Sourdough Breadsticks for Italian Night

In the first few weeks of the pandemic, before the masks and the sourdough starter, Italian Night became a thing at our house. As the novelty of the lockdown faded, the hours at home shrank and softened into a dullness, like a thick layer of dust. In an effort to shake things up we decided to try something just a little bit different.

Italian Night

That’s when we established “Italian Night”. We set Friday evening apart for a weekly visit to our dining room. The plan was for more than our usual just-passing-through-on-the-way-from-the-kitchen-to-the-front-door type visit. Instead we looked forward to an old-fashioned sit-down, linger-over-dinner-and-engage-in-conversation style get-together. Soon, Italian Night became a staple of our pandemic routine.

In response to the circumstances this weekly event began with a menu of comfort foods. To me, Italian Night asked first for spaghetti and meat sauce, then for a glass of red wine and a batch of breadsticks. A simple gelato affogato completed the meal.

When the lockdown stretched from weeks into months we added the slightest bit of variety to our weekly menu. We added lasagna, pizza and tortellini to the entrée rotation.  We sometimes substituted beer, a nigroni, or even sparkling water for the red wine.  What remained a constant on the menu was the breadsticks.  

Breadsticks

I have a long history of affection for breadsticks of all kinds. It may have begun when my brother was in college. In those days a trip to the University of Kentucky invariably involved eating dinner at Joe Bologna’s, and dinner at Joe Bologna’s always included Breadsticks. Thick, slick and garlicky, their breadsticks were soft-centered and filling. They were legendary among the folks in Lexington and I regarded them as a special treat.

While those good memories remain, these days my preference is for grissini, Italian breadsticks that are thin and crispy. I am attracted to their crunch, their whimsical presentation, their sometimes quirky disparity. Plain, smooth breadsticks are fine but if I can find grissini with added texture and flavor, even better. I like them best when studded with herbs, seeds or cheese and baked to a golden brown.

Thin crispy bread sticks are attractive and convenient. Arrange them in a glass to add vertical contrast to a small plate of cheese or olives. Grissini are ready when you are and perfect for snacking on while dinner is in the oven.

Homemade Grissini

Grissini breadsticks make a great addition to a casual Italian-style dinner. Still, I never bothered to make them myself until the advent of our pandemic Italian Night. I was happy to serve store bought breadsticks when I could find them. Unfortunately they can be hard to find, and pandemic shopping made it harder still. When I couldn’t find thin breadsticks locally I ordered several boxes on-line.  Too many times the ones I ordered arrived broken. 

By then, making my own breadsticks seemed like the only reasonable thing to do. I searched for a recipe on-line and quickly found one for Sourdough Breadsticks. Having just acquired a sourdough starter of my own, I decided to use it as a point of departure.   

This recipe makes a lovely dough that I have gone back to again and again. It is smooth and easy to work with and, when allowed to relax, produces breadsticks that are long, thin and crunchy. I love to add bits of rosemary, or parmesan before baking. Sea salt or sesame seeds also make nice additions.

We had Sourdough Breadsticks for Italian Night again last week.  They have changed a bit from my first batch to this one, but through the ups and downs they continue to improve. I hope the same can be said for all of us! 

Sourdough Breadsticks

Course: Bread, AppetizersCuisine: Italian/AmericanDifficulty: Medium

Servings

30

Breadsticks

Prep time

2

hours 

Cooking time

30

minutes

Thin and crispy, these breadsticks, or grissini, are deliciously studded with herbs, seeds or cheese and baked to a golden brown. Arrange them in a tall glass for a pretty and inviting appetizer.

Ingredients

• 100 grams sourdough starter (80% hydration) (scant 1/2 cup)

• 100 grams lukewarm water (scant 1/2 cup)

• 20 grams olive oil (2 Tablespoons)

• 120 grams all-purpose flour (1 cup)

• 120 grams semolina flour (¾cup)

• 1 teaspoon kosher salt (6 grams)

• 1 Tablespoon finely chopped rosemary, if desired

• Toppings (if desired)

• finely chopped herbs, sesame seeds, cracked peppercorns, grated parmesan cheese or sea salt

Directions

• In a medium bowl, stir together the sourdough starter, water and olive oil.
• Add the flours and salt. Add chopped rosemary, if desired. Mix until dough forms. Knead dough several times to form a smooth ball. Cover dough and allow to rest at room temperature for 30 minutes – 1 hour or in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours. If refrigerated allow the dough to come to room temperature an hour or so before you are ready to shape it.
• Divide the dough into two equal portions. Place each portion on a 12” x 15” sized portion of parchment paper. Shape each section into a rectangle using your fingertips. Cover the dough and allow to rest for 15 minutes. (The dough will be resistant and allowing it to rest helps it to loosen up.)
• Using a rolling pin, or your hands, roll or pat each rectangle between plastic wrap and parchment paper, into a larger rectangle, roughly 10″ x 7”. Remove the plastic wrap and set aside. Brush each rectangle lightly with water (or brush lightly with prepared pesto or olive oil, if you prefer) and sprinkle with any topping of your choice: sea salt, cracked peppercorns, finely chopped herbs, sesame seeds or grated parmesan cheese. Cover each rectangle with plastic wrap again and roll over it with a rolling pin or press lightly with your hands to set the toppings into the dough. Remove plastic wrap and set aside.
• Using a pizza cutter or a sharp knife cut each section of dough into 1/2” strips that are 10” long strips (12-15 strips per rectangle of dough). One by one lift each strip, stretching it gently and twisting each end of the dough in opposite directions until it has a pleasing and uniform twist. This will give the bread sticks a nice texture and help to keep the toppings in place while gently stretching the dough into nice long breadsticks, roughly 14” long.
• Arrange the twisted breadstick on the parchment with a little space between each one so they are not touching and will not stick together while baking.
• Cover the breadsticks again with the reserved plastic wrap or a tea towel and allow to rest for another 30 minutes. Meanwhile place a rectangular baking stone in the center of the oven, if you have one, and preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
• When the oven is hot, remove the plastic wrap from the top of the breadsticks and discard it. If you do not have a rectangular baking stone place the parchment paper with breadsticks onto two rectangular baking sheets. If you have a baking stone place parchment sheet of breadsticks on a pizza peel and carefully slide the parchment from the peel onto the hot baking stone. If you don’t have a stone place one baking sheet in the middle of the oven. Bake breadsticks for approximately 15-20 minutes, checking a bit sooner and watching for them to turn golden brown. When the breadsticks are golden remove them from the over, again using the pizza peel if you have one.
• Carefully remove the parchment to a rack and allow the breadsticks to cool completely.
• Repeat with remaining sets of breadsticks.
• When cool store in an airtight container at room temperature.
• Enjoy!