These are addictive. Very addictive.
In my weekly adventures in Wondoughland, my sourdough starter this week produced these absolutely fantastic bread sticks, aka Grissini. I can’t stop eating them. Wrap them in prosciutto, add them to a charcuterie platter, use them as a crouton with soup or salad, or just dip them in some ranch dressing, they are crazy yummy no matter how you snack on them. I made 6 varieties, sesame seed, nigella seed, poppy seed, herbs de provence, pretzel salt and plain. These may become a staple at my place!
Ingredients
2 1/2 cups bread flour
2/3 cup warm water
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup (227 g) mature sourdough starter
For topping / flavoring
2 egg whites, lightly beaten
sesame seeds (toasted or black + white)
nigella seeds
poppy seeds
herbs de provence
pretzel salt or coarse sea salt
plain
Directions
Combine all of the final dough ingredients in a medium mixing bowl. Mix with your hands to roughly combine the ingredients. Turn the dough out onto an floured counter. Adjust the water to produce a medium-soft dough. Continue mixing/kneading by hand until the gluten reaches a low level of development but is still a bit springy. This will take about 5 minutes. Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl. Cover and rise for 2 hours, with folds after 40 and 80 minutes.
Divide the dough into 3 pieces. While working with one piece, keep the others covered so they don’t dry out. On a well-floured counter, pat the dough into a rectangle of roughly 12 x 4 inches. With a pizza cutter or chef’s knife, cut the dough into 16 strips.
Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silpat. Pick up each strip of dough at the ends and gently roll and stretch it to the width of the baking sheet. All 16 grissini should just fit on a 13-inch wide half sheet (18 x 13 inches). Don’t worry if they aren’t all perfect; irregularity is one of the best parts of homemade grissini. Brush with the lightly beaten egg whites and sprinkle on your topping. As I made 48 total grissini, I made 8 of the 6 varieties listed (including 8 plain, though brushed with egg white).
Preheat the oven to 350F. After shaping, let the grissini rest while the oven is heating or while the prior batch is baking. Bake for 25 – 30 minutes (a little longer for fatter grissini), until well brown and very crisp. Cool completely on a wire rack. Repeat until you have baked them all (I do this in 3 batches).
