Quick & Easy Twisted Ciabatta Breadsticks For Dipping

With a chewy golden crust and soft, airy interior, these ciabatta twisted breadsticks are the perfect combination of textures. The twisted shape doesn’t just look pretty —it also creates nooks and crannies inside the breadsticks that make them perfect for soaking up your favorite spaghetti sauce or olive oil bread dip. Make these homemade breadsticks the same day for warm-from-the-oven breadsticks ready in under 3 hours!

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 14

Resting & Shaping Time (Total) 2

Total Time 2 24

Servings breadsticks

Ingredients

275 grams all purpose flour (plus more for dusting during shaping)
8 grams diamond crystal kosher salt
3 grams instant yeast (1 teaspoon)
220 grams warm water (80°F)
16 grams extra virgin olive oil

Instructions

Mix. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, salt, and instant yeast. Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients; pour the warm water and olive oil into it. Mix the dough until it comes together in a messy ball with no dry patches of flour hiding inside. Scrape down the walls of the bowl, gathering the dough together.
Bulk Fermentation. Cover the bowl and let the dough rest for 1 hour, with folds every 15 minutes. Then let the dough rest for 45 minutes.
Here's what that looks like:
Mix the dough. Rest 15 minutes.
First set of folds. Rest 15 minutes.
Second set of folds. Rest 15 minutes.
Third set of folds. Rest 15 minutes.
Fourth set of folds. Rest 45 minutes.

You can do coil folds, or stretch-and-folds, whichever is easier for you.

Towards the end of the 45 minutes, preheat the oven to 450°F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper and set it aside.
Stretch. Dust your counter well with flour, then dust the top of the dough with flour too. Tip the dough out of the bowl and onto the counter. Dust the top side of the dough with flour and use flat fingers with gentle pressure to stretch and smooth the dough into a rectangle approximately 10" tall and 15" wide. Use a bench scraper to get more flour underneath and lift the dough to stretch it if it's sticking.
Cut. Dust the sticky top side of the dough lightly with flour again. Cut the dough into one inch strips (you should get about 10 of them!). Cut in in an up and down motion so the dough doesn't stick to your blade. Dust in more flour or wipe the blade as needed to prevent sticking.

The dough is very airy, so cut them slightly smaller than you think!

Twist. Twist each dough strip on the counter by rolling each end in opposite directions. Use gentle pressure to avoid flattening them. Transfer the breadsticks to the parchment lined sheet pan. TIP: Support each breadstick from the middle when you lift or move them so they don't stretch out!

When you lift the breadsticks onto the sheet pan, bring the sheet pan as close as you can so you don't have to move them very far. Gently scrunch the two ends together as you lift, so you're supporting most of its weight in your hands, then move your hands apart as you deposit the breadstick on the sheet pan to stretch it back out.

Bake for 11-13 minutes for soft breadsticks or 14-16 minutes for crispy breadsticks. They will be lightly golden brown in the spaces between the floury stripes. Even soft-baked ciabatta breadsticks will seem very hard and crusty when they first come out of the oven, but they will soften as they cool

RECIPE NOTES

Resist adding flour to the dough during the folding stages. If your dough is still tearing in half on the second set of folds, you can dust in a little as needed. This is a wet, sticky dough by design — use damp or lightly oiled hands to keep it from sticking to you instead.
Do you need to do the twist? Nope! Skip it and you'll end up with airier, thicker ciabatta breadsticks. You could even bake tear-apart ciabatta breadsticks by cutting the dough directly on the parchment-lined baking sheet you'll bake them on and not separating the breadsticks from one anoher before you bake them. You may need to add 2-3 minutes to the bake time if you go this route.
Ciabatta breadsticks are best within 24-48 hours of baking. Store them in an airtight container or plastic bag at room temperature with a paper towel in it to absorb moisture. As always, do not refrigerate bread. They will begin to lose their airy texture after about 2 days, but can be easily revived by toasting them lightly or popping it in a 350°F oven for a few minutes.
These ciabatta breadsticks freeze beautifully. I usually just toss them in a plastic bag and freeze them, but if you want to do it "right" and avoid freezer burn, bundle them in plastic wrap before putting them in a bag in the freezer. To reheat ciabatta breadsticks from frozen, place them on a sheet pan in a 350°F oven for about 5-7 minutes. No need to defrost them first.
To keep track of which set of folds you're on, put a small bowl with four candies, crackers, or snacks in it. Eat one each time you do a set of folds. It's like a reward.
To incorporate heavier, denser ingredients like finely chopped olives, peppers, roasted garlic cloves or garlic confit, or coarsely grated cheese, you can add up to 55 grams (20% by baker's percentage) during the third set of folds when the dough is strong enough to support them. To do this, sprinkle the ingredients over the surface of the dough and do 4-6 stretch-and-folds to seal them inside.
An overnight rise: If you want to bake these ciabatta breadsticks the next day, you can pop the dough in the fridge immediately after finishing the coil folds. Shape and bake them the next day.