier to work with.

Avoid adding too much flour if possible. This is the sort of thing that can change with your flour and the humidity in the air. 

If you're planning to make the breadsticks today, then give the dough a rise. Clean out the mixing bowl, coat it with a little oil, and transfer the dough back inside. 

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a damp kitchen towel and let the dough rise until doubled in size, 1 to 1 1/2 hours, in a warm place. When my kitchen is cold, I fill my sink partially with hot water and stand the bowl in it. 

Alternatively, you can store the dough in the fridge and make the breadsticks the next day. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate. When you are ready to bake, take the dough out of the refrigerator about half an hour before you start rolling and shaping the breadsticks.

Line a large baking pan with baking parchment and preheat your oven to 400°F or 200°C.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out the breadstick dough into a 16x8 in or 41x20cm rectangle. 

Cut it into twelve strips lengthwise and twist into breadsticks. They are going to look pretty rustic but that's part of their charm so don't stress about it. Transfer them to your prepared pan as you make them.

Brush with the beaten egg and sprinkle with everything bagel spice mix. 

Bake in the preheated oven until golden and crunchy, about 21-24 minutes. Keep a close eye on them and turn your pan around occasionally so they cook evenly. 

Remove to a wire rack to cool.

Enjoy!

The second Tuesday has come early this month but as usual it’s time for my Bread Baker friends to share their recipes with you. Our theme, as you might guess from the titles below, is breadsticks. Many thanks to our host, Karen of Karen's Kitchen Stories. 

• Blueberry Crumble Sticks (Twists) from A Messy Kitchen
• Cinnamon Breadsticks from Passion Kneaded
• Crispy Rye and Caraway Breadsticks from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Crunchy Everything Bagel Breadsticks from Food Lust People Love
• Easy Biscuit Breadsticks from Palatable Pastime
• Heart "Beet" Sticks from Magical Ingredients
• Seeded Breadsticks from Sneha's Recipe
• Sourdough Grissini with Parmesan and Black Pepper from Zesty South Indian Kitchen
• Sourdough Soft Breadsticks from A Day in the Life on the Farm

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on this home page. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.

Pin these Crunchy Everything Bagel Breadsticks!

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Buttery Sourdough Dinner Rolls #BreadBakers

Soft, fluffy and tender, these buttery sourdough dinner rolls are perfect to accompany your holiday meal and for making leftover turkey or ham sandwiches. 

The holidays are approaching quickly and my Bread Baker friends and I know that for many, a festive table is not complete without some dinner rolls. So we are here to help, sharing several wonderful recipes we hope you’ll love. Make sure to scroll down to find the links. 

My buttery sourdough dinner rolls remind me of the brown-n-serve rolls my grandmother used to buy and finish baking at home, but with a little more flavor. They are a little bit bigger than your average dinner roll which makes them great for turkey or ham sandwiches as well. 

 

Buttery Sourdough Dinner Rolls

We want lots of springy fluffiness for these soft dinner rolls so while the sourdough starter is there for flavor, I use active dry yeast as well to make sure these puff right up.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups or 360ml milk

1/3 cup or 80g butter

1/4 oz or 7g (2 1/4 teaspoons) active dry yeast

1/2 cup or 113g sourdough fed starter 

1 egg, at room temperature

1/4 cup or 50g sugar

2 teaspoons fine sea salt

5 cups or 625g flour, plus extra for kneading and sprinkling on before baking

1/8 cup or 30g melted butter for brushing on after the rolls are baked

Method

Put the milk in a large microwaveable vessel and add in the butter. Microwave until the butter is mostly melted, about 3-4 minutes. Let cool for a few minutes.

Put the yeast in your mixing bowl and pour in about a cup or 240ml (no need to measure exactly) of the warm milk/butter mixture and set aside for about 10 minutes. You are hoping that the yeast activates and gets all bubbly. If it doesn’t, you need to buy some new yeast and start over.

Now add the rest of the milk/butter, the sourdough starter, the egg and the salt along with 3 cups or 375g of flour to your mixing bowl and mix on medium speed until all of the flour is incorporated.  

Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula to mix in any flour left there. It’s a very runny batter at this point.

Continue mixing and add the remaining flour by spoonfuls until all is incorporated. Now it should be wet and soft sticky dough but that’s what is needed for soft and tender rolls.

Now mix for 3-4 minutes, changing to the dough hook, if necessary, to help develop the gluten.

Cover the bowl with cling film and allow the dough to rise in a warm place for about an hour or until it doubles in size. If it's cold in your kitchen, you can partially fill the sink with hot tap water and put the bowl in it for warmth.

Meanwhile, line your baking pan with parchment paper, a silicone mat or grease it liberally with oil or butter.

Once the first rise is done, punch the dough down and knead it briefly on a floured surface. Cut the dough ball into halves, then cut the halves into half again. Cut each piece into four to make large bread rolls or six to make more reasonably sized ones. Hint: the bigger ones are better for sandwiches.

Roll the dough pieces into balls, pinching them from underneath to stretch the tops so they are nice and round. 

Put the balls, side by side, pinched side down, in your prepared baking pan. Sprinkle the tops of the rolls with flour.

Put the whole baking pan in a clean, new garbage bag, capturing some air before you clip it shut, so that the bag doesn’t touch the top of the bread rolls. Allow the rolls to rise in a warm place for about an hour.

About 15 minutes (or however long your oven takes) before the second rise is completed, preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C.

Bake the dinner rolls in your preheated oven for 25-30 minutes or until they are golden brown all over.

Brush with the melted butter and serve warm, if possible. 

They are still great cooled but I think we can all agree that warm rolls are the best!

Enjoy!

Check out all the delicious roll recipes my Bread Baker friends are sharing today! Many thanks to our host, Swathi of Zesty South Indian Kitchen.

• Butternut Corn Dinner Rolls from A Messy Kitchen
• Buttery Sourdough Dinner Rolls from Food Lust People Love
• Garlic and Herbs Dinner Rolls from Ambrosia
• Garlicky Dinner Rolls from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• No Knead Dinner Rolls from Sneha’s Recipe
• Savory Monkey Bread from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Soft Homemade Dinner Rolls from Palatable Pastime
• Soft Potato Rolls with Rosemary from The Wimpy Vegetarian
• Sourdough Crescent Rolls from Zesty South Indian Kitchen
• Pumpkin Shaped Pumpkin Rolls from The Magical Ingredients

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on this home page. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.

Pin these Buttery Sourdough Dinner Rolls!

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Sourdough Tangzhong Bread #BreadBakers

This Sourdough Tangzhong Bread is flavorful with a wonderful texture, perfect for eating on its own or toasted with butter and jam. Start a day or two ahead of when you want to bake for the best flavor.

Like many of us, I took the lockdown days of this pandemic as an opportunity to create a sourdough starter. I did have one before we left Dubai but I am not a dedicated enough owner to try to transport it in an airplane. The more devoted among you will probably be horrified to hear that I tipped my unnamed starter out, washed the jar and didn’t even feel guilty. 

That said, I’ve been enjoying this one in a variety of recipes. You might want to try my sourdough pancakes or sourdough chocolate Bundt cake. Both delicious. Still haven’t named my starter yet though, just in case it needs to go at some point. Or I kill it. 

As for the tangzhong, I learned all about it when I made my first loaf with the method, a rye bread where it came in very handy to add structure and substance. When the flour you are using is low in gluten, like rye, knowing how to make a tangzhong is a very good thing! Making it in the microwave was such a breeze that I’ll never do it any other way now. 

N.B. An accurate thermometer is essential for this recipe. 

Sourdough Tangzhong Bread

This recipe is adapted from one on Food Geek. The author says his is not a recipe for beginners so I simplified it. While I didn’t get as airy a loaf as he did, we were super pleased with the flavor and texture. 

