Easy Homemade Breadsticks Recipe – Soft, Buttery, and Ready in 10 Minutes

These easy homemade breadsticks are soft, buttery, golden, and made without yeast, which means there’s no proofing and no waiting for dough to rise. Made with just six simple ingredients and baking powder for lift, they go from mixing bowl to dinner table in about 20 minutes.

They’re perfect when spaghetti is almost ready, soup is simmering on the stove, or you suddenly realize dinner desperately needs something warm and buttery on the side.

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“Twist and shout—because breadsticks this good deserve a standing ovation.”

Why You’ll Love These Easy Homemade Breadsticks

Homemade bread usually comes with a catch: yeast, proofing, rising, and enough advance planning to make you wish you had remembered the bread before dinner was already on the stove.

Not these breadsticks.

This is a quick breadstick recipe made with baking powder instead of yeast, so the dough can be mixed, rolled, cut, buttered, and baked almost immediately.

• No yeast: No proofing or rise time is required.
• Only six basic ingredients: Flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, milk, and butter.
• Quick: They bake in just 10–12 minutes.
• Soft and buttery: The centers stay tender while the edges become lightly golden.
• Easy enough for a weeknight: Make them while the rest of dinner finishes cooking.
• Versatile: Serve them with pasta, soup, chili, casseroles, or dipping sauces.

If homemade bread is your love language, you may also want to try my Cheesy Beer Bread or these Buttery Pull-Apart Rolls Baked Right in Your Muffin Pan.

Watch How to Make Easy Homemade Breadsticks

See how quickly these soft, buttery homemade breadsticks come together without yeast or rise time. This short video walks you through mixing the dough, rolling and cutting the strips, brushing them with butter, folding, baking, and serving them warm and golden from the oven.

What Makes These No-Yeast Breadsticks So Quick?

Traditional breadsticks are generally made with yeast. Yeast gives bread its familiar chewy structure, but it also needs time to work.

These breadsticks use baking powder as the leavening agent instead. Once the milk is mixed into the dry ingredients, the dough can be shaped and baked without waiting for it to rise.

The texture is therefore a little different from a yeast breadstick. Expect a soft, tender, biscuit-style crumb rather than the stretchier chew of traditional yeast dough.

And because every strip gets brushed with melted butter before baking, nobody is going to complain about the shortcut.

Ingredients for Homemade Breadsticks

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, divided: Provides the structure for the dough. Some is held back so you can add only as much as needed.
• 2 teaspoons baking powder: Gives these breadsticks their lift without yeast.
• 2 teaspoons sugar: Adds just enough sweetness to balance the savory flavors.
• 1 teaspoon salt: Essential for bringing out the flavor of the bread.
• 2/3 cup milk: Moistens the dough and helps create a tender crumb.
• 1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted: Creates those rich, buttery surfaces and lightly golden edges.

Helpful Tools for Making Homemade Breadsticks

You don’t need a stand mixer, bread machine, or any specialized bread-making equipment for this recipe. A few basic baking tools make the process much easier:

• Large mixing bowl
• Measuring cups and spoons or kitchen scale
• Rolling pin
• Bench scraper or sharp knife
• Rimmed baking sheet
• Parchment paper

This is one of the reasons I love this recipe: there’s no reason to drag out the heavy equipment for twelve breadsticks.

How to Make Easy Homemade Breadsticks

1. Preheat the Oven

Preheat the oven to 450°F.

Lightly grease a baking sheet or line a heavy-duty baking sheet with parchment paper for easy cleanup.

2. Combine the Dry Ingredients

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together 1 1/3 cups of the flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt.

Mixing the dry ingredients before adding the milk helps distribute the baking powder and salt evenly throughout the dough.

3. Add the Milk

Pour in the milk and stir until a soft dough begins to form.

At this point, the dough may still look slightly sticky. That’s okay. Resist the temptation to dump in a lot of extra flour.

4. Add the Remaining Flour

Add the remaining flour gradually, using only enough to make the dough soft and manageable.

The amount you need can vary slightly depending on humidity and the way your flour was measured.

5. Knead Gently

Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead gently for about 1–2 minutes, just until it becomes smoother.

This is not yeast dough, so there’s no need for prolonged kneading. Overworking the dough can make the finished breadsticks tougher.

6. Roll Out the Dough

Use a rolling pin to roll the dough into a rectangle approximately 1/4-inch thick.

Try to keep the thickness fairly even so all 12 breadsticks bake at approximately the same rate.

7. Cut the Breadsticks

Cut the rectangle in half widthwise. Then cut each half lengthwise into six strips to create 12 breadsticks.

A bench scraper is especially handy here because it makes quick, clean cuts through soft dough and helps keep the strips relatively even.

8. Butter and Fold

Brush one side of each dough strip with melted butter.

Place the breadsticks buttered-side down on the prepared baking sheet. Brush the opposite side with more melted butter, then fold each strip almost in half.

That butter on both sides is one of the little details that makes these simple breadsticks so good.

9. Bake the Breadsticks

Arrange the breadsticks with a little room between them on a heavy-duty rimmed baking sheet.

Bake at 450°F for 10–12 minutes, or until the breadsticks are lightly golden and baked through.

Start checking around the 10-minute mark. At this temperature, they can go from perfectly golden to overbaked fairly quickly.

10. Serve Warm

Let the breadsticks cool for a few minutes before serving.

They’re especially good while they’re still warm, when the centers are tender and the buttery exterior is at its best.

Makes 12 breadsticks.

