These pub sticks are a fun and unique snack to offer your guests at your next party, especially when served with a stout, dark lager. Infusing the dough with the roasted garlic flavors the breadstick with a deep, nutty flavor, and the coarse salt on top gives it a little bit of crunch. Serve the pub sticks with thick stone-ground mustard or rich, cheesy sauce and watch them disappear!
Oh, and speaking from my experience be careful of how heavy handed you get with the habanero dust. The first time I made these, I went a little overboard on the dust, and the beer went down faster than the pub sticks!
Ingredients:
4 cups flour
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
1 package active dry yeast
1 head of garlic
1-1/2 cups warm water (approximately 110°F)
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Habanero dust (recipe: ifmyeyescouldeat.com)
Cooking spray
Parchment paper
Directions:
1) Preheat your oven to 300 degrees.
2) Slice off the top third of the head of garlic, drizzle it with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, and season with salt and pepper.
3) Place the garlic on a piece of aluminum foil twice its diameter and pinch the ends of the foil around the garlic forming a pouch. Roast the garlic for 45 to 55 minutes until the cloves are very soft.
4) Remove the pouch from the oven and open it up to release the heat. Allow the garlic to cool thoroughly.
5) When cool, pull the garlic cloves away from the head and squeeze the pulp into a food processor. Discard the garlic skins and pulse the pulp until smooth.
6) Combine 2 cups of the flour, sugar, 2 teaspoons of salt and the yeast in a bowl.
7) Add the garlic, warm water and 2 tablespoons of olive oil to the flour mixture. Beat with an electric mixer on low speed 1 minute, frequently stopping to scrape dough from sides and bottom of the bowl. Increase speed to medium and beat an additional 1 minute.
8) Mix in remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until the dough is soft and sticky, yet easy to handle.
9) Lightly sprinkle a countertop or cutting board with flour, remove dough from the bowl and knead it for about 5 minutes until smooth. Lightly spray a sheet of plastic wrap with cooking spray; cover the dough loosely with the plastic wrap, sprayed side down. Let rest 30 to 35 minutes until the dough is doubled in size.
10) Increase your oven heat to 375 degrees and line two baking sheets with the parchment paper, lightly sprayed with cooking spray.
11) Remove the dough from the bowl and divide it into 4 equal pieces. Roll one piece of the dough out into a large square about 1/2-inch thick.
12) Using a pizza cutter, cut the dough into equal sized strips. You can determine the width and length of your breadsticks here by cutting them thicker then rolling them to the length of the baking sheet, or if you prefer the sticks shorter, cut them thinner and minimize the length when you roll the dough.
13) Gently transfer the sticks to the baking sheets and dust them with the salt and habanero dust.
14) Repeat the last 3 steps with the remaining pieces of dough.
15) Bake the sticks until lightly brown, about 15 to 18 minutes. Remove the trays from oven and transfer the sticks to a cooling rack. Serve immediately.
