Bite size breadsticks

This recipe originally came from a Rachael Ray magazine. I made a few changes to it. Her recipe was for breadsticks. I made them for thanksgiving and everyone loved them so I decided to make them bite sized so we could have snacks at home. They're pretty simple. I'm going to try a bunch of other flavors soon, too.

Ingredients:


1/2 cup warm water
1 1/2 teaspoons dry active yeast
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
2 teaspoons pepper
3 teaspoons fennel seed (Rachael Ray calls for crushed, I used whole)
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil


1. In a small bowl, combine the water and yeast. Let stand until bubbly, about 5 minutes.
2. Using a food processor, pulse together flour, salt, pepper, and fennel seeds until combined. (My food processor is not capable of doing what it should for this recipe. I mixed everything with my hands and it turned out fine.)
3. Whisk the olive oil into the yeast mixture, then add to the food processor. Pulse until the dough forms a ball, about 30 seconds. Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and springy, 2 to 3 minutes. Place in a medium oiled bowl and let rise until doubled in size, 45 minutes to an hour.
4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and roll out or press with your fingers into a 9 by 9 inch square. Quarter the dough, then cut each piece crosswise into 6 equal pieces. For bite sized breadsticks, I cut them into about twice as many pieces. Use your hands to roll each piece into a breadstick. After I rolled them into shape, I lined them up and used a pizza cutter to cut them into 1/2 inch pieces. Place the breadsticks on a baking sheet and bake until golden and crisp, about 20 to 25 minutes for larger breadsticks, or 15 to 20 minutes for smaller breadsticks.