Have you ever been in the position where you buy a roll of phyllo pastry, and after use half of it sits in the fridge for a week? At which point the sheets start to stick together (hate that!) and the edges dry out and go hard?
This kind of sequence of events is something which deeply bothers me.
Something else which can be deeply troubling is a total absence of snacks in the house.
Thankfully, I have come up with a brilliant solution to solve both of these problems.
Phyllo.Garlic.Bread Sticks
Quick and Easy
Besides the taste (yes!!! the taste!!!!!!!), the best part about these bread stick is that they are SO easy to make. And quick!
Basics on how to work with phyllo pastry
Before we jump into the recipe, here are some basics tips on working with phyllo pastry. Phyllo pastry is pretty easy to use. In fact I find it easier to use than regular pastry because you do not need to roll it out, or rush so much to keep it at the right temperature.
Phyllo pastry comes in a multitude of thin sheets. The way it works is that you are supposed to layer these sheets together with a brushing of olive oil. Once baked, this then creates that lovely crackly, flaky texture. You can layer as many or as few sheets together as you like, but an average number is about 4 – 5.
- Remember to defrost the pastry ahead of time if it is frozen. (This applies to all pastries but woe is me how often I have forgotten about the defrosting time)
- When layering the sheets, and applying the olive oil, use a paint brush or basting brush. Silly old me used to do it with my fingers. So slow…. and messy..
- If you need to seal two pieces of pastry together, use a little water to act as ‘glue’.
If any of the above baffles you, fortunately you actually don’t need to worry about any of this with this recipe, thanks to its simplicity! The only thing I highly recommend is the paintbrush.
Phyllo Garlic Bread Sticks
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Ingredients
- Phyllo pastry
- Olive oil
- Crushed fresh garlic
- Sea salt
- Oregano
- As far as quantities of garlic, salt and oregano goes per sheet, go according to your tastes... salty, garlicky, mild etc. I went with a less is more approach and it turned out tasty!
Instructions
Before anything else, defrost your pastry if it is frozen form.
- Spread out as many sheets as you want to make, or have space for on your countertop. Spreading them all out really makes these sticks even faster to make – so grab a table or anything else that will give you extra surface area if you need it.
- Take up your paintbrush/basting brush and paint the sheets with olive oil.
- Now add the garlic, a gentle sprinkling of salt, and some oregano. Do the garlic first, so that if you want to smear it around with the brush a bit you can.
- Take a pair of scissors and cut each sheet in half (the short way).
- Roll up each sheet.
- Now cut each roll in half again. (This means that each stick will = 1/4 of a sheet of phyllo.)
- Place on a baking tray and bake on medium low for 25-30 minutes or until the edges are golden brown.
Notes
If my scissor instruction were confusing - do not worry about them. Just make the sticks (you have to! : D) and cut to size as you see fit.
