Halloween is the evening before All Saints' Day, the night the dead were said to rise. It was barely known in the Netherlands when I first baked these in 2014, but every year more Dutch doorbells ring for candy, and every year these witch finger breadsticks are the first thing to disappear from my Halloween table. They're crispy outside, soft inside, finished with an almond "nail" and made from just 5 ingredients.
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A few years ago Halloween was very unknown in the Netherlands, but it seems that Halloween is emerging around here.
These witch fingers are great on any Halloween party and try them in combination with tomato leek soup with sizzling snakes, Halloween cheese bread or creamy spider tomato soup.
These witch fingers breadsticks are creepy yet delicious! And with only 5 ingredients SUPER easy to prepare! Do you dare to eat them?
Crispy and Scary: Make your own Witch Finger Breadsticks
And eating scarily good food has never been so much fun! With our Halloween bread fingers recipe, you can create the ultimate spooky treats on the table. The Halloween witches arrived at your door step. Perfect for a spooky party or just a terrifyingly delicious snack.
These witches fingers are not for the faint of heart. They are crispy on the outside and wonderfully soft on the inside. Complete with an almond nail for a realistic finger. Serve them with 'bloody' ketchup as a scary dipping sauce.
Super tasty and the best? They are very simple to make.
What do you need for Scary Bread Fingers?
You require the following ingredients to prepare these Creepy Witch Fingers Bread Sticks. You can find the correct amounts in the recipe card at the bottom of the blog:
- Yeast: This recipe uses ¾ teaspoon (3 grams) of instant yeast. If you prefer to use fresh yeast, you need 1 ½ teaspoon (6 grams). If you use dry yeast, you also require ¾ teaspoon (3 grams). Note: with both fresh yeast and dry yeast, you must first dissolve the yeast in lukewarm water.
- All-purpose flour: The base of the dough. You can swap in whole wheat or spelt flour for a darker, "dirtier" looking finger.
- Almonds: The almonds are the 'nails' of the bread fingers. Use unshelled almonds for this recipe.
- Water: Make sure you use lukewarm water. Otherwise the rise of the dough will take much longer to start. The ideal temperature for yeast to start working is 100°F (38°C).
- Salt: For the flavor, of course. But make sure when making a dough to keep it away from yeast. Concentrated amounts of salt will kill the yeast, and it won't work. That's why it's best to add it after mixing everything else.
How to prepare Witches Finger Breadsticks
You can find a printable recipe with a step-by-step description at the bottom of this blog.
- Mix flour with the yeast and water.
- Knead well and then spread the salt over the dough. Continue kneading until the dough is elastic (about 10 minutes). Place it in a greased container and cover with plastic wrap. Let it rise in a warm place for 1 hour.
- Remove from the bowl and press out the air. Divide into ten balls and roll them into a snake shape. Place on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Place a loop in the bread (that looks like a knuckle) halfway through. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 45 minutes.
- Press an almond into the dough at the top and bake the fingers for 20 minutes in a preheated oven at 430 °F (220 °C) until golden brown.
This is delicious with, for example, the Halloween pumpkin soup, the spiderweb tomato soup, or the hissing snake tomato soup with leek.
Top Tips and Variations
- White bread dough: The above is a recipe for white bread dough which I also use for my breadsticks' recipe, but you can also make it with whole wheat bread flour.
- Make it green: Replace the water with the cooking liquid from boiled spinach for green witch fingers, or use beetroot powder (red) or turmeric (yellow).
- The fingers are great to serve with soup.
- Carve with a knife wrinkles in your fingers.
- Sweet bread fingers: Add sugar and cinnamon to the bread. Spread with red jam for a bloody effect.
- Almond nails: Press the almonds well into the dough to stay stuck.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Can I make witch fingers ahead? Yes, bake, cool completely, freeze up to 1 month, and re-crisp 5 minutes in a hot oven.
- Nut-free version? Replace the almond nail with a slice of red bell pepper pressed on after baking.
- Why did my fingers puff up and lose their shape? Roll them thinner than looks right, about 4 inches (10 cm) and finger-width. And don't over-proof the second rise past 45 minutes.
📖 Recipe
RECIPE CARD
Recipe Help
Two easy tools to make cooking even easier. Cooking mode keeps the screen on. The easy-step recipe displays the recipe step by step, including the ingredients needed. And you can adjust servings easily
Ingredients
- ½ cup water
- ¾ teaspoon yeast, instant
- 1½ cup all-purpose flour
- ⅔ teaspoon salt
- 10 almonds, with skin
All my recipes are written both in Metric (gram / ml) and US Customary (cups / pounds). Here you can select which type of amount you would like to see.
Instructions
- Mix the flour with the yeast and water and knead well for about 5 minutes.½ cup water, 1½ cup all-purpose flour, ¾ teaspoon yeast
- Sprinkle the salt on the dough and knead further until the dough is smooth and elastic (knead about 10 minutes).⅔ teaspoon salt
- Put the dough in a greased bowl and cover first with a slightly moist tea towel and afterward with plastic wrap.
- Put the bowl in a warm place for about 1 hour, so the dough can rise.
- Remove the dough from the bowl and push out the air.
- Divide into ten balls and roll each ball until it's a roll of about 4 inches (ca. 10 cm).
- Halfway through the roll, turn the dough around (so you get the form of a knuckle).
- Place on the baking sheet and let rise for another 45 minutes under a slightly moist tea towel and then plastic foil.
- In the meanwhile, preheat the oven to
430 °F with conventional top/bottom heat or 390 °F for a fan/convection oven. If you can choose, use conventional. - Press an almond on the dough (fingernail) and bake the fingers for 20 minutes in the oven or until golden brown.10 almonds
Notes
- Room temperature: store up to one day in a paper bag.
- Don't store bread in the refrigerator. Because of the humidity, the structure will change.
- Freezer. Freeze them immediately after cooling down to room temperature, and thaw just before use. They can be stored in the freezer for up to 1 month.
Nutrition
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