Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Breadsticks

Anyone who knows me knows I'm all about making everything from scratch whenever possible. But this morning I got a wake-up call. I realized I need to help my blog readers who, for whatever reason, need shortcuts. This came to mind after I had a very long talk with my sister. She is a fulltime teacher with a job that keeps her running after 15 developmentally-delayed three year olds from 8 until 2 every day. She reminded me, gently, how challenging it is to cook from scratch and still maintain your sanity.

So, for those nights when you want to throw together a quick bowl of pasta but wish you could add something that's sorta-kinda homemade, think about breadsticks. Make sure you have a few packages of Bob's Red Mill pizza crust mix in your pantry and you'll be good to go.

The ingredients on the package call for two eggs, but in my continued effort to eliminate all animal products from my diet, I used the recommended flaxseed meal + water replacement with great results (explained in recipe below).

From start to finish, the breadsticks take 70 minutes, tops.

Bob's Red Mill Breadsticks (vegan, gluten free)

1 package Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Pizza Crust mix
yeast packet (enclosed in pizza mix)
1 tsp sugar
1 1/2 cups warm water
2 tbsp flaxseed meal + 6 tbsp water
2 tbsp olive oil
Extra oil for coating hands
Large sized ziplock bag
coarsely ground kosher salt
dried rosemary

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Pour the pizza mix into a large bowl.

Pour the yeast and sugar into the warm water. Give it a little stir. Cover with saran wrap and let sit until the mixture becomes foamy on the surface.

Meanwhile, mix the flaxseed meal and water. Let stand at least one minute.

Pour the flaxseed meal mixture and 2 tbsp oil into the yeast mixture. Mix briefly. Then pour into the bowl with the pizza mix. Blend about one minute on medium speed, until combined.

Put a little bit of oil into the palm of your hands and rub together until palms and fingers are coated with a thin film of oil. Scooping out handfuls of the dough mixture, put it into the ziplock bag. Once all the dough is in the ziplock bag, zip it closed and let it rest in a warm place for about 40 minutes.

Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper. Sprinkle the surface with coarsely ground kosher salt and rosemary.

Cut a small corner off the bottom of the ziplock bag. Be careful not to make the hole too big - start small, you can always increase the size. Use the ziplock bag like a pastry bag: squeeze out a long tube shape onto the baking sheet. Sprinkle the top of each breadstick with more salt and rosemary.

Bake at 425 degrees for 10 minutes. Rotate pan. Bake for another 10 minutes.

NOTE: Do not eat them right out of the oven, though you'll be tempted. Let them sit for about 10 minutes. They need time to cool. Otherwise, you'll burn your tongue AND the insides will be gooey! The breadsticks need a little time to set up.

Make sure you have lots of good, yummy pasta sauce to dip them into. Enjoy!