Expert Tips for Soft, Tender Breadsticks

• Measure the flour carefully. Too much flour is one of the easiest ways to make quick breadsticks dry. For the most consistent baking results, a digital kitchen scale takes the guesswork out of measuring flour.
• Keep the dough soft. Add the reserved flour gradually rather than all at once.
• Don’t over-knead. One or two minutes is plenty for this baking powder dough.
• Preheat the oven first. Because there is no rise time, your dough will be ready for the oven quickly.
• Keep the thickness even. Breadsticks that are dramatically different sizes won’t finish baking at the same time.
• Watch the last few minutes. A 450°F oven works quickly.
• Add more butter after baking. For an even richer breadstick, brush the tops lightly with melted butter as soon as they come out of the oven.

Easy Breadstick Variations

Garlic Butter Breadsticks

Add garlic powder or finely minced garlic to melted butter and brush it over the hot breadsticks immediately after baking.

Parmesan Herb Breadsticks

Sprinkle the buttered dough with grated Parmesan cheese and Italian seasoning before baking.

Cheesy Breadsticks

Add a small amount of shredded mozzarella or cheddar cheese before folding each dough strip.

Rosemary Breadsticks

Add finely chopped fresh rosemary or dried rosemary to the dough for an herbaceous breadstick that works especially well with soup.

Cinnamon Sugar Breadsticks

Turn the same quick dough into dessert by brushing it with butter and sprinkling it generously with cinnamon sugar.

What to Serve with Homemade Breadsticks

Warm breadsticks and saucy dinners were made for one another.

Try these with my Classic Spaghetti for an easy pasta night.

They’re also perfect for dipping into Tomato Basil Soup or alongside a bowl of Creamy Loaded Baked Potato Soup.

You can also put a basket on the table with marinara sauce, pesto, spinach dip, or seasoned olive oil and let the breadsticks become the appetizer.

How to Store Homemade Breadsticks

Allow leftover breadsticks to cool completely before storing them.

Place them in an airtight container or food-storage bag and keep them at room temperature for about 2 days.

For longer storage, freezing is preferable to refrigerating because refrigeration can cause bread to dry out more quickly.

How to Reheat Breadsticks

For the best texture, place the breadsticks in a 350°F oven for about 5 minutes, or until warmed through.

You can also microwave an individual breadstick briefly when you need one quickly, although the oven does a better job of restoring the lightly crisp exterior.

Can You Freeze Homemade Breadsticks?

Yes. I recommend freezing these breadsticks after baking rather than freezing the unbaked baking powder dough.

Allow them to cool completely, place them in a freezer-safe container or bag, and freeze.

They can be thawed before reheating or warmed from frozen until heated through.

Can You Make Breadsticks Ahead of Time?

You can, but because baking powder starts working once it comes into contact with liquid, I don’t recommend mixing the dough hours ahead and letting it sit.

Instead, bake the breadsticks ahead of time and warm them shortly before dinner. You’ll get much more reliable results.

Troubleshooting No-Yeast Breadsticks

Why Is My Breadstick Dough Sticky?

Some tackiness is normal in a soft dough. Add the reserved flour gradually until you can work with the dough without it sticking heavily to your hands or work surface.

Don’t keep adding flour until the dough feels completely dry. That can lead to dry breadsticks.

Why Are My Breadsticks Tough?

Too much flour or too much kneading are the most likely culprits.

Measure flour carefully, keep the dough soft, and knead only until it becomes relatively smooth.

Why Are My Breadsticks Dry?

They may contain too much flour or they may have baked too long.

Begin checking at 10 minutes and remove the breadsticks once they’re lightly golden and cooked through.

Why Didn’t My Breadsticks Rise Very Much?

These are baking powder breadsticks rather than yeast breadsticks, so don’t expect them to double in size.

They should become lightly puffed and tender with a biscuit-like crumb.

FAQs About Easy Homemade Breadsticks

Are These Breadsticks Made Without Yeast?

Yes. Baking powder provides the leavening, so there is no yeast and no rise time required.

How Long Do Homemade Breadsticks Take to Bake?

They bake at 450°F for approximately 10–12 minutes.

Can I Use Whole Wheat Flour?

Yes. Try replacing part of the all-purpose flour with whole wheat flour. The breadsticks will generally be a little denser and have a more pronounced wheat flavor.

Can I Make Breadsticks Without Butter?

Yes. Margarine or olive oil can be substituted, although the flavor and texture will be slightly different.

Do I Need a Stand Mixer?

No. In fact, this is one bread recipe where I prefer not to use one. The dough comes together quickly by hand and needs only 1–2 minutes of gentle kneading.

Can I Double the Recipe?

Yes. Double the ingredients and divide the dough into 24 breadsticks. You may need to use two baking sheets so the breadsticks aren’t crowded.

Readers Also Make

If you love quick homemade breads, try my Cheesy Beer Bread or these soft and buttery Buttery Pull-Apart Rolls.

Perfect With

Make pasta night complete by serving these breadsticks with Classic Spaghetti. For soup season, they’re wonderful for dipping into Tomato Basil Soup or Creamy Loaded Baked Potato Soup.

Related Posts

Looking for another easy way to put homemade bread on the dinner table? My Cheesy Beer Bread skips yeast too, while the Buttery Pull-Apart Rolls are perfect when you want individual dinner rolls.

Next Recipe to Try

Make these Buttery Pull-Apart Rolls Baked Right in Your Muffin Pan next. They’re another warm, buttery bread that disappears quickly once it hits the dinner table.