Crunchy Sourdough Breadsticks [Sourdough Grissini]

Crispy sourdough breadsticks or sourdough grissini are a simple variation on sourdough crackers. They are easy to make and can add texture and fun to your next charcuterie board. Seriously – this is a recipe the whole family will love! Sourdough breadsticks are great for dipping but are tasty enough to eat alone as a delicious snack. 

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

So Many Options – Make them with whole wheat flour or bread flour and top with seeds of your choice. There’s so many variations you can make with this recipe – I’ve added lots of ideas for you further down including adding sesame seeds, poppy seeds, Parmesan cheese, garlic powder or even Italian seasoning.

So Easy – You won’t need any specialised equipment to make this sourdough breadstick recipe – it’s so easy! You won’t even need a rolling pin!

If you love crispy sourdough breadsticks, you might also enjoy these Sourdough Pumpkin Breadsticks or parmesan and rosemary sourdough crackers.

What are Sourdough Grissini Or Sourdough Breadsticks?

Grissini (translated to bread sticks) originated from Italy. They are basically dipping sticks made from bread dough without any leavening. Long and thin, like a pencil, they’re often sprinkled with seeds, herbs or spices. Crispy, like crackers, they’re often eaten before a meal or with a glass of wine or beer.

Traditionally grissini were made without any leavening, which is why they are are crispy and crunchy – rather than soft and pillowy. This recipe for crunchy sourdough breadsticks includes some active sourdough starter, which of course is a type of leavening, however we don’t give it time to rise too much. This recipe contains no commercial yeast or instant yeast at all.

Ingredients

• Sourdough Starter – you can use either active starter or sourdough starter discard for this recipe. I prefer to use active starter!
• Whole Wheat Flour – I prefer these with whole wheat flour for a more complex flavor (and a nice color), however you can substitute all purpose flour if you prefer. You could even add some rye flour.
• Salt – I’ve used cooking salt in the dough and then some flaky salt for sprinkling on top.
• Olive Oil – you’ll need good quality extra-virgin olive oil both in the dough and for brushing on top. You can also use avocado oil if you prefer, or even melted butter. Flavored oil is nice to brush on top – think garlic, sun dried tomato or rosemary.
• Maple Syrup – Swap the maple syrup for honey if you like. I don’t think it makes too much difference in flavor. Maple syrup is good if you need them to be vegan. I prefer not to use granulated sugar in this recipe as it is lower in hydration and the sugar can be hard to dissolve.
• Sesame Seeds – these are totally optional but the crunchy sourdough breadsticks look so pretty rolled in sesame seeds!

How To Make Crunchy Sourdough Breadsticks (Sourdough Grissini)

Making sourdough grissini could not be easier (they are so much easier than making a traditional sourdough bread recipe)!

In fact, it’s a great recipe to get the kids involved in sourdough baking (especially if they love to roll and sprinkle). This is one of my 7 year old’s favorite recipes to make! In fact, I went into his Kindergarten class and made these with the whole group. It was so much fun and the kids loved getting involved.

Here’s how to make Sourdough Bread Sticks:

Add sourdough discard, flour, olive oil, salt and maple syrup to a mixing bowl and bring the ingredients together so that a shaggy dough forms.

Knead the dough in the bowl until a smooth dough forms (it is a soft, pliable dough and will be slightly sticky, but still very easy to handle). If it’s too sticky, add a little more flour. It won’t take long for the dough to come together so it’s certainly possible to do these by hand in a large mixing bowl.

Allow the dough to sit at room temperature for a little bit – like a mini bulk ferment. You don’t want it to rise a lot, but you just want the dough to relax.

Using a scale, divide the dough into equally weighted pieces. 30g makes a lovely breadstick, around 27cm long. I use a bench scraper to divide the dough easily.

Using a clean work surface, roll each piece of dough into a long, thin stick and then roll each one in seeds of your choice (I’ve listed sesame seeds but you can use whatever you like – or just keep them plain).

Place the sourdough breadsticks onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, with a small gap in between each one.

Cover the sourdough breadsticks with a damp dish towel and allow them to sit for around an hour.

When you’re ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350ºF/180ºC. Brush the dough with olive oil (using a pastry brush) and sprinkle with salt.

Bake at 350ºF/180ºC for around 25 minutes or until grissini are golden brown and cripsy.

Flavor Variations

There are lots of ways to add extra flavor to these sourdough breadsticks. We love eating them plain … but here are a few other ways you can add some unique flavors to your crispy breadsticks:

• Parmesan Breadsticks – add 30g of parmesan to the dough and then sprinkle with parmesan cheese before baking. You could also use cheddar powder if you prefer.
• Garlic Breadsticks – brush with garlic butter before baking – fresh or dried garlic works well.
• Pizza Breadsticks – give the sourdough grissini a sprinkle of garlic powder and Italian Herbs before baking and serve with homemade pizza sauce. YUM!
• Seeded Breadsticks – roll the sourdough bread sticks in your favorite seeds before baking. You can use poppy seeds, fennel seeds, cumin seeds, sesame seeds … anything you like!

How To Serve Sourdough Grissini

Crunchy Sourdough Breadsticks can be lots of fun to eat! Here are some of the ways we eat/serve grissini at home:

• Wrap the grissini with thin slices of pepperoni or salami and dip in this easy beer cheese dip.
• My kids love mini grissini with a bowl of peanut butter or homemade nutella to dip them in. This fig cream cheese spread and creamy avocado dip is also a big hit!
• Place a glass jar filled with grissini in the middle of the table to have with a beer or glass of wine.
• Use them to create height or fill in long gaps on a charcuterie platter.
• Drizzle with chocolate and serve with homemade caramel sauce and fresh fruit.

How To Store and Freeze

Grissini will keep really well in a glass jar or tin. Try not to put them in plastic as they will go soft a lot faster. If they do go a little soft, you can place them back into a moderate oven for 5 to 10 minutes to bring back their crunchiness!

They will last for weeks if stored in an air tight glass jar or tin. I love storing these in tall glass jars on the counter – so pretty!

Frequently Asked Questions

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