Ingredients for two round loaves

For the tangzhong:

1/2 cup or 64g bread flour

1 cup + 2 1/2 tablespoons or 275ml water

For the dough:

4 1/4 cups or 540g bread flour

1 1/3 cups or 170g whole-grain wheat flour

2 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 2/3 cups or 380ml water

Tangzhong 

3/4 cup or 170g sourdough starter

Method

Make tangzhong by mixing the flour and water with a whisk in a microwaveable bowl. 

Microwave on high until the mixture is above 149°F or 65°C. It took about 1 minute and 40 seconds in my 1000W microwave. Whisk halfway through then whisk again at the end. Your tangzhong will be thick and glossy. 

Set the tangzhong aside to cool to at least 86°F or 30°C.

To make the dough, add 4 1/4 cups or 531g bread flour, 172g whole-grain wheat flour, and 16g salt to the bowl of your stand mixer. 

Add 1 2/3 cups or 380ml of water to the bowl along with the cooled tangzhong.

Incorporate all the water into the flour mixture using your paddle beater or bread hook. Just keep mixing until there's no dry flour left. Cover the bowl with a little cling film or a damp towel and set it aside for 30 minutes. 

Add 170g of the sourdough starter on top of the dough and use the bread hook to incorporate it. 

Cover the bowl again with cling film or a damp towel and let it rest again for another 30 minutes. 

Rather than traditional kneading, the gluten strands are formed and stretched in this dough by performing three sets of coil folds spaced out by 30 minutes. I’m going to save us all a long explanation by including this YouTube video that shows you exactly what to do. Here's the link in case the video isn't working. https://youtu.be/6JQm2n4aVZc

You want to do this once, wait 30 minutes, do it again, wait 30 minutes, then do the final coil fold for a total of three times in all.

Cover the bowl again with cling film or a damp towel and set it somewhere warm for about an hour or until it has doubled in size. 

Put the bowl in a refrigerator for 24-48 hours. 

On the day you are ready to bake, remove the dough from the refrigerator and divide and shape the dough by cutting it in half with a bench scraper.

Shape each half into a ball. Stretch each side out and fold it up and over the ball until you’ve done that from all four sides. Pinch the ends together. 

Use the scraper to flip the ball over onto a square of baking parchment. Sprinkle on flour liberally and use the scraper to tuck the edges of the dough into a snug circle. Repeat for the other dough ball.

Transfer the dough balls on the baking parchment to your baking pan. 

Sprinkle the dough balls with extra flour and put the whole pan inside a plastic bag. To make sure it doesn’t stick to the dough balls, I like to blow it full of air and secure the opening with a clip. Set aside in a warm place to rise for about 1 hour.

About half way through the rising time, put an empty baking pan or iron skillet on the bottom rack and preheat your oven to 450°F or 232°C.

Carefully remove the baking pan from the plastic bag. Put the kettle on now because you are going to need one cup or 240ml boiling water when you put the loaves in the oven. 

Use a sharp knife or lame to score the dough. This will allow the loaves to rise and expand as they bake. 

When your oven is sufficiently preheated, put the bread pan on the middle rack of your oven and carefully pour about 1 cup or 240ml boiling water into the empty pan or skillet on the bottom rack. Quickly close the oven door. 

Bake the loaves for about 35-40 minutes or until they are golden and sound hollow when thumped.

Take the bread out and put it on a wire rack. Let the loaves cool completely before slicing. 

Enjoy!

This month my Bread Bakers are all sharing bread recipes using a tangzhong. Check out the links below! Many thanks to our host, Karen of Karen’s Kitchen Stories!

• Easy Cinnamon Rolls from The Wimpy Vegetarian
• Eggless Nasturtium Greens Sandwich Bread (Tangzhong Method) from Cook with Renu
• Japanese Chocolate Milk Bread from Passion Kneaded
• Japanese Milk Bread Buns from Ambrosia
• Japanese Milk Bread Rolls from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Pineapple Buns (Bolo Bao) from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Sourdough Pumpkin Babka from Zesty South Indian Kitchen
• Tangzhong Kolaches from A Messy Kitchen
• Tangzhong Loaf With Cinnamon Sugar Topping from Sneha's Recipe
• Tangzhong Pumpkin Cinnamon Buns from Magical Ingredients
• Tangzhong Sourdough Bread from Food Lust People Love

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on this home page. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.

