Thin Crunchy Grissini

Today I was feeling like eating grissini and so....I gave THIS recipe a try.

And not only did I make the plain ones, but also Sesame, Poppy Seeds and Sesame & Poppy Seed grissini.

If you go to the store, chances are you are going to find something like this:

Granforno Grissini Breadsticks, Plain, 4.4-Ounce Boxes (Pack of 12)



The recipe is quite easy and I have to say I used cake flour, not the regular all purpose I normally prefer for baking.



Time:

Mix: 2 ? 10 minutes
Ferment:  2 hours
Divide/shape: 10 minutes per 16 bread sticks
Bake: 25 ? 30 minutes per 16 bread sticks
Ingredients:

623 g flour (I used Cake Flour)
397 g water or milk at room temperature (try to actually weigh it, not just use a measuring cup)
6.5 g (2 t.) instant yeast or 10 gr active dry
9 g (1.5 t.) salt
28 g (2 T.) olive oil or regular oil
topping of your choice or seeds to mix inside the dough
Method:

Combine the flour, yeast, and salt in the bowl of a large food processor.

Pulse a few times to combine.

If using active dry yeast, make sure you dissolve it in the water or milk first.

Combine the water or milk and olive oil in a liquid measuring cup.

With the processor running, add the liquid to the dry ingredients in a steady stream.

Process until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 90 seconds.

Place the dough in a lightly oiled container.

Cover the container and let the dough ferment at room temperature until doubled in volume, about 2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat silicone mat.

Divide the dough into four equal pieces.

I left one piece plain, then mixed 2 TBSP poppy seeds in another, 2 TBSP sesame seeds in another and then in the fourth one I mixed 1 TBSP poppy seeds and 1 TBSP sesame seeds.

Next time I will toast the sesame seeds prior to mixing them into the dough.

The steps that follow will be repeated for each of the four pieces.

Keep the pieces you?re not working with covered with plastic foil.

On a very little floured counter, roll the dough out into a rectangle about 12 x 8 inches or even smaller than that.

The exact dimensions are not critical.

Cut the dough into 16 strips of equal width or in fewer pieces if you feel like it.

A pizza cutter works very well for this.

Fold each strip over on itself.

On an unfloured surface, roll the strip into a long snake.

Make it a bit longer than the length of your baking sheet, to allow for spring-back.

Place the snakes evenly spaced across the width of the parchment-lined baking sheet.

Lightly spray or brush the grissini with olive oil and sprinkle on the topping or just skip this step.

Bake at 350F for 25 ? 30 minutes, until golden brown.

Cool on a wire rack.