Makes 2 dozen bread sticks
Grissini are thin, crisp breadsticks—long and pencil-like in appearance, and Italian in origin. In this recipe, the dough is flavored with chopped rosemary and boldly accented with Asiago cheese; variations on flavoring are many and may include garlic, other herbs or hard cheeses as your creativity sees fit. We think it’s easy to put the dough through a pasta roller, but you can roll them out with a rolling pin and cut them into thin strips using a paring knife or pizza wheel. You can also break the dough into golf-ball sized portions and roll them into sticks using the palm of your hand.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 1 1/2 cups bread flour
- 3/4 teaspoon instant dry yeast
- 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 tablespoon unsalted butter, soft
- 1 sprig rosemary, roughly chopped
- 2 tablespoons finely grated Asiago
Directions
- In the bowl of a mixer, combine the milk, olive oil, and honey. Combine the flour with the yeast, and then add them to the milk mixture.
- Next add salt and softened butter. Place the bowl on a mixer fitted with the dough hook and mix for 4 minutes on medium speed, making sure to scrape and flip the dough over twice during the mixing time.
- Increase the speed to high and mix for an additional 3 minutes. At this point, the dough will be strong with good gluten structure.
- Add the rosemary and the cheese, and mix for one more minute on medium speed, making sure to scrape and flip the dough over twice during this process.
- Remove the dough from the mixer and place on a lightly floured work surface. Divide into two pieces and apply pressure in a circular motion with the palms of your hands to round the pieces against the tabletop.
- Place the pieces in a floured container and cover the container with plastic wrap. Leave the dough at room temperature for 15 minutes, and then place it in the refrigerator overnight.
- Remove the dough from the refrigerator and leave it at room temperature for 1 hour. At this point, the dough will need to be rolled through a pasta machine. To do this, lightly flour and flatten each piece and place in a pasta machine set at its widest setting. Roll the dough through and, lowering the setting in small increments, continue this process until the dough is as wide as pasta machines rollers. Then turn the dough a quarter turn and roll the piece through the machine in the opposite direction until it is 1/4″ thick (setting #5).
- Lightly flour the dough and pass through the pasta machine’s fettuccini cutter. Place the pieces of dough on baking trays with parchment paper, making sure to lay them out straight and separate (you can cut the ends, if the pieces do not fit the tray).
- Lightly brush the dough pieces with olive oil then cover the trays with plastic wrap and allow the dough to rest for 30 minutes
- Pre-heat the oven to 400°F. Prepare to bake the dough by uncovering it, brushing it with olive oil, and lightly sprinkling it with salt. Place the trays in the oven and bake at 375°F for 10 minutes. Then rotate the trays and bake an additional 4 to 6 minutes. When the pieces start to take on color, turn the oven down to 350°F and continue to bake until the bread is a light golden brown and appears dried out. Remove the baking trays from the oven and place them on a cooling rack.
Note: Add finely chopped herbs, roasted garlic, or finely grated hard cheeses in the final minute of mixing.