Pin this Sourdough Tangzhong Bread!

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Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Twists #BreadBakers

These Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Twists are made with an enriched brioche dough filled with peanut butter and chocolate chips and baked till golden. Enjoy them with a cold glass of milk or a cup of tea.

I’ve always been a fan of peanut butter cups but find they are a little too sweet for me these days. Recently I was introduced to the Trader Joe’s dark chocolate peanut butter cups and, boy, howdy, are those guys good! 

They were my inspiration for this month’s Bread Bakers’ theme which is “favorite breads.” Who wouldn’t love a soft brioche twist filled with the perennial favorite combination of peanut butter and chocolate?

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Twists

This recipe is adapted from James Morton’s first fabulous baking book, Brilliant Bread. I also have one of his other books, Super Sourdough and can highly recommend both. If you have a stand mixer, I recommend you use it for this recipe. The dough is really sticky to knead by hand. 

Ingredients

2 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon dry active yeast

1/3 cup or 78ml milk, slightly warmed

2 cups or 250g strong white bread flour -18g

1/4 cup or 57g sourdough starter (fed or discard)

1 large egg, at room temperature

1 egg yolk, at room temperature

1 teaspoon fine sea salt

1/3 cup or 75g unsalted butter, softened

3/4 cup or 194g creamy peanut butter

1/2 cup or 85g semi-sweet chocolate chips

Method

In a large bowl or the bowl of your stand mixer, combine the sugar and yeast with the warm milk and two tablespoons of the flour. Leave it for about five minutes. If the yeast has started foaming up, proceed with the next step. If not, your yeast is old and should be replaced. 

Add the flour, the sourdough starter, egg, yolk, milk and salt and combine to form a soft dough. 

Knead your dough for about 5–10 minutes, or until it is really starting to come together.  Add the soft butter and continue to knead until it passes the windowpane test, at least another 5 minutes. 

Cover and leave in a warm place to prove for one hour, or until doubled in size. Alternatively, leave to rest in the fridge for 10–14 hours.

Turn your proved dough out onto a lightly floured surface and sprinkle some more flour on top. Use a rolling pin to roll the dough out into a big square about 15 in or 38cm wide. 

Spread the peanut butter over one half. If your peanut butter is too stiff to spread easily, warm it slightly with a couple of quick zaps in a microwave. 

Sprinkle the chocolate chips onto the peanut butter. 

Fold your dough over to seal the peanut butter and chocolate chips. 

Use a sharp knife to cut the dough into strips. I got 10 strips out of mine but you can cut thicker or thinner strips, according to your preference.

Twist each strip and place them on a baking tray lined with greaseproof paper or a silicone liner. I couldn’t squeeze all 10 in one pan, try as I might. If yours are also too much for your biggest pan, put the remainers in a smaller pan. Don't crowd them because they need room to rise. 

Cover lightly with cling film and leave to rise for about an hour. At least half an hour before you’re going to bake, preheat your oven to 450°F or 232°C.

When you are ready to bake, turn your oven down to 410°F or 210°C and bake the twists for 10–15 minutes, until they are a light golden brown. We want them to stay soft and pillowy. 

I meant to turn my pans around halfway through because I know my oven doesn't brown evenly but we were watching the UEFA 2020 final and I completely forgot. If your oven has the same issues, you might want to turn your pan around at about the 7 minute mark. Also the extra ones were on a different oven shelf and got a bit darker. Still soft and delicious though! 

Remove from the oven and leave to cool on the baking pan for a few minutes. Cool completely on a wire rack and store in an airtight container. 

Enjoy! 

As I mentioned above, our Bread Bakers' theme this month is Favorite Breads. Many thanks to our host Kelly of A Messy Kitchen. Check out the great recipe links below. 

• Blueberry Pistachio Chocolate Sourdough from Zesty South Indian Kitchen
  
• Cinnamon-Honey Raisin Bagels from What Smells So Good?
  
