Salt Sticks

These homemade salt sticks are a simple yeast bread dough rolled out, cut into sticks, and baked until golden and crisp. An egg white wash gives them a shiny crust, and you choose your own topping: kosher salt, seasoned salt, onion powder, or even cinnamon sugar for a sweet version.

The dough comes together fast with just flour, water, yeast, sugar, and oil. Five minutes of kneading and a 30-minute rest is all it takes. This isn’t a fussy bread dough that needs hours of rising. The short rest relaxes the gluten enough to roll and cut without springing back.

Cutting the sticks before baking rather than tearing them apart after means each one gets crisp edges all around. Space them slightly on the greased sheet so air circulates and they don’t steam against each other.

Kitchen Tips

• Pat the dough out thin and even so all the sticks bake at the same rate
• Brush the egg white on generously. It’s the glue that holds the toppings in place and creates the shine
• Watch them closely after 15 minutes. The thin sticks go from golden to burnt quickly
• Cool on a rack so the bottoms stay crisp instead of steaming on the hot pan

Variations

• Sprinkle with everything bagel seasoning for a trendy twist
• Roll sesame seeds or poppy seeds into the egg white coating
• Make a sweet batch with cinnamon sugar topping alongside the savory version