Cheesy Breadsticks

Here is another great finger food for finicky toddlers that everyone else loves as well. These freeze great and can be thawed in a microwave or better yet, in a 350 degree oven for about 5 minutes. Kids love to dip them in spaghetti sauce or soup but they are great on their own or alongside a salad or bowl of chili.

Ingredients:
4 1/2 teaspoons dried yeast - I prefer SAF which can be ordered from King Arthur Flour and stores in the freezer.
1 1/2 cups warm water (about 115 degrees farenheit). Tap water works best - do not use distilled water.
1 teaspoon sugar
1 1/2 cups organic whole wheat all purpose or bread flour
1 1/2 cups semolina flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
Kosher salt flakes
Garlic powder
Pizza spice blend or oregano, basil and marjoram
Grated parmeson or romano

Dissolve the yeast in the water with the sugar for about 10 minutes. Pour it into a mixing bowl. Add the whole wheat flour and mix for about 1 minute. Cover the bowl with a clean dish towel and place it in a warm, draft-free place for 30 minutes. You can heat a wet dish rag until hot and then place it in a closed microwave with the dough, or heat your oven just until warm and then turn it off. After 30 minute the dough should be bubbly and have risen about 50%.

Heat the oven to 450 degrees farenheit.

Add the somolina, salt and olive oil and knead it for about 8 minutes using a bread dough hook or by hand. Add extra whole wheat flour as needed to keep it from sticking too much. Divide the dough into 2 balls - one per jelly roll pan.

Generously cover two jelly roll pans with olive oil. Spread the dough by hand to mostly cover the jelly roll pan, repairing any tears. Rolling will make the bread sticks less tender. Whole wheat flour is not as “stretchy” as white flour but these will still taste great.

Paint the dough with more olive oil. Lightly sprinkle on garlic powder, kosher salt, pizza seasonings (optional) and cheese.

Bake about 7-8 minutes, until done. Cut into strips with a pizza dough cutter.

These are fun to serve standing up in coffee mugs. To get a huge smile on the face of your small child, give them their very own super long breadstick. Small kids can also help stretch the dough out and sprinkle on the toppings before baking to make this a really fun experience.