Parmesan & Herb Breadstick Snakes
The most flavour filled breadsticks you will ever eat. Crusty outside with a tender inside, and filled with herby cheesy flavour. These Parmesan & Herb Breadstick Snakes are the perfect Halloween themed savoury snack.
Feel free to adjust the recipe to your liking and what you have available. Leave out the cheese if you prefer, or substitute with a sprinkling of sesame seeds. For a plain version, leave out both the cheese and herbs and perhaps sprinkle with a little coarse salt. You can also add a little garlic powder to the mix if you like. Or for a spicy twist, what about some chilli powder or paprika. And if you’d like them extra cheesy, double the cheese or grate extra over the top before baking.
If you can’t tell, I’ve used black sesame seeds for the snake eyes. Use whatever you like and shape them as you wish. Since they’re snakes they really don’t need to be uniform so this is a fun one to do with the kiddos. Prepare the dough and let them have fun shaping their own individual snakes. They will definitely be a hit in their lunchboxes or on a snack board this October.
I’ve included the variation suggestions in the recipe notes below.
Fun fact, this is the exact recipe of my Parmesan & Herb Grissini and my plaited/braided Herby Breadsticks. The only difference is the shape of these, and baking time since the plaited breadsticks are a little thicker.
If you’re looking for similar recipe options, check out my Lavosh Crackers recipe.
Parmesan & Herb Breadstick Snakes
Ingredients
- ¾ Cup Milk
- 1 tsp Sugar or honey
- 1 tsp Instant dry yeast
- 2 Tbsp Unsalted Butter
- 1½ Cup All-Purpose/Cake Flour
- ½ tsp Salt
- 1 Tbsp Dried Italian Herb Mix or Mixed Herbs
- ¼ Cup Finely grated Parmesan*
Instructions
- Warm the milk in a saucepan or the microwave. You can add the butter to the hot milk and stir until it melts
- Pour the warm milk into a bowl, add the sugar and give it a quick stir to help it dissolve. Ensure that the milk is warm not hot, then sprinkle the yeast over the milk and let it sit for around 5 minutes
- Note: Ensure that it is lukewarm not hot or the yeast won't bloom
- Sieve the flour and salt into the mixture and stir to combine, then add the herbs** and grated cheese, then continue stirring until it forms a rough dough
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and/or a clean tea towel and set aside to rise for around 1 hour (Make sure the it is not placed in a draft)
- When the dough has doubled in size, turn it out onto a floured surface and knead it a few times until it is no longer sticky. You may need to add a little more flour as you go to achieve this
- Once the dough is smooth and no longer sticky, divide it in half, cover with a tea towel and let it sit for another 10 minutes
- In the meantime, preheat the oven to 180°C. Line two large baking sheets with baking paper or silicone mats and set aside
- Then take one dough ball and cut into at least 12 equal portions. Cover half the portions with the tea towel while shaping the rest. Then between your fingers or palms of your hands, roll each piece of dough to form a long worm/snake like strip. Roll them to between ½ and 1 cm thick, and approx. 20cm to 25cm long strands
- When laying the strands on the on the lined baking sheets, twist to form snake shapes. You will need to bake these in batches of around 6 to eight, depending on the size of your baking sheet and depending on the shape of your snakes. Just ensure that you leave a little space between each as they will still rise slightly while baking
- You should get at least 24 breadsticks from this recipe. Feel free to halve it if you wish
- Finally, brush each snake with a little olive oil, then pop on the eyes and/or sprinkle with a topping of your choice. Then bake for around 10 – 15 minutes, depending on how thick they are, or until the desired golden brown
- Remove from the oven and let cool slightly on the baking sheets, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool further
- Store in an airtight container
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