Twisted Black Olive Breadsticks

Total Time: 30 mins Preparation Time: 30 mins

Ingredients

• 1 lb frozen bread dough, thawed
• 2 tablespoons black olive paste (preferably not tapenade)
• 1 large egg , lightly beaten
• 1 teaspoon cumin seed
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt

Recipe

• 1 put oven racks in upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat oven to 400°f
• 2 line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.
• 3 cut dough into 12 equal pieces.
• 4 roll each piece into a 10-inch-long rope on a lightly floured surface with lightly floured hands, stretching as needed, then pat lightly to flatten slightly.
• 5 spread top of each rope with 1/2 teaspoon olive paste, then fold in half. let stand, uncovered, 10 minutes.
• 6 working with 1 piece at a time, twist folded dough, stretching it slightly, into a 6-inch twist, then transfer to 1 of 2 baking sheets, pressing ends lightly onto parchment to keep twists from untwisting.
• 7 brush twists generously with egg and sprinkle with cumin and kosher salt, pressing to help adhere.
• 8 bake twists, switching position of sheets halfway through baking, until golden, 22 to 24 minutes total.
• 9 transfer twists to a rack and cool to just warm.
• 10 note:.
• 11 twists (without egg and seeds) can be prepared 2 hours ahead and chilled, covered. let stand at room temperature 15 minutes before coating with egg and seeds and baking.