• Cranberry Yeast Bread from A Messy Kitchen
• Garlic Rolls from Passion Kneaded 
• Hemp and Honey Whole Wheat Bread from Ambrosia
  
• Lemon Zucchini Loaf from A Day in the Life on the Farm
  
• No Knead Sourdough Sandwich Bread from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Twists from Food Lust People Love
• Sourdough Boule from Sneha's Recipe

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on this home page.

We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.

Pin these Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Twists!

.

Sausage Stuffed Sourdough Crescent Rolls #BreadBakers

Made one day and baked the next morning, these Sausage Stuffed Sourdough Crescent Rolls are the perfect breakfast at home or on the go.  

I had a very different kind of breakfast bread planned for this event but for the first time in a very long time, much to my disappointment, the recipe was a complete failure. Honestly, I’m not sure where I went wrong. 

Fortunately, these guys came out so good that I ate two back to back. I’m not kidding! Smoked sausage in sourdough crescent rolls may be my new favorite breakfast.

Sausage Stuffed Sourdough Crescent Rolls

This recipe is adapted from An Italian in my Kitchen. Use your favorite cooked sausage in the rolls. Mine is smoked jalapeño sausage. 

Ingredients

3 tablespoons unfed sourdough starter (discard) 

1/4 cup or 60ml lukewarm milk, plus extra for a milk wash before baking 

1/4 teaspoon active dry yeast

2 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled

1 large egg yolk, lightly beaten

1 tablespoon granulated sugar

1 cup or 125g all purpose flour plus more for rolling out the dough 

1/4 teaspoon salt

8 cooked sausages (I used smoked jalapeño ones.)

Method

In the mixing bowl add half of the flour, the sourdough starter, milk, sugar and yeast. Whisk until combined. 

Next add the melted butter, egg yolk and beat again.

Sift in the rest of the flour and the salt. 

Knead until smooth and elastic. This is quite a sticky dough but resist the urge to add too much flour. When dough is really sticky, I use a scraper to stretch it out on a clean countertop. 

Then use the scraper again to fold it over onto itself. 

And over again. 

Repeat those three steps until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 7-10 minutes. 

Let the dough rest for 15 minutes. Line a baking pan with baking parchment or a silicone liner. 

On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough into a circle about 13 inches or 33 cm. Cut the circle into 8 triangles.

Place one sausage at the wide end, then roll up each triangle. Wet the point of the triangle with a little water if it doesn't want to stick. 

Place the sausage stuffed rolls on your prepared baking pan. Cover the rolls with greased cling film and put the rolls in the refrigerator to rise for 12-24 hours.  

In the morning or whenever you are ready to bake, remove the crescent rolls from the refrigerator and set them aside to warm up for about an hour. When they are almost room temperature, preheat the oven to 350°F or 180°C. 

Brush the rolls with a little milk. 

Bake the stuffed crescent rolls for 20-25 minutes or until they are golden. 

Remove them from the pan and set on a wire rack to cool. 

We love them with mustard but you can eat these lovely sausage rolls just as they are as well. 

Enjoy!  

Today’s Bread Bakers’ theme is breakfast breads. Check out all the great recipe links below. Many thanks to our host, Swathi of Zesty South Indian Kitchen.

• Breakfast Garbage Bread from Making Miracles
• Danish Crisps from A Messy Kitchen
• English Muffins from Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Flax Meal Breakfast Bread from Ambriosia
• Fresh Cherry Chocolate Sourdough Bread from Zesty South Indian Kitchen
• Multigrain Blueberry Bread from What Smells So Good?
• Montreal-Style Bagels from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Rhubarb Strawberry Spiced Sourdough Bread from Cook with Renu
• Sausage Stuffed Sourdough Crescent Rolls from Food Lust People Love
• Spicy Masala Veggie Paratha from Magical Ingredients
• Sourdough Angel Biscuits from Palatable Pastime
• Sourdough Crepes from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Sourdough Discard Pancakes from Sneha’s Recipe


                                                     
#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on this home page.

We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.



Pin these Sausage Stuffed Sourdough Crescent Rolls!

 .