Skip the store-bought dough and make these easy, restaurant-style breadsticks from scratch, right in your food processor! You’ll love the soft, fluffy texture, golden crust, and savory salted butter finish.
To make homemade breadsticks with a food processor, combine dry ingredients with cold water and butter, then process for 45 seconds. After rising, shape the dough into breadsticks, let them rise again, and bake until golden brown. Finish with melted butter for soft, restaurant-style breadsticks with minimal effort.
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Why You'll Love These Breadsticks
- Quick and easy: The food processor kneads the dough in under 60 seconds.
- No stand mixer needed: Just pulse, rise, shape, and bake.
- Better than takeout: Soft and chewy with that perfect restaurant-style finish.
- Freezer-friendly: Bake and freeze, or freeze the shaped dough before baking.
Ingredients for Homemade Breadsticks
| Ingredient | Why It Matters |
| Bread flour | Gives the breadsticks structure and chewiness |
| Granulated sugar | Feeds the yeast and provides a hint of sweetness for balance |
| Kosher salt | Enhances the flavor |
| Instant yeast | No proofing required |
| Unsalted butter | Adds richness |
| Cold filtered water | The temperature prevents the dough from overheating in the food processor |
How to Make Breadsticks in a Food Processor
- Make the dough: Add bread flour, sugar, salt, and instant yeast to a food processor fitted with the metal blade. Pulse five to six times to combine.
- Process: Add room-temperature butter and cold filtered water. Process for about 45 seconds until the dough forms a sticky ball.
- First rise: Transfer the dough to a floured surface. Knead three to four times and shape into a smooth ball. Place in a lightly oiled container. Cover and let rise in a warm location until doubled in size, about 1 to 1½ hours.
- Shape: Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces, each weighing approximately 1.87 ounces. Roll the dough into an 8-inch rope.
- Second rise: Place the breadsticks on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Cover loosely with a towel or plastic wrap, and let the breadsticks rise in a warm location until doubled in size, about 1 to 1½ hours.
- Bake: Bake in a preheated 400°F oven for around 15 minutes, or until golden brown.
- Finish: Brush with melted butter, and sprinkle with Kosher salt. Serve warm.
These homemade breadsticks are a game-changer. They're easy enough for a weeknight, yet impressive enough for guests.
Using a food processor takes the hard work out of kneading, allowing you to enjoy amazing, golden, restaurant-style breadsticks with minimal effort. Yum!
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, you can use either your stand mixer or bread machine. Nothing special, use as you always use for making bread.
You can substitute all-purpose flour, but a higher-protein all-purpose flour, such as King Arthur, works best. With all-purpose flour, the texture will be slightly softer and less chewy.
Feel free to use melted garlic butter in place of the melted unsalted butter. I've used both. It's really a matter of taste.
You can freeze either unbaked, shaped dough or baked breadsticks. For the unbaked shaped dough, let it thaw and rise before baking. For the baked breadsticks, let them cool completely before wrapping and storing in the freezer. Reheat at 350°F until warmed through.
Recipe Tips and Tricks
Bread is one of my favorite things to make. Over the years, I've learned several key techniques that ensure every bread recipe I make turns out perfectly.
- I always weigh most of my ingredients, especially the flour and liquids. You would be amazed at the variation in a cup of flour. The recipe below includes the weights that I use.
- As a general rule, I consistently equate 1 cup of flour to approximately 5 ounces.
- I always use filtered water when making bread. The reason is that tap water contains chlorine which can retard the growth of yeast. Too much chlorine in the water can kill the yeast.
- My oven features a proofing function, which I utilize. Before I got this oven, I followed Julia Child's trick of warming my electric oven for 1 minute and 45 seconds and then turning the oven off before placing the dough inside to proof.
Bread Machine Recipes
I love making bread and watching the magic of yeast transform ordinary ingredients into amazing bread and rolls. I use my bread machine for these recipes.
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Easy Homemade Breadsticks in Food Processor
Equipment
- Food Processor with Steel Blade
- 2 half-sheet pans (each holding 6 breadsticks)
- Parchment paper
Ingredients
Breadsticks
- 2 ½ cups (12.5 ounces) bread flour (See Tip 1)
- 2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons Kosher salt
- 1 ½ teaspoons instant or bread machine yeast (See Tip 2)
- 2 Tablespoons (1 ounce) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 cup (8 ounce) filtered water, not heated (See Tips 3 and 4)
Finishing the Breadsticks
- 3 Tablespoons unsalted butter
- ⅛ teaspoon Kosher salt for sprinkling, optional
Instructions
Breadsticks
- Place flour, sugar, salt, and yeast in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Pulse 5 or 6 times to combine the ingredients.
- Add butter and water to the food processor. Process 45 seconds.
- Transfer the dough to a floured surface. Knead several times to form a smooth ball. Place in an oiled container; cover with plastic wrap. Place in a warm location until doubled in volume, 1 to 1 ½ hours. (See Tips 5 and 6)
- Turn the dough onto a floured surface. Cut into 12 pieces, each approximately 1.87 ounces. Form each piece into an 8-inch rope. Place six breadsticks on a parchment-lined baking sheet, leaving at least 2 inches of space between them. Place the remaining six breadsticks on another parchment-lined baking sheet. Cover with a dish towel or plastic wrap. Place in a warm location until doubled in volume, 1 to 1 ½ hours.
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Bake the breadsticks in a preheated oven for 15 minutes, or until they are golden brown.
Finishing the Breadsticks
- Remove the breadsticks from the oven. While hot, brush with melted butter, and sprinkle with Kosher salt.
- Yield: 12 breadsticks.
Video
Tips/Notes
- I always weigh my ingredients when making bread. The reason is that there is significant variability in the amount of flour in a cup, depending on how it is measured.
- I always use instant or bread machine yeast. The reason is that it doesn't require blooming like active yeast.
- The reason for using filtered water is that tap water contains chlorine. Chlorine can retard the growth of the yeast. Too much chlorine can actually kill the yeast.
- Because of the heat generated by the food processor, start with cold water. If the dough becomes too hot, it can kill the yeast.
- I like to let my dough rise in an 8-cup measuring cup. That way, I can easily see when the dough has doubled in volume.
- I use the proofing function on my oven. If your oven doesn't have a proofing function, use Julia Child's trick to produce the perfect environment for the dough to rise. Heat your electric oven for 1 minute and 45 seconds. The actual temperature setting doesn't matter. All you want is for the oven to warm up slightly.
The Book of Food says
I'm usually not great when it comes to bread but this recipe turned out just great ! I made two big pieces instead of sticks, they really taste good. Thank you for sharing.
PudgeFactor says
I'm so pleased that the recipe turned out well for you! It also works great if you make rolls with the dough as opposed to breadsticks.